Looking around, Verus studied the fallen bodies of the outer disciples he’d just defeated. As amazing as defeating them had felt, he had serious questions about his own behavior. It was more than a little strange. He’d been avoiding thinking about it, but it was obvious the trance that overcame him during fights sometimes was more than just a normal mood shift or good instincts. How had his internal ki manipulation abilities increased so much? That powerful touch technique he’d used was incredibly complicated, requiring him to perfectly manipulate all the ki in his body to boost the speed it flowed through him. Was it some sort of minor bloodline ability? That was the only explanation he could think of for the abilities the trance gave him. Had there been a powerful cultivator somewhere in his unknown ancestry?

Escora laughed gleefully as she walked over to his side and patted him on the shoulder. “Wow, I wasn’t the only one holding back. That’s some technique. I could feel the ki speed through your channels when you used that attack. It was faster than white water fresh off a fall.”

“Hmmm, I’m full of surprises I suppose,” Verus replied vaguely as he gathered his thoughts.

“See, I told you. He’s a genius,” Warin added as he picked himself off the ground and brushed off his clothing.

“I’m sorry for ever doubting you,” Escora told the chubby disciple with a roll of her eyes.

“You should be. I’m always right about friends and food.”

With all the enemies defeated and unconscious or incapacitated, Escora quickly moved on to the looting.

“You’ll pay for this! Our families will never let you get away with insulting them,” Tellus announced as he sat up and coughed. He was unable to use his ki or even stand, but he could still apparently whine.

“I don’t care about your families. They’re not here,” Escora replied with a snort.

Verus wished he was so unconcerned.

“I don’t really want to make enemies,” he told her as he threw Tellus a glance. The earth cultivator had hunched over and closed his eyes. Staying up seemed to require serious effort on his part, and he wasn’t in any condition to talk any more.

Escora just shrugged. “It’s a little late to be worrying about that, you’re riding the tiger now. You’ve simply got to prove your worth to the sect and then they’ll protect you. It shouldn’t be too hard if you keep fighting like you did just now.”

Verus groaned. “Which means I need to fight even more people, preferably stronger ones.”

“Exactly!” Escora laughed. “This is the path of a true cultivator, not that mumbo jumbo you’re always spouting. It’s a hunt for power.”

It turned out that the defeated disciples were carrying more valuables than Verus and his companions could comfortably carry. They only had so much space in their bags.

The haul contained another two ki lanterns, the swordsman’s weapon, two scrying devices, a spiritual herb, and some elixirs in vials that they’d obviously brought along with them. They ended up taking only the herb and the elixirs, while Escora destroyed the scrying devices.

“They’ll be hard pressed to find us or any more treasure without these,” she said as she stomped on the metal discs until they were warped and cracked. Verus winced at the destruction of such expensive and interesting devices, but he couldn’t fault her reasoning.

“What do these elixirs do?” Warin asked as he held up one of the vials.

“Half of them are for healing or removing parasites. The others are cultivation aids that allow you to absorb natural ki smoother and faster. You can tell by the colors. Imperials like everything standardized and neat.”

Warin took one of the healing elixirs since he was injured and feeling a little unwell. Meanwhile, Verus had not forgotten the odd way Tellus’s group had disguised their presence. Nothing they’d found so far had accounted for that and he doubted it was a technique, so he kept looking. At first, he didn’t find anything and considered shaking Tellus awake and asking him, but then he found a simple loop of cord in the swordsman’s pocket. It looked like a bracelet made from some sort of scaly brown leather, like it was from a lizard.

Putting it on, Verus immediately felt something happen. His ki senses seemed to blur, as the ki around him shifted to surround his body and camouflage it. A quick search revealed a similar cord on all the fallen disciples.

“Huh, useful,” Escora remarked after he showed them to her. “We shouldn’t use them unless they’re needed though. They seem to blind their users almost as much as anyone looking for them.”

Having taken everything they wanted, Escora led her companions out into the forest again. Their plan was simply to put some distance between themselves and their defeated foe before setting up camp and resting for the night. As they moved, she also employed some tracker tricks to disguise their trail.

Thankfully, they didn’t run into any problems before finding a secluded spot next to cliff where an overhanging ledge shielded them from sight and the elements. After eating and laying out their sleeping rolls, Verus did a few hours of cultivation and then went to bed. He had last watch.

Closing his eyes, his consciousness swiftly faded into blackness and his mind relaxed. However, as Verus fell into himself, his inner world began to shift and change. His ki seethed as a dream rose up to overwhelm him, almost as something was happening to his soul.

Terrible pain washed over him. Everything was fire. He had no eyes, but he could sense it as it burned him. He wanted to scream, but he had no mouth! Not anymore. There was only the fire, an impossibly large ocean of the terrible energy crushed him, wearing him down to nothing. It tore into him, hungry for his very being. He fought it, but the pain never ended. Who was he? He couldn’t remember! What was happening? There was only the pain and his will. Surrender would bring peace, but he would never give in. Never! Duty remained. He could not let the fire claim what was left of him. He had failed, but not yet been released. The voiceless scream went on forever. Yet, he fought and he resisted, twisting in the flames. The oath must be fulfilled! There was yet a chance. But who was he? Why couldn’t he remember!

Bolting awake, Verus heard the sound of screaming. It took him a moment to realize the noise was coming from his own throat. Snapping his mouth shut, he looked around with wide eyes. He was still in his bed roll, in the sheltered spot under the cliff’s overhang. The forest was darker since it was the middle of the night and the only light came from a nearby lantern, but nothing else had changed. There was no danger. He looked down at his arms. There was no fire ravaging his body… and his name was Verus. Having a name had never felt so important. Just thinking it made him feel safer and more… complete.

