I should have known I wouldn't be able to escape that easily. Nero, who hadn't made an appearance, finally showed up once I started running. I thought it strange that he was willing to leave Braun and his friends to their fate considering I wounded them, but perhaps that was the reason he attacked. Not over concern about the health of his brother, but over ego. The same arrogance that fueled Braun's actions.

Nero was in the Qi Gathering Realm and no matter what advantage my recent insight into the [Dao of Movement] afforded me, Realm still trumped all. I could feel his approach, an almost languid effort of Qi control, as he finished what his brother began. I knew how different the two brothers were. Where Braun was lazy, Nero was dedicated. He would be able to maintain and match my speed indefinitely.

I tried changing directions, using the foliage of the forest to my advantage. But it wasn't easy. To use nature's bounty against another Elf, especially an elf that had a wood affinity, was a failing strategy. Nero's dual affinities of water and wood made certain that any fight that was held in the depths of the forest gave him a decided advantage. If I wanted even a chance at winning a confrontation, I would need to find rocky ground bereft of any trees. And even that would only increase my chances from zero to slightly above zero.

Once I noticed that he was toying with me, attempting to herd me towards a specific location, instead of just following or trying to catch up, I stopped changing course relative to his position. Ignoring where he was, I increased the Qi to my legs, cycling [Transcend the Heavenly Footpath] with as much energy as I had accumulated and activated [Lightning's Rush] once more, embracing everything that I had learned about movement and the Dao as I increased my speed.

I had never attempted to cast [Lightning's Rush] while the effect was already active, but at this point, I didn't see a choice. Biting my bottom lip, I prayed I wasn't just delivering myself into Nero's hands as I activated [Lightning's Rush] a second time, stacking the effect.

The results were staggering, literally. I began tripping with every step I took, the increase in speed so much that my perception couldn't process the amount of information that was overwhelming my senses. Even tripping and staggering I was still moving faster than I had been, an increase of about half of my previous speed using [Lightning's Rush]

It was becoming harder to chart my course as I split my focus once more, trying to multi-task three separate abilities. I released my extended Qi perception in a series of short bursts, as I tracked Nero's location. Even as I relegated Nero to a secondary concern, I worked to sense any other cultivators in the area that might offer aid. At the same time, I frantically attempted to sync and adapt to my body's increased neural responses, the heightened synaptic spark that a double stack of [Lightning's Rush] was sustaining my body.

The hardest part was controlling my Qi to fuel the energy I needed to run faster and strengthen my muscles at the same time. The micro-control that healing the damage my body took as it occurred was crucial, so I didn't tear myself apart from the increased forces I was generating.

As I continued to run, my gait leveled out, I became surer of where I should step, and how much force I should use to maintain my speed and do so efficiently. My brain was adapting at a prodigious speed, learning to process increased stimuli. I had adopted the [Dao of Movement], allowing it to chart my course, enabling me to note the smallest deviations in my form, so that I might strengthen [Lightning's Rush]. The movement technique guided my understanding of movement.

Once I escaped, I would have to spend time in meditation, incorporating my new insights, gleaned from the desperation of this flight, and what that had revealed about movement. The small nuances that allowed my neurons and muscles to respond to the extensive burdens I placed upon my body, the increased adaption of my brain to world stimuli, and the ability to split my focus to control cultivation, technique, and perception at the same time. All gains made in a desperate bid to survive.

I'd known intellectually that in my understanding of [Dao of Movement] was rudimentary at best. I focused on the aspect of the Dao that dealt with the force, kinetic energy, friction, and gravity. I didn't understand the math behind those forces, enlightenment didn't work like that, and I had recognized that movement was only a part of the unifying Dao that explained everything.

Understanding the Dao may require me to research and learn the laws of physics, or I may be able to reach the apex of enlightenment never understanding or concerning myself with the science. The laws of motion did apply, but at this early level, my understanding was a more intuitive understanding. A first step that had expanded my horizons and allowed me to glimpse what was possible.

