Misinformation

The words of the woman called Seraphine stuck with me as I limped home. After looking for Old Man Karu to no avail, I left him to his fate. Even if he got injured, I was sure there were other ways to help him in this life.

Although I couldn't save Old Man Karu as soon as I wanted, something else had come from this and a new avenue of the future opened for me. 

'Three years…Three years to join the Blue Sky Academy' I thought. 

The woman seemed honorable enough. Even now, I walk with a special pouch, taken from the corpse she gifted me, tied to my inner thigh. Unfortunately, the pouch requires special perception to use. The perception that I could only obtain at the third stage of the martial arts realm according to Seraphine.

 I sat in my room as the city was in turmoil. The auction had forced powers to move, seizing treasures under the guise of settling old scores. But no one dared to move against the Thorne manor. Within our halls, Bernard Ubar walked. Bernard is a man of strength in his own right. And as long as they gave up on the Yin Plasma Bead, no one would be pressed enough to attack the manor.

I had forsaken a lot of things in my life. I was full of misguided notions and false truths. The longer I lived this life for the second time, the more I realized there was more to this world than I knew. For starters, martial arts was more than an art of strength. It was something that couldn't be controlled by wealth or status.

I never practiced martial arts. I believed as long as I could pay, all martial artists would heed my will. I had this belief until the day the hired guards betrayed my house. When my wealth could not persuade them, I had no strength to defend myself or protect my House. I survived that day by heaven's will alone.

Looking at the Nine Turn Sow Thistle, I recalled the stories of Cannis Reave. Looking to imitate the medicinal bath of the martial arts schools, he foraged for many herbs, hoping to strengthen his body and prolong his life. 

I need that same strength. I won't be foolish to think that I can change the future with mortal hands. If these hands could crush stone, protecting the future could be possible.

Suddenly a knock at the door broke the silence and Shelly came in with a large basin of boiling water. This was the strength of a martial artist. Shelly carried the hundred-pound basin filled to the brim with sixty-five gallons of water.

"Little lord, I will protect you," she said.

"What of my parents?" I asked

"They are occupied with other matters." Shelly replied, " They'll speak to you at breakfast about what comes next."

I hummed in agreement and she turned away to leave without a word. I then began to prepare the Nine Turn Sow Thistle. Crushing the herb to a powder and releasing the energy within was a basic medicinal technique. Pouring the powder into the bath, I waited as the stream turned lilac and a light fragrance filled the room.

In the water, a searing pain filled the body. The sheer heat of the penetrated energy gave me the feeling of iron in the forage. But this was common amongst those who wished to walk the martial path.

In the past, the initial pain of the first two stages of the martial arts realm deterred me from ever pursuing martial arts. 

Still, with the future that awaited me, I clenched my fist and jaw, biting down on the pain and embracing it. If I couldn't handle this bath, I was unfit to see the sunrise as the future had only hardships waiting for me.

————————————

-Thorne Guest House-

The Ubar family deliberated in the guest house. Bernard sipped ale from his cup as Luna brushed her daughter's hair.

"What do you think of him?" Bernard asked.

"I think…it won't be too bad," said Annalisa, "But he seems to know more about the city than things that matter."

"Ahh, the Kent's?" her father questioned.

"Yes, does he not know who he is?" she asked.

"He will in time. For now, Darius and I have settled on terms. You will stay with the Thorne family until the academy selections." 

"What!?" she exclaimed.

Though she had agreed to Darius' terms to stay a year, any longer felt unbearable.

Luna Ubar popped her daughter's arm and hissed, "Lower your voice!"

"Let's get something clear, Annalisa, your grandfather is missing. The Ubar courtyard in the Blue Sky Academy will be lost if another Ubar doesn't rise to the occasion in the next academy selections. All the while, your talentless cousins are happy in mediocrity and scheme with the Qian Dynasty to annex the Blue Sky Kingdom." Bernard explained, " All of which is fine. The Kingdom is merely an asset of the academy and as long as we can get in, none of this matters. But first, we need to survive the affairs at home. When the time comes, you will take all of us away from this."

