"So, Robert, tell me one thing. Is this the first time this mystical aura appeared from within you?", Edward asked.

"Yes. Actually I don't even realize what happened to me during the fight, but this is the first time anything like that happened to me.", Robert was clueless.

"Well, I was trying to bring out your potential during the battle, but even I did not expect anything like that from you.", Edward said.

"Well, what was that aura? You also released an aura at the end of the battle, one which was far powerful than mine. What was that all about?", Robert wanted to know.

"Well first of all, do you know this much that cultivators can have an aura only after reaching the Aura Formation realm?", Edwards asked.

"Yes. I know. It's written in the cultivation books."

"But this is not the only type of aura a cultivator can have. Cultivators can also be born with another kind of powerful aura known as 'Inborn Aura'. It is very rare, and it is even rarer for this aura to awaken. Not all people who are born with this aura can awaken it. This inborn aura is related to the higher realms of cultivation. Without being born with inborn aura and awakening it, one can not reach beyond the Heavenly Wisdom realm. As for the details, even I do not know."

"Heavenly Wisdom realm?", Robert wondered.

"The tenth cultivation realm.", Edward replied.

"Tenth? Wasn't there supposed to be nine realms according to the legends?", Robert was shocked, but there was also excitement in his eyes.

"You don't seem too shocked.", Edward said with a smile.

"I had a feeling that cultivation doesn't end with the ninth realm, and from what you have said, there are realms even beyond the tenth realm. Well, in my opinion, cultivation might as well as be endless.", Robert said as he smiled back at Edward.

"Yeah, you are right. Cultivation might as well as be endless, but my goal is to find the end of that endless path. Do you dare to follow?", Edward threw a challenge.

"Why not? The longer the road, the greater the challenge, and the more epic the journey becomes.", Robert did not take any step back. Instead, he was hyped and excited.

"So, the aura that appeared within me back then, and the aura you released at the end of the fight, are inborn auras, right?", Robert asked after a moment of silence.

"Well, yours is an inborn aura, but mine is different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I thought that my aura was an inborn aura based on the knowledge I got from Snow, but later, I awakened my inborn aura during the fight with the grade 2 wolf-beast at the selection exams. At that moment I realized that I had two kinds of Aura within me, one is an inborn aura, but the other, even I don't understand what kind of aura that is. All that I know is I feel like a different person whenever I use that aura. It feels like I am me but I am someone else at the same time, and inside my mind. I hear a voice."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Robert was confused.

"I don't know. Finding the answer is also the purpose of my journey."

"By the way, who's Snow?"

"She's someone special to me.", Edward told Robert everything about how he met Snow till how she left without hiding anything.

Robert listened silently. This story totally changed Robert's worldview.

"So that's how you know so much about the cultivation world!", Robert understood now.

"Yeah.", Edward answered.

"Then what is your plan? How do you plan to reach her?"

"First of all, I plan to win the Four Great Academy Tournament at the end of this year, so that I can enter the Royal Academy. I plan to graduate from the Royal Academy at the end of next year. After that, I plan to reach the Grand Sky Empire somehow with the help of the Royal Academy. Although almost no one knows anything about Grand Sky Empire, I can at least find someone who knows and can help me go there. Finally, I plan to dig out all the important information from the Grand Sky Empire. If the Grand Sky Empire is really as strong and resourceful as they say, I can most likely find information related to the Twelve Zodiac Clans there.", Edward described his plans.

"Twelve Zodiac Clans?", Robert asked.

"Snow said that the place she comes from is ruled by twelve powerful clans collectively known as the Twelve Zodiac Clans. Her clan is called 'The Clan of Pisces', and is one of the twelve zodiac clans. I have checked all the records in the academy library, there is no mention of the twelve zodiac clans anywhere. Actually, I don't hope to find any hint about the twelve Zodiac clans anywhere in this country. Only a top tier place like the Grand Sky Empire can give me the information I need.", Edward explained.

"Yeah. So, we have to move forward step by step then.", said Robert.

"Yeah, first this academy, then the Royal Academy, then the Grand Sky Empire, and finally, the Twelve Zodiac Clans.", Edward mentioned the steps.

"And? Do you have any plan before the Four Great Academy Tournament? There are still more than nine months left, you know? What do you plan to do until then?", Robert asked.

"Train, of course! Do you think we can win the Four Great Academy Tournaments with our current strength? And even more, how do you plan to graduate from the Royal Academy without any real strength? Lastly, we need to be strong enough to have a place in the Grand Sky Empire, or we'll be killed before we realize how we died. "

"Yeah. You are right. But what kind of training are you planning on doing?"

"Have you already mastered the technics you got from the academy library?", Edward asked.

"Pretty much."

"Well, I've completely mastered all the technics. I guess I don't have anything left to learn in the academy. All we can do is gain experience from the outside world. So, I plan to collect some missions from the mission hall. Also, there is a certain place I have to visit."

The mission hall was a section of the academy. Students collect missions from the mission hall and complete them for the rewards. The missions are sent by people of Southern City or the Elders/ Vice- headmasters of the academy. There are all kinds of missions, from finding lost pets to killing bandits, and even hunting powerful beasts are within the mission criteria. The missions are ranked the same way as students. Students can only take missions of their own rank, which means B-rank students can only take B-rank missions, and S-rank missions can be taken by only S-rank students.

"But we are only B-rank students, and we can only take B-rank missions. But with both of our strength combined, we can easily complete a B-rank mission, it won't be worth much training."

"I have a way. I plan to take two B-rank missions and one A-rank mission. Also, the place I plan to visit afterward is the true place of our training."

"How do you plan to take an A-rank mission being a B-rank student.?"

"Well, the principal is a good friend of mine, so I guess he won't mind helping me with that.", Edward said with a chuckle.

"The principal is a good friend of yours?", Robert stared at Edward in astonishment. He did not know whether to laugh or cry. When did a respected person of the older generation become friends with a young boy like Edward?

"Don't mind the small details.", Edward avoided the topic. He too felt a bit awkward to call an old man his 'friend'.

"Anyway, the point is, even the A-rank mission is not the main dish of our training. We are going to investigate a place, where we will face the real challenge, and that's where our true training will take place."

"Investigating a place? Where are we going?"

"We'll go there after finishing all the missions we take. The place we are going to is a very important place that I must investigate, It holds important clues about Snow's location. While I'm at it, I also plan to reach the Shell Shattering realm.", Edward said.

"Clues about Snow's location? Reaching the Shell Shattering realm? Where could that place be? Just tell me already!", Robert was very curious.

"It's a place near my village. The place we are going to is south to the village called Tulip Village where I was born."

"Your village? What is there to investigate?"

"The Uncrossable Forest.", Edward said with a mysterious smile.