“Elder” Gregjoy called in a raspy voice, his hands fidgeting with a red-stained silver cross. The exquisite cross was beautiful– its crimson-red color flowed like the hottest magma. He held it tightly to his chest as the smooth, cold surface glittered in the ghastly, full moon above.

“Where are they?” He inquired, his eyes glancing from side to side. The moon made his face clear to see, and its light contrasted with his blue rove. His black, short-cut hair and brown eyes looked natural with his crude, manly facial traits. One couldn't call him beautiful. However, he was indeed a bit handsome.

“I know not.” a voice sounded out from behind him, whereafter an opal-black clad man appeared from within the darkness, jogging up to his side ever so gently in contrast to Greyjoy's own flushed appearance.

The slender-built man performed a slight bow, asking, “Your orders?”

“Go see how far behind they are," He ordered. “Don't get captured.

"Understood." The man wreathed in opal-black clasped his hands together, then turned around and headed back. His figure blurred like a devilish nightmare; transformed into a dark, powdery mist, disappearing out of view.

A silvery-shine brought light to the surroundings, the smell of moist earth brushed past him. A field of flowers appeared in his eyes. White lotus, Golden Tulip, Buddha's joy, Silver Cristalytheim, the species were as numerous as there were stars. What a paradise this would be if not for the unfortunate circumstances at hand. He clenched the cross tighter and peered backward, to the edge of the woodlands, taking a calm breath when discovering no one was there. His legs were sorer than ever, his mind as strained as the sinew string of a bard’s lute. But he knew he could not stop, not even pause for a breath's time; a single moment of hesitation would cost him his life and shatter the dreams of his beloved.

He had to survive. The old man, his friends, they all counted on him.

“Young master Gregjoy,” called a voice from behind.

Gregjoy flinched at the sound, bringing his fingers to the scabbard by his side in reflex, and spun around to face the foe behind. Dammit, they caught up to him already. Gregjoy cursed and drew his sword. Even if they succeed to kill him, he won't go down without a fight!

“It’s me. Elder Wang.” the same voice stated.

“Oh,” said Gregjoy, straightened his back, relieved after seeing the black dressed elder a few meters away. He had prepared for the worst. “Any news?”

“Yes. According to my estimation, we’ve lost eleven of thirteen elders, over forty of the fifty-two protectors, and all our ten thousand disciples.” The black-clad elder recounted dutifully. “ Many disciples lost their will to fight and has given up, saving their lives in the process. I fear our defeat will come in short. The enemies will soon discover that you're missing. Judging by your position, they don't dare to spare you. Assasins might come any moment, what do you want to do?"

“Those cowards!” Gregjoy clenched his fists white, his nails making hashes in his skin. “How dare they return goodwill with betrayal. After everything the sect has done for them, how do they f*cking dare t–” He stopped abruptly, exhaling loudly.

“Master then. How about him? Did you see him?”

The elder hesitated for a moment, then shook his head solemnly. “His location is unknown. He’s still inside the inner court fighting…”

Looking at Gregjoy with pity, he continued. “Or he has been captured and killed.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yes.” The elder sighed, moist in his eyes. “And the latter is more likely.”

Gregjoy stared blankly for a moment. His mind reeled, every single thought in a mess.

Where do you want to go?” the elder asked, softly like a whisper. “The capital?”

“Mm, no.” Gregjoy bit his lip in. “That’s where they’ll look for me first. Where’s the nearest village?”

“Two hours ride, four by foot.” The elder confirmed, looking over the wide grasslands and high hills in front of them. He followed with his eyes the path that curved itself out from the forest, alongside the crude mountain range tens of miles away like a slippery snake. “ We can arrive before dawn, I think." He said after a while. He turned to Gregjoy.

Gregjoy nodded. "Let's go,"

Two hours later–

"Elder Wang, once we get past the nearest village, we two shouldn’t be seen together.”

“I agree. Doing otherwise would adventure our escape. And we don't know about the Sect Patriarch's current whereabouts which makes me worried. Hmm, I presume he supplied you with proper means to protect yourself before we fled, right?

“Yes, Elder Wang.”

"Good."

Gregjoy and Elder Wang discussed as they shot forward across the mountain path. They were currently a fair bit of distance away from the sect. Soon, they would arrive at the nearest village where they could gather supplies like food and water. Elder Wang is a Core Realm cultivator and could survive for months without nutrients of the mortal world. A cultivator such as him merely needs the energy of Heaven and Earth. But Gregjoy is different. He is only in the Body Refining Realm and has the same need as mortal men.

Suddenly, Elder Wang's face dropped. Before Gregjoy could ask what was going on, the old man threw himself over, grabbed Gregjoy and shot away with him in one of his hands.

A nerve-wracking sound boomed in Gregjoy's ears slightly after.

Looking back to where he had been standing, he noticed that a large crater with the circumference of three to four meters had appeared. The ground inside and around it was charred black, as if a meteor had hit the earth, bringing down an apocalypse of fire.

Gregjoy felt a shiver. That could have been him if not for elder Wang. He wouldn’t even have the time to feel the flames lick his skin, he would have been totally wiped out from existence the moment it hit him. Maybe even before. He felt so powerless. Like a fly. Dammit. Elder Wang bit his thumb and muttered something. Instantly, his speed exploded exponentially, carrying Gregjoy and shooting forward faster than what he had even thought was possible by the old man.

“Haha, you think you can escape? Dream on!” A haughty voice laughed from behind.

A figure approached from the left, a spear in his hand. “Die!”

Elder Wang threw Gregjoy to the side and brought up a sword to parry. “Boom!”

Gregjoy hit the ground and rolled meters before he could stabilize himself. He probably broke a rib from the repercussion of the fall. He gazed over at Elder Wang. A middle-aged man stood in front of the old man, dressed in a red, fiery Taoist robe.

