Chapter 21: Ruse

There is something sacred about a sunrise.

About the brisk and still morning air. The soft glow of the sun cresting over the horizon. The morning dew on every surface.

Eric found peace in the dawn.

He wasn't ever considered a morning person. He was prone to bouts of insomnia and had enjoyed his share of the nightlife. Quite frankly, his late brother Aaron was the morning person and had taken it upon himself to keep Eric on a steady routine. A task that proved monumental at times.

Eric breathed in the morning mountain air while utilizing the Thunder Emperor's Body cultivation technique. He had returned to his secluded spot in the forest. The ground still bared the impression of his trance-like routine that lead to his initial breakthrough into the Strength Training realm.

'This spot isn't as secluded as it once was...'

Eric sat in lotus in the middle of his perfect circle, attempting to circulate the primal essence in his body in order to further stabilize his foundation and see if he could sense his dantain. The process required peace and concentration, both of which proved to be impossible to achieve at the moment.

'Seriously, these guys need to hurry up and beat it.'

Eric's eyebrows were creased in utter frustration at his secret observers.

The group of people that tailed him into the forest was not as large as it had been the night before last. Eric felt like there were no more than four now as opposed to the previous nine or ten. The decrease suggested that they had determined that Eric wasn't a threat or strong enough to escape any of them.

He was sure he only lost the one's he had because of his dedication to "acting natural".

He had slept the sleep of the dead when he returned, finally waking well after the second sunrise. His fellow young cultivators had seemed to be waiting on pins and needles by the time he had emerged from his room, as they had formed a growing crowd filled with questions around him.

How had he gone from being a mortal to reaching peak Strength Training in a few days?

"I just pushed myself past a blockage by secluding myself and closing out all of my other senses."

That's it? There's no way!

"Hey, just because you don't have any difficulties and don't feel pressured to try harder, doesn't mean that's true for everyone!"

Well... what about the Primeval Boar? How did you pull that off?

"That... eh heh... I ran in circles until it messed up and ran into a rock. It's own tusk did the hard part for me..."

Silence.

Eric found it quite easy to field these questions, since they weren't lies entirely. Yes he had a blockage and had secluded himself in order to push past it, but he couldn't let anyone know about the unique way he went about it. There was no way he could explain away knowing fighting styles of any sort while still claiming to have no memory of his life before his arrival.

'Not to mention the fact that I literally sweat out concentrated primal essence during that breakthrough. Not that I know where the rest of it went...'

Eric had absorbed the primal essence back into his body through his pores while using the Emperor's Body cultivation technique to guide it, but he knew that he had only utilized a fraction of it by the time he had reached peak Strength Training.

The problem was that he could not sense where it had gone.

Eric clenched his fist in frustration.

He had wanted to find some time to himself before answering chief Qianggong Zhufu Feng's summons he had received the night before. But the feeling of unseen eyes following him was making it impossible for him to focus.

'Well. No use stressing about what I can't change.'

Eric relaxed his fist and let out a deep sigh before opening his eyes.

'Time to put on a show.'

Eric stood up suddenly and could feel the eyes of his stalkers focus even harder on him as he began to pace in a circle.

"Damn it! Why can't I step into Flesh Training!"

He grabbed his head and leaned back to look at the canopy of trees above him, all while gradually increasing his walking speed.

"First I can't make a breakthrough, then I mess up my foundation by growing too fast..."

Eric stopped suddenly and glanced down at his perfectly glowing red cloud badge before ripping it off of his robe and throwing it at a tree.

"Cheap trash! You can fool everyone else but you can't fool me! Gah! It's all your fault for bringing so much attention my way!"

Eric began pacing in his circle even faster than before. His arms had seemed to grow minds of their own as they waved around wildly during his rant against the innocent inanimate object.

"Now everyone thinks I'm some kind if prodigy or demon and I'm stuck acting the part! Not to mention Pen Yushui! No one would believe that big idiot simply slipped when I tried to stop him and now I look like some type of expert!"

Eric ran his hands down his face, pulling the skin tight and presenting a face of pure despair.

