Ashura forest

After the trial of surrounding familiarization, which was much to Zeal's satisfaction, Sou Long had allowed Zeal to rest his bone and spirit for two days before preparing him for his next challenge. After all, even though Zeal had succeeded in understanding a minuscule amount of the art of direction, it was not worth much mentioning. In any case, recovering his mental and physical strength was of utmost importance to him. So he allowed him a few days of rest.

Today the sky was clear and shining bright, contrary to the previous days that Zeal had encountered. Of course, it wasn't that those days were gloomy, but the trouble they brought him was immeasurable. Just thinking about those enormous trees that he recklessly bumped into—was enough to make one curse for generations.

Sou Long stood in a position as he waved some hand gestures; they seemed ancient. Today Sou Long wore a black robe that hugged his body, much to Zeal's surprise. However, he was not here to appraise the wardrobe of Sou Long because his expression was solemn. Of course, whether his silver robe or this black robe, they all enveloped Sou Long with grace and made him look more young and agile, contrary to what others would have believed. However, something told Zeal that wearing black today made him unknowingly think that today would be dangerous. 'What hellhole did he plan to send him?' He wondered as he swallowed a lump with difficulty. Sou Long didn't attend to him as he gazed forward icily.

"Ashura forest!"

At this cold hum, the world paled and became gloomy. The very air immediately distorted like heaven was about to break, ushering in the light of salvation. At the same time, something so big that no one would believe it could fly—did contrary to people's assumptions. It grooved the ground with a sudden quake. It was a door that emitted death lightning. The white door made people pale in comparison because it held much light, and it would render a similar effect when people stepped inside the entrance. There were many ancient and unreadable inscriptions on the door. But one of the convincing things about this door was its height. It was like a tower with no end—very mysterious.

At this moment, the tiny Zeal that was some distance away from Sou Long became petrified and transfixed on his position. His back was already cold with sweat. He couldn't help but remember the last meeting Sou Long had with him. At that time, Sou Long had congratulated him differently; it even held traces of mockery and deriding, but he didn't mind any of it. At that time, Sou Long had introduced the next challenge to him, much to his disbelief when Zeal heard the introduction. "Ashura Forest?" he couldn't help but criticize the old thing in his mind for being heartless, and with some deviating thought, he chastised himself with regret for taking the old master as a teacher.

"Master Sou! What's the next challenge like." He had asked enthusiastically at that time.

"Brat, you will pass through a door into a different dimension of an unknown origin. If you succeed, you'll improve. But if you fail, you'll die more painfully. In fact, there is no second chance." Sou Long, at that time, explained with his majestic cold voice without any form of emotion. It was as though Zeal's life and death mattered little or nothing in front of him. This situation made Zeal tremble in both fear and anger. 'This old thing was the father of the Devil,' And at that time, Zeal concluded his hypothesis.

"How dangerous is this journey? What's my percentage of success?" Even though Zeal was overwhelmed with anger, he still stifled it and asked the most crucial question.

Much to his dismay, that terrible Sou Long gave him a hellish blunt answer: "No one counts fate." Success to failure? Sou Long sank into his thought. He knew that even what initially looked like 100% success may become 0% success or 100% failure. These justifications reminded people that the world was in continuous drastic change, and everything hung on a thin silver line. But in any case, he believed that people might succeed with enough planning, faith, luck, perseverance, and even hard work. However, the most crucial factor was heaven's benevolence.

Zeal frowned; this time, he didn't plan to hide his displeasure. How could that old thing be so inconsiderate; it made him feel like he threw him into the oven of an everlasting burning flame. However, his expression did not last more than a few seconds as Sou Long's majestic voice came to him.

"You won't know the circumstances until you try it. Will you try it or not?"

Even now, the Old Man pressured him to act without thinking. Was he still a human? Zeal could also show some rebelliousness. After all, he was still a human with a human heart—he believed the old thing tortured him. But he also felt that being pushed to his limit was something he should welcome even though he wasn't resigned to dying. He was pensive as he rested his head in his crossed arms.

