Lu Bao Shi

I despaired a little, thinking that my beautiful butterfly would run away, but what it did surprised me. The butterfly flew away to a more distant area, and stopped on some branch of an ordinary tree. Then I saw it start to glow in a green light. The light was so strong that I had to look away.

In the next moment, the butterfly launched a beam of incandescent light, almost as powerful as the one my mother used. I thought there would be a big explosion, strong destructive power or something, but to my surprise, nothing happened.

But when I switched to normal vision, everything seemed to have changed. Wherever the butterfly's ray of light passed, the forest seemed more vibrant. To me, this forest always looked gloomy, maybe because of the color of the trees, or the gloomy atmosphere, but with this ray of light, this forest seemed to be overflowing with life!

The emerald butterfly seemed weaker, its wings no longer shining so brightly, but it had a smug look about it, as if it had done a good job. When she landed on my head, before she could rest, I conveyed my sincere emotions. Pride, surprise, and most of all, gratitude.

Yes, gratitude. Seeing her demonstration, I understood a very basic thing that I still couldn't see out of ignorance because I was stuck in the past. When using Ki, your Ki comes out, and when using a technique, the element is used. But who says that to use spiritual energy it must be that way?

Only someone stuck in the past and ignorant of change would not see that! His magic core is all he needs! His Plant element, dwells around him, but also within him! The magic core is not like the Dantian, being just a place to store energy, but a physical manifestation of his spiritual energy and element!

Before testing anything, out of gratitude, and a strange affection and warm feeling I feel close to this little butterfly, I decided to give it a name and have it with me always. So I conveyed to her my intentions. The butterfly didn't react much, it just flapped its wings slightly, as if accepting its unfortunate fate.

Lu Bao Shi. This is the name I decided to give you. His wings are like the most beautiful beryl. When this little butterfly flies, it looks like the most beautiful jade, defying all the beauty of the natural world.

Moving as little as possible, I prepared to use what I had learned. Gathering spiritual energy in my mouth, I let my Plant element act freely, without containing a single drop.

When the spiritual energy was saturated, I released it and... failed once again. But now I feel that I am closer. My day ended without a success, but I was not as discouraged as in the previous days.

Stopping to eat before bed, I stayed with my mother for a while, and walked a bit in the forest with Jorge. Since Lu Bao Shi arrived, Jorge has become more attached to me. Maybe he also feels this sense of belonging when he is close to Lu Bao Shi. Both nowadays share my headspace with my three horns. Returning to the cave, I went to my mother and poked her with my horns. Understanding what I wanted, she wrapped herself around me, forming a fortress with her body. She caresses me softly with her horns, as if to tell me to sleep well.

Okay, maybe I am a little spoiled. But so what? I think it's still too little! Pamper me more!

Curling up like my mother, I let Jorge lay on my body to sleep as well. Switching to Shadow Vision, I saw that Lu Bao Shi was still in my head, sleeping.

This time had everything to be the best of my life. If only those I left in the Immortal World were here too.

With these thoughts, I slept, dreaming of a tomorrow as peaceful and fulfilling as today.

********************

In a barren desert environment, a hostile atmosphere could be seen. The sky, and the air itself, had a yellowish tint. The air was toxic here, but strangely enough, on a mountain more than 4 miles (6.44 km) high, rested a huge castle.

The castle was gigantic, several hundred feet high. It was all made of dark rocks that glowed like its night sky. The style of the castle resembled the style of the European castles of the high Middle Ages.

Inside, its corridors were huge, rooms were spacious and well decorated. You could see maids in French-style uniforms busily walking around the castle, minding their own business.

In the great hall of the castle, a group of people were standing in front of a crimson red throne. All of them were pale as dead, with slightly pulled-up grins, and had cold bodies. The group had about 20 people, men and women.

All were incredibly beautiful, some with fine, soft features, some with elegant features, and some with a wild beauty. Although the great hall was dark, everyone could see clearly. On the throne, a man in silver armor, which seemed to have been polished to the point of becoming a mirror, was sitting. He had long, blood-red hair, blue eyes, and delicate facial features. Although he was tall and wearing armor, he did not look threatening. But no one in this hall dared to challenge his authority. His name was Ashe Xaion, a vampire marquis, and owner of this castle.

"My lord, the beasts are preparing to go to war." A beautiful blue haired woman spoke after bowing respectfully.

"This is unacceptable! Our real enemies making suspicious moves, and these worthless beasts still dare to fight among themselves?" Another man said.

"Really, there is no way to trust inferior beings."

"We should have trusted these creatures living in the past. We should have enslaved them while the king was still here!"

All 20 people in the great hall began to vent their indignation about the actions of the magical beasts. With the raising of a single finger from Marquis Ashe Xaion, everyone immediately fell silent. A pressure seemed to move with every slightest movement of the man, causing shivers to run through everyone present.

In a deep voice, he began, "The magicians have made it clear that they will not accept our interference, either directly, or indirectly anywhere. Your mission, as always, is to observe both sides in this war. Let them weaken your forces, undermine your own power. And when that happens... we will enslave them all. They will be more useful in our war this way. If they don't know how to be free, then let them learn what is important while wearing a collar."

"Yes, your excellency!" Everyone said in unison, and prepared for their movements.

There were many eyes watching every movement of what was happening in the Beast World. San Meili, of course, did not know or care about such things. At this very moment, he was sleeping and thinking about eating fried fish.