"Like it wasn't bad enough that the friggin' Primeval Boar almost ate me mid cultivation, it had to go and off itself in the process! I guess I should've left it there and got some help... but it was perfectly good meat! How else would I be able to repay these people?"

Eric walked to the middle of his circle and squat down before he began mumbling under his breath. His finger began pointlessly poking at the flattened earth.

"I'm a fraud... and it's not long before they all catch on... maybe they'll kick me out and make me live with the mortals? It's not like I have a family to return to... or do I?"

He began rocking back and forth while still in a squatting position, looking every bit as pathetic as one could imagine.

"... How do I not even know that? It's bad enough that I look so different... but I can't even remember the face of my parents. Maybe I should just leave... it's not like I'll be missed. That's probably why the villagers didn't throw me a party when I came back..."

Eric's ranting went on for about an hour before he abruptly stood up... and began shouting again.

"Grrr... And now the chief wants to see little ol' me?! Why? Because he thinks I'm actually talented! Why wouldn't he after giving me that defective scroll? All those redactions... He knew he was setting me up! And now that I've stumbled into a successful breakthrough, he's probably gonna be all like, 'I'm impressed that you were able to meet my challenge head on! Now I have another task for you before I provide you with the next scroll.' And there's no way it won't be even more difficult! Ahhhhhhhh! I have no choi- wait. What time is it?"

Eric looked at the sun and a sudden realization seemed to dawn on his face before he began running towards the village.

Only for him to run back and pick up his cloud badge before running yet again.

...

Eric reached the tree line that bordered the village and stopped to compose himself before emerging. No trace of the blubbering mess from moments before remained.

'Only two left, huh?'

Eric's relaxed expression was entirely genuine. That act of his was beyond embarrassing but what mattered to him was the result.

'Oh? Only one now?'

That stalker was probably exasperated at Eric's sudden change from a bumbling idiot in private to his cool and collected public persona. If everything worked out the way he planned, whoever was keeping an eye on him would report back that he was a simpleton that was trying to not fall off a tiger he had been thrown on.

Eric began smiling just as the first villagers came in to view. He greeted them all kindly and made sure to utilize the chief's summons as an excuse to continue moving.

There was a slight amount of urgency in Eric's pace. He was legitimately almost late, after all.

Eric made his way to the river and turned left towards the largest building in the whole village. He found himself still impressed by the bridge like structure of the river spanning residence.

He ascended the stairs and awaited the guards approval before entering.

'Seems things are vastly different when Ying Yue isn't around. Makes sense.'

Eric was escorted down a much more direct path than his previous visit before entering the main hall.

'Wow.'

The Thunder clan's chief, Qianggong Zhufu Feng, was sitting upon a raised dias while dressed in very fine robes. But that was not what shocked Eric. What surprised him was the visual marvel of the waterfall behind the chief.

The entire back wall was open, floor to ceiling, to the water fall behind it. The sight contrasted with the minimalist aesthetic that dominated the Thunder clan. The main hall was warmly lit and oddly quiet, despite the violent cascade directly behind the chief.

Chief Qianggong Zhufu Feng's deep voice rang out as he said, "Ah! Eric, my boy. It is good to see you again."

Eric approached the chief and bowed at the waist before presenting the Thunder Emperor's Body cultivation technique scroll.

"It's great to see you as well, chief Qianggong Zhufu Feng. I have returned the Thunder Emperor's Body scroll, I am eternally grateful for your grace in allowing me to use it."

The middle aged man waved his hand dismissively, "Please, feel free to keep it. No one else can decipher it anyway. More importantly, Chief Feng will suffice, young Eric."

Eric placed the scroll back within his robes.

"Yes, Chief Feng. Now may I ask, if not for the return of the scroll, what have I been summoned for?"

Eric instantly felt regret as the the chief began speaking.

Chief Feng began by saying, "I'm impressed that you were able to meet my challenge head on!"

'Oh no. Don't tell me..."

The chief continued, "Now I have another task for you before I provide you with the next scroll."

'... I knew it.'