Chapter 15: Struggles of the Young Generation

Blacky felt a violent gush of wind crashing into his body. He covered his eyes with his hand, blocking the wind. He saw Stone Village beneath him.

Blacky blinked his eyes a few times then glanced above himself.

Black Bird was flapping its huge wings. Its two claws were pierced into Blacky’s robes.

“Stupid bird! You ripped my special robes! You big for nothing, stupid bird. Don’t you know that you’re supposed to let me ride you?!” Blacky was enraged. His robes were special to him. He wore them everywhere he went. In Tifili Village he was the well-known young thug.

Black Bird chirped angrily in reply. It began to glide up and down violently. Blacky was frightened as heard the sound of his robes tearing apart.

Could the stupid bird understand human speech? Was it a smart bird?

“Lord Black Bird, be merciful! I’m injured, don’t be like this. Raven is my teacher if you kill me he will be very sad. He will cry!” Blacky spoke to the bird, hoping to calm it down.

Black Bird made a snorting sound after listening to Blacky. It began to fly more steadily. Blacky’s eyes rolled back, and then he fainted.

…

A few hours later the sun began to set.

Blacky was lying on a pile of green grass. He rubbed his eyes and looked around the area. Currently he was on top of a mountain.

Raven was standing at the edge of the mountain looking at something below. There were also few black crows flying around him.

Black Bird began to chirp when it noticed Blacky’s movements.

Blacky felt terror when he heard Black Bird. He originally thought Black Bird would have a small brain, like a bird. But Black Bird had the brain of a dog at the very least.

Raven had his back turned as he spoke. “Your injuries are severe you passed out.”

Raven made some hand gestures. Dark energy gathered around his hands, which then manifested into a crow.

“These crows are not real. This is a scouting technique. Experts of Denus Empire have already arrived at Stone Village. We should be safe here anyways.” Raven explained things to Blacky slowly.

Raven turned around and walked to Blacky. “Prepare to take a medicinal bath. You need to recover from your injuries, immediately.”

Raven directly grabbed Blacky by the shoulder. He quickly descended down the peak of the mountain.

Blacky noticed a huge rock which was crudely carved at the top. It seemed like a big bucket due to the water inside. Blacky suspected that it was Raven’s work.

“I never had a medicinal bath. I’ve read about it slightly though. You need to use something with a good amount of heavenly energy.” Blacky wondered what Raven was going to use.

Raven nodded. “I will put in the golden leaf. Instead of consuming it you will absorb it. This will help heal your injury, but you won’t make a breakthrough.”

The golden leaf appeared in Raven’s hands. “It’s said the golden leaf grows on ordinary trees. However a mighty being breathed life onto it, turning it sacred. Even celestials don’t have this ability.” After saying that, Raven tossed the golden leaf into the water.

“Enter now.” Raven glanced at Blacky.

Blacky took off his tattered robes and entered the water. He was surprised to find that the water was warm.

A clear white pill appeared in Raven’s hand. “You used a medicinal pill before right? Eat it as well. This will be your chance to make a breakthrough.”

Blacky took the white circular pill. It was one of the pills Cool Breeze put inside a spatial ring. Apparently Raven was not planning on scamming him.

Blacky didn’t hesitate and immediately put it in his mouth. The pill had a strange fruity aroma. It tasted much better than the brownish pill he had before.

When Blacky swallowed the pill he didn’t feel anything special. After a few minutes he felt a bit light headed. He closed his eyes, white gas appeared within his mind.

“It will take you a few hours to absorb the energies. Don’t fall asleep, move your body every ten minutes.” Raven advised Blacky on the side. “Once you’re done come to the peak of the mountain.”

“Yes.” Blacky replied faintly. At the moment he felt incredibly great. He wished he could remain in this trance forever.

After five hours Blacky felt his body heat up. His bones began to crack when he made a small movement. He felt something rise up his throat. He coughed up a little bit of blood.

The blood was half red and white. The white was impurities which were within his body. Not only from Cool Breeze’s attack, but also other impurities. In a sense Blacky’s body could be considered cleansed.

Blacky smiled happily. He broke through to the third level of the spiritual warrior stage!

…

Blacky didn’t immediately leave the medicinal bath. He remained inside the bath for the whole night. When he finally came out it was already morning.

Blacky saw a neat looking black robe. His previous clothes were gone. Blacky wore the robes, and was happy to see that it had many pockets inside.