"What of the Thornes?" Annalisa asked with a sigh.

"What of them? Do you really think that boy has martial talent? Let me tell you something. If Marie Kent can't use the Nemean armor to master the Kent's Golden Monarch Rhyme, then we will leave them behind."

"Your mother is harsh, but she speaks the truth. The world is cruel and it's better to be a disciple of the Blue Sky Academy than a Nobel of the Blue Sky Kingdom when the Qian Dynasty comes." Bernard added.

Annalisa's shoulders slumped as she thought about the short time she spent with Darius II. He seemed to be anything but ordinary and he was rather interesting to her.

She had been raised to pass the blue sky selection exams. Marriage to the Thorne family was merely a mortal scheme that her father enacted which meant nothing the moment the news of her grandfather's disappearance was received along with word of the Daqian's plans.

Annalisa then silently hoped that Darius II would succeed in his attempts this evening. The Nine Turn Sow Thistle, as far she could gather, was similar to the Black Elephant Elixir and used to help strengthen the body. 

Still, the first two stages of the martial arts realm require a crude infusion of temper. One could condition the body through exercise, but the results were many times slower. And only the most determined people would choose to use elixirs and herbs before the third stage of martial arts. Only at the third stage can the body withstand the pain and true cultivation begins.

In the fourth stage, Flesh and muscle undergo the trial of fire and forage. In the fifth stage, the tendons are tempered. The sixth stage is the start of organ refinement. The blood is invigorated during the seventh stage. The eighth stage consists of bone forging and the ninth, is channel construction. The tenth stage is smelting the core or dantian as it is called in the Far East. Finally, the marrow is tempered in the eleventh stage and once the mortal toxin is expelled and the sound of tides emerges Aether flows through channels and settles in the core signaling the twelfth and final stage of the martial arts realm.

Annalisa stood up and looked off into the distance.

"I'm going for a walk," she said.

—————————————-

Thorne Manor- Master Chambers

"To think this thing would show up here," said Darius I, examining the Nemean Armour.

"Mmm. The Kents will strike overtly after tonight. Can we trust Lord Ubar?" Marie asked.

"Of course. He's like my brother. With his father's status, he'll take us away once Annalisa attends the Blue Sky academy exams." Darius I replied.

"That's in three years Darius. A lot can happen in three years." Said Marie, " Hell, just listen to the city tonight."

Darius I sighed.

" Look, the Kent's have already sided with the Qian Dynasty. I can speak with the Broken Spear gang to give us cover for a while. They can crack down on the roads and keep track of those coming and going for a tax break."

"The real question is what will you do?" Darius I asked.

Marie didn't answer. She remained silent, staring at the Nemean Armor.

"Why do you think Darius suddenly has an interest in things of the martial world?" she asked, "Isn't his motto, buy the world and watch the gods bow?"

Darius I laughed. 

"My love, it was merely a play that he was fond of. Perhaps he's discovered something that has shifted his favor to the martial realm. Better a time than any. I mean he lost five years, but he's still young enough to excel." Darius I explained.

"Mmm. I never wanted him in my family mess. I feel bad having brought you into it." she admitted, finally looking into his eyes, "You're a better man than many…"

"Stop!" Darius I rushed to her side, and held her, "He was my brother, and you, my best friend. And now Darius is the son that I choose. That kid will grow into a fine young man. Even better than I or Killian."

-—————————————-

I woke to the chill of the morning air as I lay bare as the day I was born in the empty basin. It seemed all the water had evaporated. As the Nine Turn Sow Thistle saturated my body, healing, purifying, and strengthening my body, the heat that came from me was harrowing.

But I was thankful as I felt lighter and stronger than I had ever been. I began to wonder if this is how martial artists feel all of the time. 

After dressing, I left the room to find Shelly standing guard and surprisingly, Annalisa at her side.

