Chapter One Hundred And Seventy Six - Corvus gives a lecture in the wild

There are many disappointments in life, such as how the scent of donuts can be so worthy of kowtow, but the actual flavour is just... meh. How a parent spent time, money and effort buying their precious darling the latest in must have toys, just to see a golden smile upon Christmas Day, only for said precious darling to prefer the box. How the idol you placed upon a pedestal was reported to have farted loudly in a public place and you suddenly come to realise that they are actually human to...

And how all of a certain sister and brotherhood known to all by words beginning with the letter 'fu' (ふ) would be disappointed that Jin Li did not immediately practice the lessons in a certain small bamboo book.

"Teacher," Sun whispered to his Master, while taking sneaky glances back at a frozen-faced roommate, "I think that there is something wrong with Jin Li!"

Sun happened to be much like a person who'd suffered the third example of disappointment, having briefly idolised Jin Li, a youth his own age but exceptionally talented, tall and handsome. His idolisation had come to an end after a protracted period of having his meals vanish into that bottomless pit of a man as well as having his dreams of adventures and heroism shattered as Jin Li was not the sort to bother with things that might cut into his time practicing Martial Arts (or bothering that alchemist of his). After the dust had settled, while Sun still thought of Jin Li more than a good brother (he didn't like his actual brothers), the boy was no longer so sticky.

Corvus pouted once more that his adorable apprentice used his title, rather than call him Big Brother like he'd suggested recently. Just to mentioned, Sun's idol worship of him was destroyed really quickly. One really can't judge a man by their achievements alone!

As the older man was technically considered a Teacher at the Ascending Mountain Institute, he had to perform a quota of duties. One of those duties was to teach classes or lectures. Corvus always found such responsibilities boring in the long term, hence why he'd absconded thirty years ago and vanished without a trace. He was a bit of a dabbler when it came to secondary subjects, what with having forged swords, branded enchantments on weapons and armour and having lead troops into battle a couple of times in the past five centuries or so, thus he was not qualified to teach such subjects. Thus, he usually winged it and taught whatever happened to occur to him over breakfast. Surprisingly or no, it tended to make his lessons popular as students never knew what to expect until they arrived at his class.

Of course, wherever there is light, there is shadow so even if there are good times, there are also bad ones. This one incurred mixed reviews as Corvus had decided to move the whole class to the wild forests in the mountains. A few young masters were inwardly complaining about the heat, for this autumn season had not long begun and the summer sun still lingered in the sky and there were no maids to fan them. And a couple of young maidens were bitterly worried about the smallest amounts of sun crisping their pale skins dark. Have to say, these students were mostly First Years, their seniors looked down on them with contempt. They were Martial Artists! What sort of Martial Artist hid in doors because of the weather!?

Admittedly, those seniors had their own concerns; Corvus had lead them out here as a pack of Dire Fox Bears had moved here and as everyone knew, such were not easy to deal with. Ordinarily, only those in the top fifty of the Standings (all of whom were naturally part of the inner school) would come to evaluate the pack, to see if they were a threat due to numbers or their proximity to the school buildings. But their Teacher decided it would be a better idea for their class to do this?

"Fox bears," Corvus began lecturing upon arrival to the outskirts of the creatures territory, "are related to the Vulpes family rather than the Ursidae, although their size and shape indicate otherwise. While they are considered territorial, they won't necessarily defend their territory if it is threatened; if they consider their opponent as too tough for them to deal with, they'll abandon their land and move elsewhere. For Dire Fox Bears to move on, their opponent must have been one hell of a dangerous mother... cough... anyway, moving on.

"Bear or Fox, either way, these beasts can climb trees and can easily scent encroachers, so be careful to stand downwind. If they find you, hightail it to this spot; they seldom chase prey beyond their borders. Of course, there is no hard and fast rule about this, so... anyway, I'll be on hand to rescue anyone who might fall into trouble. Just tear this talisman in two and I'll be right with you!"

"Teacher... are you sure this is a good idea?" One of the more sensible seniors asked him out of ear shot of the First Years. He didn't want to terrify them into a panic after all.

"Of course it is! What's the worse that can happen?"

Less than thirty minutes later, while holding his adorable student in his arms, he regretted those words.

He'd grouped the students together, ensuring at least one or two seniors were with every first year, before sending them on their way. This included the still frozen-faced Jin Li.

As his apprentice, Sun had naturally followed Corvus into the Dire Fox Bear's territory. They had been downwind as they witnessed a family group outside their cave. Despite being over 800 pounds of sheer bulk, the two orange-furred parents indulging their cub pair were kind of cute. Elsewhere in this territory, there would be other such family groups; the collective a little like a primitive village, just with beasts instead of peasants. The pair were about to leave, when the talisman on Corvus' waist had flashed indicating a talisman had been torn.

Corvus had needed to leave quickly, just didn't want to abandon Sun, but knew full well the boy could not keep up with his speed. It would be dangerous to the student who needed his help and to Sun himself. So he had indicated that Sun should leave the territory for now. Sun had agreed and begun to journey back, while Corvus flashed towards the person requiring aid.

Who knew that a Dire Fox Bear boar happened to be hunting not too far from the border at that point and caught wind of Sun's scent. This boar was young, newly turned out of his parental unit and eager to prove himself to catch the attention of the single sows. Full of testosterone and with impulse temper, the beast ignored the boundaries of territory and began to hunt the agile boy. Plants were crushed beneath his feet, his bulk broke saplings with ease and his claws tore into the bark of thicker trees as it climbed with speed up a tree in chase. He even dared to copy the leap of the boy who tried to escape using his wind ability to jump a gap no ordinary Cultivator of low level would dream to.

The Fox bear leap was impressive, just not quite good enough for although he caught the branch beneath Sun's feet, it was without a strong grip. Gravity took hold in its cruel way and the height in which the Fox bear would fall was not light. Thus in a desperate attempt for traction, the bear lashed out with his claws, catching the boy, who relaxed for a brief moment believing the bear was doomed, unawares and those claws bit into the flesh of Sun's leg before the bear finally succumbed to fate.

Sun was no longer stable where he stood, the branch flexing back and forth due to the weight of the bear and then the loss of it. The pain burned through his calf muscles making him even less able and he, too began the descent to the ground below. He pushed at the air, gritting his teeth against the agony, trying not to lose focus nor concentration as he fought to save his life. Thus his end would not be the ground, as was the Fox Bear's, but the landing was still rough and bruising.

His last action before falling unconscious was to tear the paper talisman on his waist.