“Did you think you could escape?” The man asked Elder Wang as he laughed.

“Y-.you!” Elder Wang stuttered, his eyes filled with red anger. “Li Bao!”

“Ah, you recognized me. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. You are to die anyway.” Li Bao smirked

“You are an elder of the Firecloud Sect. Our two sects have friendly re-” Elder Wang said, but stopped mid-sentence as if realizing something. “Your sect betrayed us too!?”

“Betrayed is not the best word.” Li Bao said while smiling. “Let’s just call it serving a higher purpose."

“You chose to conspire with the other big clans in order to get a piece of the cake. I get it.” Elder Wang said coldly, his face ashen. “You dare to bite the hand that fed you? Very well. Come! I will show you the power of the Eternal Sword Sect!”

“Haha, you spout nonsense old man. Here, taste my spear!” Li bao said and lunged, stabbing at Elder Wang with his spear. It descended together with a world of fire, flames coming out from Li Bao’s arms. Elder Wang snorted and simply slashed with his sword, evaporating the hot, gargantuan flames.

“You think I’m this easy to bully? Just because I’m an old man?” Elder Wang said as the self-confidence and arrogance on Li Bao’s face disappeared just as quickly as Elder Wang slashed his sword again. Blood spurted and Li Bao’s left arm fell to the arm, cut off from his body like a torn off branch from a tree.

Li Bao retreated several steps with a grim face. He held onto his stump.

“You have become senile, old man.”

“What?” Elder Wang asked, lifting his eyebrow.

Li Bao suddenly smiled. “You never spread out your awareness.”

Elder Wang’s eyes constricted

“Pucchi!”

A sword stuck out through his stomach, blood wetting his black garment, coloring it crimson. His body convulsed and a sip of blood between his lips emerged, slowly becoming bigger and bigger until it became a river. Elder Wang coughed violently, spewing up vast amounts of blood. He slowly looked down to his stomach. Shocked, he touched it with his hand, feeling the warm, fresh blood.

“Elder Wang!” Gregjoy screamed.

“Haha, good job, Li Bao! You fooled him well, ahaha!” An old man laughed, emerging from behind Elder Wang. The old man removed his sword from Elder Wang’s body. With a low thud, the elder’s life was extinguished, his now feeble body falling to the ground only to never move again.

Li Bao smiled and cupped his hands. “Thank you, Ancestor Ren!”

Gregjoy stood paralyzed. Looking at Elder Wang’s lifeless body, waves of guilt washed over him. He wasn’t very familiar with the man and only knew it was one of his master’s most trusted. But Elder Wang had protected him with life. He had the chance to escape and leave Gregjoy, but he didn’t. Tears fell from Gregjoy's face, he was ashamed.

“Ah, you’re that old monster’s disciple, eh?” Li bao finished patching his stumped arm and turned to Gregjoy who stood as if he was frozen in Ice, tilting his head with a wide grin. “You want to know how he died?”

Hearing Li Bao speaking, Gregjoy felt like the world had collapsed. He felt despair. But then that despair turned into an unwillingness to believe. He couldn’t accept it. I wasn’t true. His master, that old man, was the strongest one he had ever met. He was like a father to him.

“N-no, that can’t be true, it isn’t true. Master isn’t dead!”

“Oh?” Li Bao laughed wildly. “You don’t believe me? Haha, I have to admit, he fought very bravely. One hundred elders and five clan Patriarchs attacked him. With only one sword, he killed over half of us. We couldn't even ascertain the level of his cultivation. What a freaking monster. Luckily for us, his energy energy eventually ran dry so that we could deliver the finishing blow."

“No…” Gregjoy fell to his knees, still not able to believe it. Whispering to himself, “Old man, you can’t be dead, right? There’s so much I don’t know, so much you haven’t taught me….” Tears fell even harder, pouring down from his face. “Please master, this can’t be true…”

Li Bao laughed while the old man stood expressionless.

“Well, it doesn’t matter if you believe me or not.” Li bao stepped forward, and in a flash, suddenly appearing before Gregjoy. “You are destined to die either way. Time for you to join your dear master!”

“Goodbye!” Li Bao said and stabbed his spear at him.

Just as the spear was about to hit Gregjoy, a red, almost crimson colored bubble enveloped him, blocking the spear and send it away along with Li Bao. Gregjoy heard a familiar voice, a voice he used to listen to every day as he swung his sword, as he meditated, and as he ate.

The exquisite, red-stained cross floated in the air. A voice rumbled from it. “If you hear this boy, that mean I'm probably not alive anymore. Before I left I transferred some of my power in case you found yourself in a dire position. Looks like I was right to do so. Here is but a fragment of my consciousness. Boy, please forgive this useless man. I died and failed as your master."

“Master!” Gregjoy crawled up to your knees. “I…”

“Don’t cry, boy. Some things in life are inevitable. We just have to learn how to tackle them. I've lived a long, prosperous life with many ups and down. The only regret I have is that I can't spend more time with you. Inside the cross I gave you lies the accumulation of my life. Guard it well. Live a good life and don't try to avenge me, I don't want you to be driven by revenge. Alas, I can't hold on for much longer, the power within the cross isn't enough. I will have to send you away now, boy. No, my son. You are like a son to me, yes, the son I never had, but always wanted.... goodbye..."

The red in front of Gregjoy distorted, and so did his surroundings. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again he was somewhere entirely else. Master had used what was rest of him to transport Gregjoy away from the danger.

“Master…”

Gregjoy cried again. But he didn't cry ordinary tears, but tears of blood, symbols of the sorrow and grief he felt at this moment. And at the same time, he was so angry, so mad at his weak self. If he had been stronger, all this might not have happened.