Forward Momentum

Feeling the new power coursing through his body, Hong Zhao marveled at the change. It felt as if he had doubled his strength since he had hit the ninth star student rank. Though he was nine years old, he had entered the second stage of cultivation, something that was near impossible to do even when cultivation could bring those past the student realm without concern. By many standards, he would be considered a genius at his age, yet he knew better. It was mostly because of Lan that he had gotten so far, but what was wrong with that? Li Wuhan and Li Wei were only a little behind him in terms of power, and they were around the same age as him. Even though he had been given much by fate and a solid relationship with a senior cultivator, he had given just as much.

Hong Zhao clenched a fist and felt the muscle rippling underneath his skin. If he were still on earth, many would be concerned that he spent too much time on his body and not enough on fun. Yet, he smiled at the thought of picking up those people's cars and stacking them on top of each other. In some sense, he felt like he was strong enough to do it. "If my power could increase this much with just the disciple rank, what could an increase to the warrior rank look like?"

Hong Zhao activated vortex thrust and jumped into the trees above. As he did, he misjudged his power and went through the barrier between tree and sky. He looked down in amazement as he saw the trees as little more than toys below. When he reached as high as he could jump, he stayed in mid air for a moment and looked around the Yuan Continent in awe. He could see the endless sea of trees beneath him reach out to the horizon. If he strained his eyes, or used eagle vision, he would see the few villages that lined the forest, including Rantori Village. He knew that Li Wen had to be training hard to prepare for the invasion that was no longer likely to happen for the next half a year to a year. He knew at that moment, it was time to go home.

Hong Zhao dropped back down to a large branch and shot forth in the direction of the house he had built. Jumping from branch to branch, he noticed that he had to expend less energy than he would normally to traverse the wood-line in such a manner, it was either that, or he had just gotten strong enough that the same level of energy no longer fatigued him.

The endless green ahead of him broke off to show the view of the wall which protected his house and land that lay within. As he reached closer, he saw a black blur of motion. As he did, he stopped in his tracks and smiled. "Good to see you again, Shadow."

"Master." Shadow stood next to him on the same branch. "You have gotten stronger again."

"I'm still not as strong as you, my friend. But I'm sure I could at least give you a run for your money."

"Yes, Master. I'm sure you could." Shadow smiled lazily as he took off back to the house.

"Why does it feel like he was sarcastic?" Hong Zhao stared after the shadow panther. "Did he just make a joke?" He shook his head slightly before taking off after the magical beast. "He must be spending too much time with me, that's all."

"If I spent too much time with you, I would most likely start talking to myself as well, Master." Shadow's voice projected into Hong Zhao's ears, which immediately turned red.

"Either that, or you would at least learn the value of privacy." He muttered to himself as he jumped to the forest floor and walked through the gate. Instead of going to the house, he went to the shower. It had been a long day, and he knew he had to be drenched in the cultivator's blood. The black qi blocking uniform may not stain red easily, but it did wreak of blood after so many kills.

He stripped off the clothes and threw them aside. Taking the block away from the bucket, he doused himself in the cold water. "I need to ask Lan for a flame technique so I can warm the water." He complained as he got goose bumps.

Finishing with the shower, Hong Zhao took out a new gold embroidered black outfit for village wear and put it on. He tied his hair back in a ponytail and walked back to the house to wait for the Li siblings. As soon as they arrived, he would make his way back to Rantori Village.

For as much as he trained, he was quite curious to see how Li Wen and Huang Ji fared with their own training. If it weren't for the looming threat of the City Lord, he felt that they most likely wouldn't mind a leisurely pace with their cultivation, considering they hadn't had the chance to excel in it since they had reached the ninth star student level. Once they reached disciple, it must have been exciting to say the least to finally be able to move forward.

If he could somehow encourage the whole village to take such strides in their own cultivation, or at least follow his guidance, then they might actually stand a chance against Yuan City. He would have to come up with a way to gain the approval of the village later. It would be important to his plans if he could ensure a united front.

As he thought of what he might do in order to achieve such plans, he sensed the qi from two ninth star student ranked cultivators land outside the house and heard the familiar banter of his friends. Hong Zhao smiled as he got up from the table he was sitting at and went to the door. It was finally time for some forward momentum.