"Little lord…you… how do you feel?" Shelly asked.

" Your air is much cleaner." Annalisa added, " You've entered the first stage."

"Fantastic, " I replied, " tell my parents that I have business in the city. I'll be going out for a while."

Shelly gave a bow of understanding and I ventured off. By the time I looked back, she was already gone.

"Why are you here?" I asked Annalisa.

"I.." she stammered, "I went for a walk and saw Shelly. Then I couldn't leave…"

"That's rather vague of you. Were you worried?" 

"Worried?" she chuckled oddly, "What is there to be worried about? I hear you like to run the street all day and night. As I do not wish to be with my parents, I figured you could show me a bit more of the city."

"Long-winded," I shook my head and didn't say anything else.

On my way to the main gate of the estate, I pondered on what I should do next. There was an ambush awaiting the Ubars, and if my memory serves correctly, Hellfiend's ships will begin to disappear at sea. Small ships at first. Then the bigger ones will vanish only to discover a pirate crew had developed off the coast on Typhoon Isle.

'First, I should use the city to warn the Ubars. Then I'll go visit that old grouch and see if I can learn a few moves from him. It's best to keep a low profile and get a grasp of what's happening.'

It wasn't long before I was exploring the stalls and the new wares that had been added. There weren't many as the city was still recovering from the bloodbath that happened the night before.

Still, I couldn't do much with Annalisa at my side. So I could only sacrifice a day. Annalisa and I did some light shopping. She was a headstrong young lady and blocked my every turn to woo her. 

Any and everything to her liking was bought with her own money for herself. I didn't have a problem with this and allowed myself to be drugged around for a few hours in the morning. 

When noon came, It was past time to head home. I had to see my parents at least once a day. But Annalisa had plans of her own as she stopped us in front of the auction house. 

Sometime later, we browsed through the common store, and my interest couldn't be hidden as the shopkeeper approached me discreetly. 

Once a merchant knew of your interest and how deep your pockets went, they would never stop to use your interests to take your money. The shopkeeper did just that. But when I showed disinterest in bombs and poison, a devilish smirk appeared and he pulled three manuals from thin air.

Looking at his waist, I notice the special pouch similar to the one I looted.

'Storage pouches…they really are convenient.' I sighed internally.

"Little Thorne…" he whispered, " These are recently pawned, most likely from a corpse from last night's bloodbath."

"That means a discount," I said

"Absolutely." he chuckled, "And I saved them just for you. The sun and moon hands, Flesh and Bone Arts, and 99 toxin codex of the datura house."

"Datura House?" I asked.

"Mmmm," he moved closer to me.

"Datura house, an assassin group in Murim." he explained, "How about it, three manuals, twenty plates."

I frowned. This damn shopkeeper was definitely up to his old tricks. Then I had a rather cunning thought of my own. It pays to know your opponent.

"How about I sell you information in exchange?" I raised a brow and the shopkeeper hesitated.

"It depends.."

"Assassination," I added.

"Who?" he asked, chomping at the bits.

"Lord of a county. You want more, hand over the manuals."

The gears in his head began to turn. He then held out the manuals and I thumbed through them before giving him a nod and tucking them away.

"I hear a group of bandits are out killing indiscriminately but they aren't moving on. Word has it that a man is with them."

"Who?"

"No one knows. But the talk in the tavern is that he's like a puppet master. He doesn't take any of the loot. He's waiting for something."

I leaned into the shopkeeper, "Some say he's just practicing martial arts. A flaming talon skill. But I know, for certain, that he purchased tier two Soul ignition dust from old man Gu."

"Soul..."

"Shhh." I covered his mouth. "You know that works best for stage 9 and higher martial artists. So, is it worth three manuals?"

"Absolutely, little Thorne." he smirked, "You know his target, ehh?"

"You don't have enough to purchase that information." I backed away.

"Give me some time. Ten days. Keep the information to yourself for ten days and I'll have something worth your knowledge." he said.

"We'll see."