Hector continued berating Allen well into the night, and Red had a hard time going to sleep. Thankfully, the yelling eventually stopped. The next day, when Red walked to the training field, however, he noticed the lack of Allen’s presence that he had gotten used to over the last week. Domeron was waiting for him.

“Where is he?” Red asked.

The man shrugged. “Probably grounded.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means Hector is punishing him for taking the sword without permission.” Domeron frowned. “Weren’t you the one he showed it to?”

Red nodded. “I didn’t know such amazing weapons existed.”

“I was surprised the first time I saw it, too. But don’t take the wrong thing away from this. That sword is special, and most other Spiritual Artifacts can’t even begin to compare.”

“What about your sword? Is it also a Spiritual Artifact?”

Domeron laughed and shook his head. “I haven’t even opened my Spiritual Sea! How could I possibly have a Spiritual Artifact for a weapon? No, my sword is excellent as far as normal weapons go, but it’s not nearly as strong as that blade.”

That didn’t surprise Red. As the conversation wrapped up, an awkward silence settled over the training field.

The boy looked over at Domeron. “What now?”

He had been so absorbed in his sparring sessions against Allen over the last week that he simply didn’t know how to proceed with his normal training.

Domeron smiled. “Do you want to spar with me?”

“Sure.” Red nodded.

“… Right. I almost forgot who I was talking to.” The swordsman hadn’t expected his joke to be taken seriously.

Domeron still accepted the boy’s request in the end. However, this time, they were using training weapons rather than their bare hands. Red chose a short sword that best resembled his cleaver in weight and length, while the man picked a long sword as usual. They stood ten meters apart before Domeron gave his go.

Red had been looking forward to testing his new skills against the man. Unfortunately for him, though, it became clear in just a few seconds that the gap between them remained too large to cross. If it was just a matter of physical superiority, the boy wouldn’t have felt as bad. Domeron, however, was so superior to Red in combat skills, he felt he could never reach the man’s level.

A few minutes later, the youth was beaten to the point of exhaustion, and their sparring session ended. Red collapsed to the ground, aches flaring all over his body. The pain wasn’t what bothered him, though.

He looked at Domeron while trying to recover. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” the man frowned.

“How are you this skilled?”

“I have decades of experience, of course. When you fight a lot over your life, you may get good at it, eventually.”

“No, that’s not it.” Red shook his head. “I’ve seen other people fight. There’s something different about the way you do it.”

The boy couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had noticed this after a few sessions. Domeron never relied on excessive strength. Instead, he was able to measure the exact amount of power necessary to counter Red's every move. Not to mention his instantaneous reactions. It didn’t matter how the boy tried to trick him or experiment with a different strategy, Domeron had a response for everything. It wasn’t just a matter of quickness. The man never looked taken aback, nor hesitated even for a split second.

It was like he always knew what Red was going to do, although that made little sense to the boy.

‘And all of that with just one arm…’

No wonder Narcha admired the man’s strength. From what he had seen from her, Red assumed the woman would get dismantled in combat no matter how much stronger or faster she was than Domeron.

The swordsman sighed at the boy’s words. “This is instincts, kid. Beyond general strategy, combat is too fast to consider every move you have to make. It is necessary to engrave the correct use of your weapon and abilities into your subconscious if you want to have any chance in a fight. That is the governing principle of combat.”

“Is it really that simple?” Red was skeptical.

If that were the case, wouldn’t everyone be as skilled as Domeron?

“No, it’s not. People may grasp this principle at different levels, and I have grasped it at a very high one that most cultivators can’t hope to reach for their entire lives.” the man put modesty aside. “Proper combat instincts can’t be taught, though. You can only seek to develop them through experience.”

“… And how did you develop yours?”

Domeron’s expression changed at that question. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Red again. “I built a mountain of corpses.”

Red frowned at the ominous words.

The swordsman continued, though. “Every day for years, all I did was fight and kill out of my own free will. I killed my betters and my lessers, honing my combat skills and instincts. I got lucky at times, and could have died just as easily, too, but I persevered. After all was said and done, I walked out the man I am today, leaving a trail of corpses behind as testament to my rise.”

The boy didn’t know how to respond. This went beyond just combat experience - it neared the point of obsession. Was putting your life on the line and killing indiscriminately the only way to hone yourself to such a degree? Red, who had an acute sense of self-preservation, couldn’t come to terms with that.

“Weren’t you afraid of dying?” he asked.

“All the time.” Domeron nodded. “But I knew that if I wanted to rise above the rest, this was a risk I had to take. Living a mediocre life was worse to me than dying.”

‘And yet, here you are.’

