The Beginning

A lite snore echoes throughout the courtyard as Ashton slumbers away peacefully. More than a few students have passed through here, noticed his unconscious form, and decided to promptly ignore the sleeping teenager.

Meanwhile a conversation was taking place in the masters office.

" So what do you think of the boy? " Belross spoke after taking a long sip of his evening tea.

" He managed to leave a scratch on my chin after our short little bout. For a kid who's at the very start of his journey he's doing pretty well. However with confidence I can say I think he has a brick for a brain. " A light smile was on Kody's face as he spoke of Ashton.

" Well he did say he lived as a hunter for the last 17 years in a small village. I'd wager money he's never received any formal education, or training in anything besides what he was taught by his father about hunting. " Belross waved for an attendant to refill his cup.

With the attendant gone Kody closed the door

" We don't need him to be smart, we just need him to get stronger quickly, as long as he can focus what little brain power he has on that then we will be fine. How is Bella coming along, has she made progress with the boy? "

" They are becoming fast friends from what she says, however he seems uninterested in her as a partner as of this moment. "

" That's okay for now, she can continue to make progress on him. He is a 17 year old boy after all, it won't be too long before his body tricks him into thinking he's in love with her. "

Kody re-opened the door, and shortly after the attendant walked in leaving Belross another cup.

" So the boy is promising as a fighter and requires some guidance, we can manage that. "

" Yes master I'll personally ensure his talent for combat isn't wasted, for now farewell. "

Walking away from the office the smile on Kody's face vanished as a frown returned. Thoughts rushing through his head of plans for the future, and the fate that will follow this poor boy. Kodys march brought him back to the courtyard where Ashton was slumbering away peacefully. With a light kick Ashton began to stir as he woke up.

" Are you going to sleep all day into the night out here or what kid? "

Wiping the grogginess out of his eyes Ashton sat up and immediately a frown appeared on the young man's face.

" How strong are you anyway, I feel like I was cheated. "

" I'm an instructor of a hidden sect dedicated to creating powerful mages, and martial artists. Naturally I wouldn't be qualified if I was on your low level. If you must know I am on the 7th step of the body path, and the 6th of the mind path. "

Ashton looked incredulous for moment

" So you really did cheat me, attacking me with such an advantage. "

" Boy no such cheating occured if I had tried seriously you would have died before you could finish blinking. The gap between our power is much too large for you to defend against me. "

Noticing the small scratch on Kody's chin Ashton gained a smirk on his face as he pointed right at it.

" Well for as big and scary as you're meant to be I still landed a hit in. "

Tick marks appeared above Kody's brow

" You got lucky, and I underestimated your ability to think more than just blindly attacking me. You threw a tantrum and I made you take a little nappy. Don't get all smug over a small scratch. However I must praise your ability to harm me, anybody else at your level wouldn't be able to leave a mark even if they were swinging around a giant sword. "

Ashton pondered this for a moment before answering.

" Maybe there's something special about my claws or me being cursed or something I'm not sure. "

" It doesn't really matter anyway, let's go over the basics. Do you know how to fight? " Kody asked as he looked down on Ashton once again.

" Nothing formal, mostly just relying on instincts and my passive skills. " Ashton shrugged his shoulders while replying.

" So I can assume you don't know how to channel your energy, and you only rely on your physical prowess as of this moment. Do you know how to feel your energy or move it around your body at all? "

" Also no. I don't know much about cultivation, or beast souls or anything like that as of this moment, Belross is assisting me in creating a technique out of the royal records from the clan my mother came from. "

Looking around for a moment Kody closed his eyes and felt his surroundings before continuing.

" I think you should try to find your own path in creating and refining your beast energy instead of whatever the Master gives you. I have a feeling You will personally do better trusting your instincts and following your own path. "

" What do you mean, how could I come up with something better than the techniques passed down from royal to royal from a powerful clan? "

Ashton looked at Kody as if he were a fool.

" You should just take my words at face value, I can feel the potential brimming from you. Following somebody else's path may hinder you, I created my own based on my instincts and the familiarity of my body. I'm only twenty five and started when I was ten and I got this far with my own power, learning from myself. "

Thinking over Kody's words Ashton sat down crossed legged.

" Teach me. "

Kody joined him in the dirt, and with a nearby stick he drew a decent diagram of a human body filled with lines and dots, then drew another diagram of a wolf, also filled with lines and dots.

" For humans we have it easy. For the most part all of our insides look like this. These are our pathways linked between soul nexus points ending in our heart where the grand nexus is located. At certain points in the body like the stomach, brain, left, and right hands, left and right feet are major nexus points, the rest are minor nexus points. These are where soul energy is stored and then moved throughout our body. "

Nodding along, Ashton watched as Kody pointed everything out and gave a basic explanation of how the human body functions.

" So because I have a beast soul, and not a human one my pathways are different, and maybe because among beast souls mine is so different that even if the Master re-makes the technique it may end up either not working or being harmful to me? "

" Hm, maybe you're not so dull after all. That is exactly the conclusion I wanted to reach. This drawing shows a wolf's pathways. For a beast soul you have a combination of the two, and thus you have more nodes than an ordinary human. This is why on average Individuals with beast souls are stronger than normal humans. In addition to powerful bodies they have powerful souls, a dangerous combination if ive ever seen one. Now throw into the mix your magic and unique race…. "

" And you get a giant mix of all kinds of shit. I get what you are going for. "

Ashton spoke as he began to draw a rough human shape in the dirt.

" So I need to Locate all these major, minor, and the grand nexus in my body, then figure out the best way to absorb and distribute the soul energy to best benefit my body, and soul. "

" Exactly. That is your task for the night. I will show you how to feel energy and how to move it. Tomorrow by this time I expect you to have a diagram showing me all of your points and we will go from there. "

Ashton stopped and looked over as a major question formed in his head.

" How long does it usually take a person to be able to feel all of these points let alone be able to accurately map them? "

Kody had a massive grin on his face.

" Most people despise being able to see exactly how their body is mapped and are unable to make a full cycle through their body for a week or so.

Ashton broke the stick in his hand, and threw it at the big oaf.

" You expect me to do in a day what others can take weeks to do? Not only that but also make a map for it? Have you lost what little brain you have left, you mass of muscle? "

Batting the stick away with his own Kody continued with his grin.

" I am not giving you an impossible task, however if you fail within this day we will spar again. Then you will have another day after I wipe the floor with you to learn. I have faith you can manage to at least find all the points within a day. Now quit throwing a tantrum and listen closely. "

Kody closed his eyes and a physical embodiment of mana, and power began forming around his body.

" First you must find the energy within yourself. Close your eyes and focus on your heart beat. The pathways in your body for soul energy move in a similar fashion to how your blood moves through your body. Feel in your heart for the energy and then follow it. From your heart to wherever it may go. After learning the feeling, try to grab ahold of the energy and guide it yourself. Feel the pathways and memorize them. "

As Kody spoke Ashton watched in amazement as the physical embodiment of Kody's energy moved around his body from his chest, down his left arm, back up, down his right arm, and all over his body completing a full cycle as Kody opened his eyes.

" Now you try. "