"I'm ready, Master Sou." He finally concluded he couldn't possibly escape from the old monster even if he wanted. It was much to his dissatisfaction. But what Zeal didn't expect was that: after he accepted, Sou Long broke out with a faint smile. Of course, Zeal was blindfolded and couldn't possibly notice this reaction. But for some reason, he accidentally knew it. What followed after surprised him even more. His previous question about success chance, Sou Long directly transmitted to his mind. It looked like the old thing hadn't lost all his humanity. He secretly rejoiced.

....

"Say your name, and the rest of the matters would naturally settle themselves." Sou Long awakened Zeal with his majestic cold voice.

"Yes, Master Sou." Zeal said with his childlike voice as he cupped his hand.

Zeal went to the glistening white door and did as Sou Long told him. Much to his surprise, the door oscillated and flashed with an extreme brilliance that swallowed him up. The door disappeared together with Karl Zeal, unsurprising to Sou Long. He only sighed as though he was helpless about it.

"There are many dangers up head; this place is violent and strange, and unfriendly creatures are waiting for you to eat their next sumptuous meal." He muttered helplessly to himself. But who was he deceiving?

Sou Long went to his verandah and heaved a sigh. Now that he had sent the noisy kid away, he could finally prepare to drink his tea in peace. On the table was an already brewed tea, steaming hot. Alongside was a styled jug that held more hot tea. Not even Zeal could understand what the old thing saw in tea. In fact, he allowed Zeal not to have a taste before with the sole lie that he was not up to the age of drinking that special tea. In return, Zeal would curse for his brutality and lies. Sometimes, he would call the old thing stingy. Much to Zeal's astonishment, the Old Man always heard his thought. This result always depressed him and made him question heaven: if they were still fair. Was the Old Man still human?

Sou Long drank amidst the serene atmosphere, much to his pleasure. He hadn't felt light in years. The old thing whiffed the fragrance of his great tea and sipped gracefully, occasionally lost in thought. At this moment, he seemed to have remembered how he convinced the child's mother. When he got there, Elizabeth served her patrons as usual, but with his arrival, he sat gracefully. Just as Elizabeth came to attend to him, time paused. Only he and Elizabeth appeared to be active.

"I believe you wanted to see the teacher that wants to take away your son, right?"

Hearing this word, Elizabeth was both surprised and fearful. Who was this man (was her first thought). However, Elizabeth didn't express her fear amidst the pressure that the adult in front of her exuded. She went to the seat beside the man and sat, much to Sou Long's surprise. But he became indifferent again.

"I don't want to separate from my son. He's all I've got. But most especially, I don't want him hurt or follow an unknown practitioner; he might kill him for his use." Elizabeth spoke boldly despite feeling anxious. In fact, she didn't have any choice but to protect her son's interests. Seeing this result, Sou Long became reassured.

"Don't mind me, madam. I have no reason to kill your son. I believe your son's right hand emits a heavy power, and I need to take care of it. At the same time, I might not tell you my identity, but your son is even more precious to me than to you. You will understand these things in the future. To further make you relax, eight days after you gave birth to Zeal, six beings visited you and gave you instruction, right?"

When Elizabeth heard Sou Long's word, she was greatly astonished that she raised her beautiful right brow. She knew that no one saw those being except her. While people visited her, those gods stayed there for an entire week; they all knelt before her newly born child. During those periods, the child never cried. She was the only one that saw those being, but others didn't. At the same time, those being appeared too holy that she couldn't behold their actual appearance.

"Yes, they said someone would seek the child once it was a perfect time."

"You see, I can't harm the child. He's more important than the whole of this universe. This thing is what you need to know. But in the future, if he wants to, he will let you know more. Of course, don't fight over this matter." Sou Long stripped off the last defense of Elizabeth and, at the same time, left some faint warning.

"This gift, I bestow to you. Even though you don't cultivate, you are, after all, the child's mother. It will increase your sensitivity and precognitive ability. At the same time, it would reduce your age time considerably, more than others." Sou Long stretched his hand, and white light enveloped Karl Elizabeth for a while before the light vanished. Afterward, Sou Long disappeared too.

At this moment, Sou Long sipped his tea as he threw back the random thoughts away.