“What’s going on!” Escora hissed in alarm as she scrambled over to him. Warin was somehow still asleep and snoring gently off to the side.

“I apologize,” Verus told her in a shaky voice. “I had a nightmare. Nothing more.”

Escora gave him an appraising look. “It must have been some nightmare. I didn’t think you were the sort to scare easy and you sounded like someone was ripping your guts out while you watched.”

“It was unpleasant, but I’m fine now.” Verus didn’t want to talk about the dream. The memory was already fading, and that was more than fine with him.

He shuddered and shifted into a meditation position. He wouldn’t be able to fall back sleep right away. Not with that vision haunting him. So, he cultivated for the next hour to clear his head. Only then, when the nightmare had almost completely faded from his mind did he lay back down and drift off again.

Their small group did a little exploration and hiking the next day, but mostly they focused on recovering and cultivating. There were three helpful elixirs, so they each took one. As he drew ki into his core, Verus could feel himself reaching the limits of the Foundation Realm. He was approaching the Tempered Realm, so as he cycled his ki, he focused on the insights into the nature of ki and the world he’d acquired from observing the forest and combat. Every ascension required enlightenment. The real problem was his cultivation technique. He was still using the very basic one he’d used to get the Foundation Realm. It had no special abilities and wouldn’t allow him to upgrade his core when he ascended. Well, he’d simply have to find an attunement and talk to the drunk elder when he got back to the sect. Then, he could ascend in the safety of the temple.

As the sun rose the following morning, Verus and his companions set off toward the center of the Reaches again. Every once and a while, they could see the tower looming up ahead through gaps in the thick leafy canopy overhead. Verus also managed to detect another spiritual herb, although they had to fight off a nasty looking ferret spirit to get it.

The ground began to slope upwards, but Escora seemed to know where she was leading them. Eventually, the companions found themselves atop a large hill that rose up above the trees. The vantage point gave them a great view of the Reaches. The crystal tower of the Heaven and Earth Array dominated the scenery ahead, but there was plenty of other things to see. The mountains surrounding the wild valley were picturesque and so were the white clouds overhead. Trees filled most the valley, but they were broken up by several landmarks such as hills and bodies of water.

“This is something you don’t see every day,” Warin announced as he glanced around.

Escora shrugged and focused on the area near the tower. “It’s not a terrible sight, but there are better in my tribe’s territory.”

After being in the humid forest for so long, Verus was too busy enjoying the cool breeze on his face to question her. “Why don’t we rest here and cultivate for a while? It’s as good a place as any. We might even see something important, like another group of disciples.”

Escora had no problem with that as long as one of them stood watch at all times, and she volunteered to go first, so Verus sat down to cultivate. Taking a series of deep breaths, he concentrated on absorbing ki and cycling it through his body and into his core. Using his simple cultivation technique, he turned his ki into human essence and expanded his core.

About half an hour later, Escora’s voice broke him out from his meditative trance. “Everyone up! Something is happening.”

Jumping to his feet, Verus peered in the direction she was looking. Warin did the same, just a little slower.

At first, Verus didn’t see anything but the top of trees. That didn’t last long. Not too far from the tower, a blast of flame burst up into the sky, incinerating a tree and rising up into the air before dying down. This was followed by a loud crack, and all the trees near the fire shivered. Flocks of birds took flight, squawking as they sought safety, and Verus could even feel a slight tremor pass beneath his feet.

“What was that?” he asked nervously.

Escora frowned. “A fight. I’m guessing some disciples from different sects are fighting over treasure near the tower.”

“There’s no way they’re still at the Foundation Realm,” Warin pointed out.

“Probably not. Our sect contains quite a few outer disciples that are far more talented than the spoiled dregs we’ve run into. Some of them have undoubtedly used the resources here to reach the Tempered Realm.”

That was an important reminder to Verus that all the disciples he’d been fighting had not been among the strongest in the outer sect. Rather, Tellus and Katar had banded together with others against those they considered their inferiors because their lack of skill made them insecure. The real nobles and geniuses had ignored him, because he was beneath them.

“Should we really be headed down there then?” Warin asked.

It took a few moments for Escora to reply. “As much as I hate to admit it, you might have a point.”

Warin perked up, looking surprised. “Really?”

Escora nodded. “Yes, we should prepare properly first. If we find a good water ki font I’m sure I can break through to the Tempered Realm. Something better than the last one we found. It was weak and I prefer running water. What about you two?”

Verus sighed. “Unfortunately, there are still some issues I need to deal with before I can reach the Tempered Realm.”

“My progress has slowed,” Warin admitted. “At first the thick ki here helped me quite a lot, but now it’s just stifling. I don’t think I’ll be able to ascend out here in the Reaches.”

“Because there’s no source of devotion ki here?” Verus asked. He hadn’t realized his friend was having problems.

“My own devotion is enough. It’s more that the atmosphere out here in the Reaches doesn’t agree with me, and the heat doesn’t help either. It’s all so dreadful and there are bugs everywhere. Makes it hard to concentrate and find enlightenment.”

Verus eyed his friend. He did seem to have lost a little weight, despite still eating quite a lot. They had plenty of supplies.

A look of concern flashed across Escora’s face before it was replaced by a neutral expression. “Then, do either of you mind following me and watching my back while I find a place to cultivate and ascend?”

“No, it’s the least we could do after everything you’ve done for us, and anything’s better than going down there,” Warin told her as Verus nodded in agreement.

That decided, the group headed back into the forest to find a font of water ki. While the thick ki of the Reaches was strong everywhere, it would be easier for Escora to absorb water ki since she was attuned to it. A water font would also potentially provide her with more insight into her element, helping her advance.