Blacky began to climb up to the peak of the mountain. With his current strength, he found it all too simple.

Raven noticed Blacky arriving he simply nodded in greetings. “How was it?”

“It was great! I broke through, on top of that I feel like I’m very close to making another breakthrough! If I can do that I’ll reach the middle stages of the spiritual warrior stage.” Blacky replied with foolish smile.

Blacky pulled on his robes and then looked at Raven. “Branch head thank you for these robes. They’re great!”

“It’s nothing much. It’s the normal bounty hunter associations uniform.” Raven shook his head as he spoke. “I noticed you’re proficient in using throwing weapons. You also use swords.”

Blacky shrugged. “I use anything.”

“What do you prefer the most?” Raven raised an eyebrow hearing Blacky’s response.

“I use whatever weapon is the most expensive.” Blacky replied honestly. “The higher the price, better the weapon. All I have to do is aim to kill anyways, right?”

Raven rolled his eyes. In his opinion Blacky was complete amateur at using any weapon.

“Forget about it. Do you know any martial arts techniques?” Raven questioned Blacky again.

Blacky nodded. “Old Man Black thought me a really good technique. It’s called divine dragon descends from heaven to crush an egg!” Blacky made a claw shape with his right hand, and began to chuckle at the same time. “It’s only effective against men…”

“I don’t need to see it!” Raven snorted and interrupted Blacky. “It seems like that wretched old man hasn’t thought you anything useful at all.”

Blacky shrugged. “I crushed a few eggs in the past.. Every time I did it, the old drunkards would cry!”

“Pttf” Raven spat on the floor in reply. “What the hell is wrong with your head?”

“Caw, caw.” Black Bird by the side nodded his head in agreement.

“I don’t know? Old Man Black told me he only dropped me when he was drunk.” Blacky replied innocently. “Anyways sir Raven, didn’t you say you will teach me something?”

Raven took deep breathes to calm down. “Yes. There’s two and a half months till the Tifili tournament. You need to train hard, there are still three pills left. However you can’t just eat them.” Raven eyed Blacky seriously. “I’m going to give you a few martial arts techniques. Read through them, afterwards you will practice them.”

Blacky smiled sillily. “After eating those pills I’ll be too strong. I’ll skip the reading part ok?”

Raven’s eyes starred at Blacky darkly. Dark energy began to gather in his hands as he slowly spoke. “You can never slack off. If you dare disobey me, I will personally end you by crushing your eggs.”

Blacky felt horrified. Only now did he remember that Raven was a elemental warrior! He was definitely no good person, or else how could he be the branch head of the bounty hunter association?

“Your time to train is limited not only because of the tournament. But due to the laws of heaven and earth!” Raven’s tone was grim as he spoke to Blacky. “Younger generation, have you heard of that term before?”

Blacky nodded in reply. “It’s for people around twenty years old, right?”

Raven snorted. “This term exists due there being harsh restrictions when one grows up. When one becomes twenty they will not be able to train anymore. They will forever be stuck at whatever stage they reach.”

Blacky’s jaws dropped in surprise. “That’s not fair! That means I only have five years to train??”

Raven shook his head. “As one reaches a new boundary their life span will increase. For instance an Elemental Warrior can live for a hundred and fifty years. If you can reach that boundary then you can train for an extra five years. If you become a mortal king, then your life span will be around five hundred years. Even then you can only train for another five years.”

Blacky found it all too hard to believe. “Then how did Old Man Black make a breakthrough a few weeks ago? He’s very old!”

“There is an exception. If one has a divine pill, or heavenly materials. They may consume it. This will perhaps help making a breakthrough. However as you become stronger and older, you will need higher quality materials. After a certain point, it will be impossible to make any progress.” Raven sighed as he spoke with slight disappointment.

“Old Man Black always hated that he was kicked out from his sect at a young age. Do you understand why now?” Raven continually sighed as he spoke. “If he could stay there perhaps he would already be an elemental warrior or even greater.”

Blacky knew better than anyone how Old Man Black hated the Grand Tree Sect. Only now did he understand a bit more about his grudge.

“Branch head, I understand what you mean. In the future I will never slack off!” Blacky spoke with determination in his voice.

A smile appeared on Raven’s face. He spoke feeling quite satisfied. “It’s a cruel world we live in. As long as you try your best, no matter what stage you reach, it’ll be fine.”