The longer I ran with dual [Lighting's Rush] active, the more coordinated I became until finally, my brain could process the input of variables that my senses were flooded with and I considered stacking the ability for the third time. The brain, when boiled down to fundamentals, was an organ that used synaptic firings to operate. [Lightning's Rush] had always increased the speed with which my brain could process the information my senses was gathering, it was only now that I had stacked the technique that I understood the genius behind the ability, and the impact the [Dao of Movement] had on the energy required to trigger those synaptic firings.

"Jay!" I heard Nero shouting in the distance, my increased speed widening the gap between us. "We have Tarrah! If you don't stop, you only have yourself to blame for what we do to her."

I wondered if any Sect member would be stupid enough or gullible enough to fall for that obvious lie. There was no way Tarrah would allow herself to fall into their hands. But if by some strange confluence of events that did happen, there was no way they would do anything to harm her, even if they could. Realm trumped all. Tarrah had at least reached the same tier and level of Qi Gathering realm as he had.

More importantly, she was a Core Disciple. A valued student of Elder Tye. His actions made clear he was grooming her to join him as a possible successor to head Alchemical Hall. There was no one, no member of the Sect, that didn't know what would happen if they dared to harm her. Even Nero and Braun protected as they were by Elder An would not be able safe from Elder Tye's retribution. And their father, for all his vaunted lineage, would have to stand aside and watch as his sons were cast out of the Sect, their cultivation destroyed if they were stupid enough to actually capture and harm a valued core disciple.

Although I knew his words were only a desperate attempt to catch me, it did give me an idea, so I began to slow down. Not enough to be caught, but enough to make it appear as if my energies were flagging, that [Lightning's Rush] was beyond my current ability to maintain.

Incrementally, I decreased my speed, running slower and slower. A passing thought, a hope that I remember when next I meditated, to consider that speed wasn't the only aspect of the Dao I needed to consider. Even as I controlled my momentum, reducing and baiting Nero, I made use of the [Dao of Movement] to process the information my perception was gathering so that I choose the path forward clear of brush for me, while entangling Nero in the occasional patch of underbrush and thorny vines.

I knew where I was relative to the Sect. I wasn't sure if my ability to know my precise location was shared by all Elves or it was a feature that Genesis had gifted me. I had a clear goal in mind. A location I was leading Nero towards so that his actions might be recorded. Unknown to any but those that served Alchemy Hall and the Herbal Master, Elder Dalis, the Herb Master had created a terraced garden along the backside of the mountain.

His gardens allowed him to create environments for spirit plants that isolated them, each step of the terrace created to most effectively take advantage of the unique requirements each species of spirit plant required. The plots of land that he had shaped into terraces continued down the mountain until his final plantings which abutted and were protected by the forest's edge.

For those that knew the secret of these terraces, they could take advantage, ascending the mountain, a private means of egress into and out of the Sect. The path was always monitored, Elder Dalis had placed an array that once tripped would automatically send the Elder an alarm. They had created the array to record the growth of plants so that minute changes in growth could be codified and experiments monitored.

It was inevitable that I would leave the Sect for missions at some point, and when I did, they would take the opportunity to redress old grievances. Braun and Nero setting up traps and guards to intercept me had been something we had had to consider from the beginning, but neither of us had thought they would stand any chance for success, they would need an entire Sect of stooges to monitor every approach I might have used.

Elder Tye had shared the location of the terrace path with me in the event I needed to find my way back into the Sect, but the other entrances were not safe. He hadn't spoken the words out loud, but I knew what his concerns were. This hidden entrance was his gift to me, a safety net. I had no intention of revealing knowledge of the entrance that Elder Tye had shared with me, not with Nero, but I did want to trigger that array.

Once I knew I was within range, that we were being recorded, I would stop. Allow Nero to approach and confront me. All villains loved their moment of glory, that bit of dialog where they could explain to the hero how much smarter they were, I counted on Nero fitting that villain trope. I hoped to use Elder Dalis' recording array, expecting Elder Dalis to respond while counting on Nero to boast, his own words his undoing.