The Sunfield Pyraflower

After making it through the portal, Shui found himself in an open space in a forest. Although the forest didn't look special to the common person, any cultivator would feel refreshed the moment they entered it.

'Natural energy, huh? It's rather sparse though.'

From Shui's experiences, the natural energy that was in this place was much less than the amount that was in the Primordial Library or the Thief God's inheritance space, but it was still a luxury for the core disciples.

"Next I guess I should-"

Right as Shui planned on making his move, he sensed new-born spirits approaching. And it wasn't just one or two of these tiny balls of light, but tens of them. At first Shui was bewildered by their appearance, but then he realised that there were several reasons why they might be attracted to him.

'It could be my divine aura, martial intent, Sage Eyes, or something I didn't even think about. Having them close by gives a pleasant feeling but this is too conspicuous.'

Besides being with Kate, the only reason Shui had for staying in Storm Court was to find any hidden opportunities, and he might even decide to steal the spirit drops in the sect if he wasn't satisfied by his search. Therefore, Shui didn't plan on showing off his talents anymore unless it would help him gain tangible benefits. Otherwise he might end up with responsibilities and expectations forced upon him.

In order to hide his presence from the spirits Shui put on his 'Hide' cloak, but while majority lost track of him and faded, a few still stayed in his vicinity. Shui clicked his tongue at this before deciding to compromise and head to the spot that the man told him about.

'I really need to hurry up and finish the Perception Chapter so that I can move on to Stealth.'

While this event was called the first chance for new core disciples to show off their talents, only the disciples who had already entered the Spirit Nest many times would know where the best treasures were, therefore, it was also a test to see their connections.

After passing through the double door they would be randomly transported throughout the Spirit Nest, but due to the efforts of previous core disciples, maps had been created that could be used to traverse the space. Using the map he got from that man, Shui made his way to the spot marked with an 'x'.

The Spirit Nest was a space detached from the sect so it was possible to see a light blue sun in the sky, and there would be a yellow moon at night. On the first of three nights inside the Spirit Nest, Rio set up camp on a cliff above a strange lake. This lake seemed calm on the surface, but several figures could be seen circling around the red flower that was at the centre of the lake. These figures were not of evolved beasts but of a certain type of faery.

Faeries, unlike spirits, had bodies of flesh and blood and could reproduce. Though they had an inherently peaceful disposition, any faery which ate raw meat would be overcome by predatory urges and may even resort to cannibalism. Once a faery became like this then there was no hope for it, and even its descendants would be born the same as it. This type of faery was called a gremlin.

"Tch, too many fishermen."

As Rio watched the lake he noticed the presence of other competitors aiming for the sunfield pyraflower that was at the centre of the lake. It was no surprise since this mutated flora would be greatly beneficial to anyone below Sky Realm. The temptation of obtaining a herb like this made them resolved to fight against someone in the Earth Realm like Rio for it.

'I can beat any of them 1-on-1, but with this number it'll be hard to stop all of them from snatching it. I'll have to wait until he gets here.'

Rio predicted that this situation would happen, so he had called for a competent helper. Once that helper arrived he planned to make his move and send away all of these greedy eyes.

"For now I guess I'll just-"

Rio puts his arms over his head while stretching, but had to stop midway when he noticed something happening to the flower. Before, it stayed still as a small bud, but while bathing in the moonlight it started to grow.

'Shit, this is too soon!'

Rio expected the flower to bloom the next day so he could have time to dismiss the robbers with his partner, but now he had no choice but to do it by himself. Before anyone else could take action, Rio stepped on a flying sword and hovered above the flower.

"Come at me!"

Once he declared his intent, seven men and women at the peak of Soul Realm revealed themselves and fired a multitude of spells at him. It was to the extent that Rio's visage couldn't be seen, but none of his attackers were naïve enough to think this would be enough to stop him. After all, the difference between the Soul Realm and the Earth Realm wasn't something that could be overcome with just quantity.

Using their spells to occupy him, one person from each of three groups rushed towards the lake. However, two were struck in the back by bolts of fire while the last was blown away from the sunfield pyraflower by a harsh wind. There were dangerous creatures inside the lake, but Rio figured that the two he knocked into it would be able to handle themselves so he shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze to the hawks waiting to swoop in and steal his treasure.

Seeing how Rio could stop the opportunistic thieves and remain unharmed after their barrage, the five that remained looked at each other and silently agreed to take care of Rio first. Though they knew they couldn't defeat him on their own, geniuses with much pride such as themselves were obviously not afraid to attack him together.

'Tch, they're serious.'

In a straightforward match Rio didn't think there was any way for him to lose, but since they were all talented youth he wouldn't be surprised if some of them had one or two trump cards that could make him feel fear. Still, Rio puffed out his chest and snorted.

"Hmph, you think I'm afraid of you? Come!"

Since there might a spirit broadcasting this fight to the elders, Rio decided that he couldn't show any weakness in this situation. As Rio put on a brave front, the disciples facing him were bursting with fighting intent. Just like him, they also couldn't afford to give up just because it seemed a little difficult.

"Ha!"

This time Rio threw the first move. With his barrier up and running he stretched out his palm and sent forth a fireball bigger than he was. This fireball shot at the Soul Realm group with such sudden speed that the one directly in its path could only stand his ground and defend while the others evaded. After a massive explosion which started a fire in the forest, the one who remained was shown lying unconscious on his back, a little distance away from where the fireball made impact.

'He, changed its course.'

Before being relieved or grateful, the ones who realised that he spared the life of this poor youth were enraged. Even with the gap in their cultivations, they couldn't accept that he dared to go easy on them. This anger was so great that one of them, forgetting that they weren't allowed to kill each other, looked at a fellow disciple and whispered, "Prepare to use it. I'll use mine as well."

Rio didn't notice this interaction and simply prepared another fireball, but the energy that gathered to his palm dissipated as he sensed a large number of hostile presences approaching.

'These are, all gremlins?! Why are so many of them coming here?!'

The bewildered Rio, hastily tried to find the reason behind the appearance of the wave of gremlins, but in the middle of his search he sensed an incoming projectile. He quickly expanded his barrier and made it block the projectile, which then exploded and left a dark brown gas that blocked his sight.

"Ough! Ough!"

Since his barrier wasn't made to intercept harmful gases, Rio could only hurriedly cover his mouth and use a wind spell to blow away the gas. With his vision restored, Rio was ready to pummel the ones who attacked him but they had disappeared. Luckily the gas didn't seem to be poisonous, but he hated the fact that they made a fool out of him.

"Those bastards! They're gone already huh. Tch, should I leave too?"

Under normal circumstances this was a no-brainer, but Rio hesitated due to the flower that was starting to bloom below him.

'Hmm.., Hmm-!'

As Rio looked at the lake with a pensive expression, he caught a glimpse of some bubbles on its surface before a one cale long shark suddenly leaped out and tried to capture him between its jaws.