A blurry figure zipped through the trees under the shafts of noonday light that pierced the indigo forest canopy. Sometimes it leapt from tree trunk to tree trunk, other times it bounced from rock to rock, but every move was swift and silent, a gust of disturbed air the most prominent sign of its passage.

A little more than half a day had passed since River had advanced into the forest's inner blue zone, and he had already faced off against more than half a dozen beasts after bringing down that very first bicorn. In the crucible of tempering through battle, the most plain casualty currently was his clothing: River's linen shirt had long since been discarded as ragged tatters, and his breeches had been reduced to a length of right above his knees. The Blood Devouring Palm replenished his vitality and provided him with quick and clean healing of the wounds he had gained, but it could do nothing for his garments.

Besides the difference in clothing, River had already advanced to the upper stage of the sixth-grade Human Realm. His movements were swifter and more fluid, his muscles more massive and more defined, and where before his skin had been pale and sickly it was now tanned and exuding vitality. His hair remained around shoulder-length, but the color was now rich with redness without a strand of the previous dull brown remaining.

Mentally, he was also a different person when considering combat. With Mister Black's guidance, River had honed the control of his techniques and had experienced a marked increase in his combat effectiveness over his previous brute force bludgeoning. The bronze dagger had broken by the time he had fought his third beast and had been discarded, so he could only rely on his bare hands for fighting. Mister Black used the opportunity to teach him that it didn't mean he was limited to wrestling and punching his opponents like a brute.

River had been skeptical of the Dusk Aura Concealment method, unable to perceive a difference when he was using it. That lack of feedback from using it remained, but after using the technique to significant effect in ambushing and confusing beasts he was already in combat with, he no longer questioned its usefulness.

Wielding the palm to attack, weaken, and replenish; using Blood Ignition to disorient, assault, and escape; using Dusk Aura to ambush, mask his trajectory, and confuse; using Passion Sublimation to augment his strength and hone his intent. The four techniques together provided River with a battle system that made him very effective in the forest. What he lacked were weapons and a means to detect and sense things more accurately, but Mister Black informed him that those would more easily come once River had cleared into the Earth Realm of physique tempering and began to open his meridians and circulate essence.

He was impatient for that day to come, but his constant and consistent gains tempered that impatience. What had been impossible for him merely a week ago was now inevitable. Between that certainty and the Passion Sublimation black hole consuming much of his inherent anxious nature, his impatience was tempered. It was all a matter of when, although River would continue to strive to make "when" into "now".

"So, what do we have ahead, Mister Black?" The presence of his spectral master offset River's weakness in detection. Despite the old man's snarky protestations about being used as a beast tracker, he continued to support the young man, guiding his journey and finding beasts of an appropriate rank not only to feed his blood art but to challenge his combat awareness and assist in building his system.

"Right now?" the old man replied. "Nothing. Your current heading is towards the next layer of the forest."

"Isn't that a bit--" River began to protest.

"You're not going in," Mister Black continued, overriding the objection, "but you should still see its edge before you return. The next time you come to this forest, that place will be your proper hunting ground. As for right now... being closer to that edge also gives you access to some stronger beasts that will give you the proper impetus to make your next breakthrough. If this visit were longer, we would then have time to proceed, but well..."

River sighed as Mister Black trailed off. "We'll make the time. Soon. I just have things I have to do once I return to the clan." River frowned. "Speaking of that..."

Mister Black chuckled. "Oh, now you're finally going to ask how that all went."

River's face burned with a flush. "I've been kinda busy, but now we have a couple of moments," he protested, knowing his obvious embarrassment was an open beacon of ridicule to Mister Black.

Mister Black cackled at that evasion before continuing. "They're fine. Blue Ripple's team had no casualties, although he did have to expose his actual level of physique tempering to pull that off. They found the bodies of the others before night fell and once dawn rose they've resumed hunting with an eye for finding your whereabouts. Blue Ripple, in particular, is combing the forest rather carefully looking for you rather than continuing to hunt."

River frowned at that news. "That's--"

"Thinking of giving up and turning back?" Mister Black interrupted.

River shook his head. "Nope. I have too far to go, still. Tomorrow I should be good enough to go back and then I can make it all right, right?"

"Probably," Mister Black conceded.

A disturbing thought then popped into River's head. "They aren't looking because they think I was responsible, right? I didn't screw that up, did I?"

"No, young man, they still think you're a weak little baby that needs coddling, although they are concerned about what could have done what you did. A lot of stomachs lost their contents when that was discovered," Mister Black reported. "Anyway, eyes forward, we're about there."

Rushing ahead, it was indeed but a moment before River beheld the color shift that told of a change in the forest's level of danger. The current indigo hue gave way to a vibrant violet, and the tree trunks grew even thicker, thorny vines wrapping around several of them.

"And that, my pupil, is another goal for you. In the violet forest layer, the creatures can approach the peak of the Human Realm. Using those, you'll be able to stabilize an early Earth Realm physique, and the violet air itself is conducive to opening your first meridians. Right now, though, it's just a death sentence to step in there."

River nodded, now having a better sense of what that disparity could mean.

"To survive in there, you'll not only need the stronger physique, but I will need to impart to you new methods of attack using essence. You have honed your skills in unarmed combat admirably this past day, but that means nothing when faced with strong venoms and hard exteriors. Much like the world of cultivation in general, for you, this forest has a higher layer beyond, something to achieve and surpass. You keep advancing through the scenery, or you join it, young man."

River clenched his fists in that reflex long etched into the fiber of his being.

"Well, now I've seen it. What do we have around that I can fight next?"

"There are a few options. Something you might also want to concern yourself with is picking a spot to rest for a while. Continual use of the Blood Devouring Palm can replenish your vitality and reduce the need for sleep, but it won't cut it entirely on its own. The last thing you need to do is pick a battle and screw it up because you started dozing off in the middle of it."

"I wouldn't just fall asleep like that in the middle of a fight, would I, Mister Black?" River was somewhat concerned at this revelation about a limitation.

Mister Black laughed. "No, my young student, you wouldn't. But your vision will start blurring, your reflexes will slow, and your attention will wander if you aren't careful. Remember, River, information is vital. That doesn't only mean intelligence about your surroundings or your allies or opponents. It also means knowing yourself." Mister Black's tone became more serious and earnest as he lectured. "You're very new to all this, and you have advanced very fast, so your impression of your limits is very much fluid and imprecise. Your limits aren't only in speed, strength, agility, and vitality, but in things like mental fatigue. As your path continues, much of that will increase beyond your imagination, but you must always keep in mind that nothing can be kept in motion forever. Everything has a limit and an end. Know one before you find the other."

"I understand." River made an effort to engrave this advice in his heart, as he did whenever Mister Black took this particular tone. "So, where do you suggest we go next?"

River retreated into the blue zone of the forest, following Mister Black's directions and delving for more nuggets of wisdom as they set off to continue his tempering.