Purification

He smiled at her waiting for the reaction and got it in the end, it's just he didn't expect this reaction in the slightest.

"What's a Ranker?", she asked with a blank face.

"Do I have to explain from there... Oh well.", he patiently continued to explain.

"A Ranker is someone on the Generational List, this is a list compiled by a powerful old woman which represents the strongest of the young generation in Continent Six, of course, that's not that List I would like you to reach the top of, I want you to become a Ranker on the Fifth Minor Generational List."

"What's the difference?"

"Do I have to explain this too...? The Fifth Minor Generational List is the list compiled for the most powerful of the younger generation in Fifth Alliance City, I just want you to become the most powerful in this city in under a year."

Ireya heard his words and understood the difficulty of his condition, "And what happens if I don't make it?"

"Well...", his originally friendly face turned horrid within a millisecond, the originally beautiful scenery turned into a bloody battlefield with blood everywhere, "I'll just end you." His crushing pressure continued for 10 seconds, in Ireya's eyes the man looked to be walking towards her step by step. And with each step, a sword would pierce through her ripping her body into pieces.

The man slowly retracted his energy.

Her heart beat rapidly under his pressure, it was nothing like she had seen before. Her memories went back to when she was still 14 years old, they had come across a mountain and began climbing it, but the moment they stepped on it the entire world seemed to shake.

The 'mountain' under them then slowly stood up and looked down at them like tiny ants, it blew them away within less than a second with its powerful pressure sending them flying miles into the distance. It dropped them down softly and stopped them from dying, but even the pressure from that beast was nothing like this young man.

She clenched her fist, "Why are you so cruel.", she stared at him in the eyes fearlessly even though her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"Cruel?", he shook his head, "We're meant to kill anyone who has exceeded Grade Ten, every time we accepted one in the past they were a traitor. From then on a law was passed stating it was riskier to let them live than to kill them off, and so all must be killed. If it was anyone else they would have killed you already, I'm not cruel in the slightest."

Her heart beat crazily as she listened to him, Raya's words struck a chord in her heart at this moment. She had to become stronger to not feel this useless in front of true strength.

The young man understood how she felt at this moment but he didn't feel the slightest pity, to him this was a massive risk. He was 99% sure she was safe, but there was still that 1% pestering him in the back of his mind, she just felt off but safe at the same time.

He threw a badge at her and some robes, "Put them on and drop your blood on this badge to bind it, from now on you shall live in Swift Sword Pavilion. The number of Oceanic Points you have is recorded on this badge, the people at Swift Sword Pavilion will show you the rest, you can go now."

He then formed a mist around her to protect her privacy, she quickly put them on, the robe was plain grey and the badge a small red dragon token.

Once she was done the mist blew through her then naturally disappeared revealing an empty field, the man was gone alongside the garden. She then looked down at herself and found that her body had been washed.

'Was none of that real?', the thought crossed her mind but she had to ignore it, she didn't know how powerful the number one Ranker was but she had to beat them in less than a year.

She turned around and walked down the hill, once she reached the bottom she found a woman waiting at the bottom.

"Hey!, the woman waved her over.

"Raya! What are you doing here?", Ireya jogged over and met Raya.

"I live in Swift Sword Pavilion too, I'm the one who has to show you around.", she puffed out her chest as if she was above Ireya, her breasts almost breaking out of her clothes.

Ireya poked them back until she fixed Raya's posture, "What are you doin-"

"Revenge.", she smiled back at Raya.

Raya then remembered when she had constantly fixed Ireya's posture and began laughing, "You still hold that against me?"

Ireya smirked at her, "I always will."

"Let me take you to where we will be staying."

"Okay, what happened to your noble badge by the way?"

"I thought you'd never ask me why I had one, my dad just forged a fake one so we could easily get into the city.", she had a smug look on her face as she spoke.

"Lucky."

---

They arrived before a small wooden building in the middle of an isolated region of the mountain, they entered only to be greeted by no one.

"Where's everyone?", Ireya asked.

"No one lives here except the Pavilion Leader, most people in this continent use Spears Remember? All of them would go to either the Mortal, Earthly, and Heavenly Spear Pavilions"

"So where is the Pavilion Leader?"

Raya shrugged, "No clue. The first room to the right is mine and the second room to the right is yours."

The two separated briefly allowed Ireya a chance to settle into her new room, seeing a bed for the first time in ages after sleeping on the dirty forest floors for the past four years brought immeasurable joy to her heart, but also immeasurable pain knowing that she wouldn't be able to go home.

She had shrugged it off in front of everyone but now that she was alone in her room tears were threatening to burst through her eyes, "No, I have to stay strong."

She squeezed her eyes shut until they disappeared, the first thing she did was jump into the bed and relax. She enjoyed the feeling of sinking into a mattress, afterward, she took out a mat and laid it down in the middle of the room. She sat down and prepared to continue purifying her body.

Half an hour later she was mentally prepared to begin, the Energy Mist within her took the shape of a Sovereign's Sword just like the manual instructed and pierced into her right forearm, she dug into her flesh and cut out the toxins bit by bit. Under immense pain, she finally completed her forearm.

Without stopping she moved onto her upper arm, after many many hours of suffering she partially completed it. Opening her eyes she saw that night had already arrived and she was starving, in these hours she had reached 10% into Ablution, once she completed her right arm she would be 15% complete.

Both arms equaled 30%, both legs equaled another 30%, torso and head another 30% and finally, the heart and brain made up the last 10%. The heart and brain were also the most dangerous and were the reason most people never broke through the Ablution Realm.

Sweat had covered her body, seeing how dirty she was again she took her clothes off and dropped them down onto the ground and entered the bathroom. She got into the bath and slowly melted into it, 'So nice...'

15 minutes later she was finished, getting out of the bath she found that her clothes were just as clean as before. "Do these things not get dirty?", she was curious but didn't bother questioning it, if they didn't get dirty then it was easier for her.

Knock Knock.

Opening the door she saw that Raya was standing her with her hair still wet, "Did you have a shower?", Ireya asked.

"Why ask if you know I did?", she said while walking in and sitting down on the bed.

She took out some pre-cooked food from her spatial ring, "Wanna eat?"

Ireya nodded with passion and took a few portions from her.

After swallowing her first mouthful Ireya spoke, "I got in but under a condition from some man."

"Condition?", Raya was worried after hearing this. She had expected this to happen but trusted what her dad had told her before she left so she hadn't been too worried before, but hearing this come from Ireya she knew it had to be bad. 'Usually, she doesn't complain.'

"That's right.", she took another bite, "I have to get first on the Minor Generational List within under a year."

Nom Nom.

She continued eating.

Silence.

"What's wrong Raya?", she looked at Raya and saw her frozen facial features, she shook her up, down, left and right but found no reaction and gave up.

Suddenly life came back to her, "What do you mean 'what's wrong'! Everything's wrong!"

"It's just first place."

"I can't argue with this bitch...", Raya muttered as she watched Ireya continue eating.

"Who's the bitch?", Ireya asked.

"YOU!", Raya picked her up and shook her up, down, left, and right.

"It's not 'just first place', you have to reach the peak Inhibition Realm by the end of one year!"

Nom Nom.

"Sigh... Can you do it?", Raya asked seriously.

Ireya also responded seriously, "Of course I can, my cultivation speed has increased by a lot now that I've reached Ablution. I'm already 10% into Ablution after just a few hours."

Raya dropped down onto the ground in a haze, "And here I thought I was already underestimating her..."

She then looked at her, "Do you know how long it took for me to reach 10% Ablution?"

Ireya shook her head.

Raya stared at her, "A year,"