This didn’t seem like the glorious life Domeron had been wanting. It was clear something else had happened, but Red didn’t prod. Still, the man spoke from experience. Not even Narcha, the combat maniac that she was, seemed to have such a strong combat instinct as Domeron.

“I don’t know if I can do the same.”

The boy had to admit that. He didn’t mind putting his life on the line when it was necessary for his own survival. However, to willingly take risks every moment of your life just to hone your combat skills? Red didn’t know if it was worth it, or if he could force himself to do it.

“No one is asking you to do the same.” Domeron shook his head. “What I took was a shortcut to power because I couldn’t cultivate. And yet, what did it amount to? An advantage against those at the same level, but nowhere near enough to face a true cultivator. A large bug is still a bug at the end of the day, and it may still be squished to death.”

Red had heard similar words before. Rog held his superior skills in the same regard, thinking they were nothing compared to the power of cultivation. Yet, something about this didn’t sit right with Red.

“Isn’t it unfair?”

Domeron frowned at these words. “I thought you were mature for your age, but in some aspects, you are indeed still just a child. In a world where men can raze cities to the ground with a wave of their hands, nothing is fair. Working hard for your entire life may never compare to half the benefits that outstanding talent can yield to you. It is unfair, but it’s simply the way things are.”

“And yet, it is no reason to stop striving towards your objectives, right?”

The swordsman smiled. “You got the gist of it. Someone who works hard may still find an opportunity to turn their fortune around regardless of their talent. If you stop trying, though, you will never have a chance. I wasn’t so lucky, but I never once regretted the effort I put into achieving greatness, no matter where it took me. After all, it’s a pretty interesting way to live, right?”

Red nodded. He could do nothing about his poor talent or his dire circumstances. However, the boy would always give his best and grasp any opportunity to escape from the bad hand fate had dealt him. It was the only proper way a man should live his own life.

He looked over at Domeron. “Thank you. I learned a lot more than I was expecting in this lesson.”

“These are just words, kid.” the man shook his head. “The hard part you still have to do yourself.”

“Indeed. I have made up my mind now.”

“About what?”

“About fighting. I’ve decided it is indeed worth risking your own life for a chance at greatness, so I’m going to dedicate myself to living like you did. I’ll build a mountain of corpses too.”

“That’s not at all what I meant!”

…

Night arrived, and Red returned to his room.

Despite everything he had said to Domeron earlier, his focus right now was still the curse. After all, if he couldn’t survive the New Moon, then no long-term plans would matter. Sitting down, the boy searched for the location of his next special acupoint.

Without being able to control Spiritual Energy, this was an arduous task for any cultivator. Red had learned earlier that in Sects, some stronger cultivators may even guide their disciples in finding these special acupoints. He didn’t have this privilege, though, and even if Hector could do it, he wouldn’t allow the man to search around his veins.

An hour later, and Red was approaching the point of mental exhaustion in his search. Still, he knew he was running low on time, so he kept pushing himself with the help of the monster core. Thankfully, a few minutes later, the boy finally made a breakthrough.

‘I found it!’

He located the position of the last acupoint in his Upper Leg Vein. Exhausted, Red let the Spiritual Energy dissipate within his vein and laid down in bed. Even with this success, he knew his situation was still dire. Right now, he only had five days to open this last acupoint, and the boy didn’t know if this was achievable.

‘I might still need to ask Hector for help after all.’

Right as Red was about to go to sleep, he heard knocking at the door. By this point, he could make a guess as to who would come searching for him this late at night. He knew ignoring this individual was impossible, though, so he got up to open the door.

Allen was crouched beside the wall with a worried expression on his face. Still, he smiled once he saw Red.

The young master spoke in a low and urgent voice. “Quick, we need to go before they notice.”

Red frowned. “Go where?”

“To the town.”

“For what?”

“To investigate those Empire guys.”

“That’s too dangerous.” Red shook his head. “Why do you even want to investigate them?”

“Because, what if they have some evil plan in mind? Everyone else is too scared to look into it.”

“That’s a stupid reason, I won’t do it.” Red turned around to close the door.

“Wait!” Allen stepped forward and stopped the door from closing. “I heard they were carrying very valuable items on them.”

“From whom did you hear that?” The boy’s interest was piqued, but he remained skeptical.

“I heard Domeron talking to Hector about it a few days ago. They might even be carrying cultivation treasures on them.”

‘That’s interesting... And very convenient.’

Still, it might be worth checking. Allen was a liability, but he knew the boy was the only one who would go against Hector's direct orders like this. As long as they didn’t take any risks, it could work out.

“Fine, I’ll go.” Red nodded. “But we’re only investigating from afar. No contact with our targets and no stupid decisions.”

“Stupid decisions?” Allen smiled. “When have I ever made any?’

The youth suddenly felt this might not be a good idea.