Ch. 17 Training Ground

The sun had set, and the citizens had returned to their homes. The only ones seen along this path were knights and a few high-level soul masters. Due to the appearance of the two-headed demon wolf a few days ago, the empire had added knights from the military center to protect this small town.

Paskha had been sitting patiently on the dorm's terrace and had just stood up when he saw Asher's face not far from the gate. Without waiting any longer, Paskha immediately ran over to Asher to help the older man explain his arrival to the gatekeeper.

After all, this dorm was occupied by children who attended a junior academy. Of course, the protection of this place must be twice as assertive, bearing in mind that children are the future generation of this country.

After learning about the situation and Sir Clove's request to take Paskha out of the dormitory, the guard finally allowed it. If an ordinary person wished to take Paskha, the guard would not allow it. But Sir Clove was a person the king looked up to and had been invited to become a royal official. No one knew what kind of soul skills Sir Clove had or what level of strength the man was at now. Nevertheless, no one would dare to look down on Sir Clove's existence.

"Good evening, Sir Asher."

Asher gave the boy a soft smile and said, "Young master, you should call me by my name like my master from now on."

"Why? Why did you talk more formally now?"

"Young master, my master plans to take you as his direct disciple, which means that one day you will obtain some inheritance from him. My master is my master, and automatically you are also my master."

Paskha already knew that, but… "But I am not his direct disciple yet; he even set conditions to become his disciple."

"Young master. If my master is not interested in having you as his direct disciple, he will not place any conditions on you. Moreover, the master will not help you to complete his requirements."

It does sound reasonable. Paskha couldn't help but smile.

Ah, this teacher of his… acted like he was reluctant to take him as a direct disciple, but the older man also greatly desired to become his direct teacher.

Paskha encountered at least two people wearing golden shield robes with long spears along the way. Aren't they all palace soldiers?

He knew several knights were assigned to guard this place. Even though this city was small, it was still the foremost city to penetrate one of the strongholds that protected the center of this eastern region.

But… isn't this amount too much?

"Why are there so many soldiers on patrol?"

"This is all because of the appearance of a high-level soul beast a few days ago. The guard over this place has been even tighter, and the city's main gate has also been covered with defensive arrays."

For the past three days, Paskha has kept himself busy running in the morning and reading books in the Barak library to recall what he learned.

Even though he had quite a sharp memory, he would miss some details. And re-reading the books he had read made him recall details that had not occurred before.

Then at night, Paskha would meditate to optimize the soul force distribution that flows within his body. Afterward, he would go straight to bed to replenish his stamina and depleted mana.

It explained why he didn't know the city's development at night, and it was his first time knowing that many soldiers were patrolling every corner of the town.

When they arrived at Sir Clove's residence, Asher did not take him into the house but turned around.

Paskha knew very well what he would find when they turned around Sir Clove's house, which was relatively more extensive than the other residents' houses. Well, since this place was in a small town and on the city's outskirts, this house wasn't much bigger than a manor or branch palace belonging to a noble.

"Why don't we go into the house?" It's a simple question but commonly asked by clueless kids Paskha's age. If he hadn't asked, Asher might have been confused and curious. The man would keep thinking about how a child as green as Paskha could be so calm, as if he knew where they were going.

"We are going to my master's special training ground."

Paskha smiled crookedly, hearing that. But the smile disappeared as quickly as it came to be replaced by twinkling eyes. "Sir Clove's special training ground? He has his own training grounds!?" stated Paskha with feigned enthusiasm to increase his act.

"Young master. Everyone believes my master is a failed soul master. But what they think is mistaken. My master is one of the greatest soul masters of all time, and it might even be close to that of a divine master."

"Is it true?" although little Paskha had known about it for a long time, he continued his skit perfectly.

"Unfortunately, no one will be able to survive once they sense my master's internal soul force. That's why my master suppressed his aura and never used his power here."

"If he's that strong, why didn't Sir Cloveaim an immortal cultivation?" Paskha has been curious about this for a long time, but he never managed to get an answer from his teacher.

Sir Clove was always evasive and drove their conversations to the point where the discussion about how to cultivate was forgotten.

By talking to Asher, he may get some answers. Or so he thought until he heard his teacher's confidante response that crushed his hopes.

"You can ask my master directly, young master."

As expected. Asher would never betray his master, even if the one facing him were a potential direct disciple of his master.

"We have arrived."

The two stopped in front of an empty field with nothing. Paskha knew that behind this vacant land stood a building like a temple which was the special training ground for his teacher. They saw nothing because of the illusion array that Sir Clove created to avoid the sight of humans.

Paskha followed Asher, who started pacing again, and as his body infiltrated through the illusionary array, a water-like wave moved around the array.

Not long after, Paskha caught up with Asher and walked through the illusory array, and his gaze was immediately welcomed by a magnificent temple just like what he remembered.