Two days have passed since Raiken's arrival to the Grey-Wolf Village. The Wolf Chief left on the morning of the second day. Both the Blood-Hound Clan Head and Beast-Master Clan Head accompanied him.

Among the junior generation stood Enrehu, Enruzan's son!

"That lizard is truly an existence that defies everything".

Flicking a gaze of annoyance towards him, a tall red haired youngster with dog ears berated, "How many times are you going to repeat that"?

Holding up two sabers, a smile of satisfaction lit up Enrehu's face. "Don't you feel the same? With only a single demonstration, it was able to show me a smoother circulation sequence for my Dual Wolf-Fang set. The timing was greatly improved, it's destructive prowess can't be compared to before either".

A crackle came from the bones in the red haired youth's shoulders as he rotated his arms. "You should be able to get back some wins with that being the case right"?

The cocky red haired young man with dog ears was Ruffin. Clan Head Roshi's son, of the Blood-Hound Clan.

He proved himself to be the strongest among the juniors. Defeating the giant Grim-Jaw and besting the skillful Enrehu. Kiszac's son Moti was the one who gave him the most pressure though.

These four future Clan Heads were the real deal, even their elders would have to fight seriously to prevail over them!

There was a piercing light in Enrehu's yellow eyes. "I'm confident that the wind from my sabers can smother your flames".

"Before that though", he went on, "have you realized that with Moti hanging back, he could have all the guidance of the Esteemed Lizard to himself"?

An expression of understanding came on Ruffin's face when he put together what this meant. "While we're out sweating on the road, getting eaten up by bugs, the bastard will be leisurely learning energy application methods".

"That's right", Enrehu said, somehow feeling left hanging for no valid reason.

That happened this morning, as the group that were heading to answer the Chief Summons were on their way out.

Enruzan didn't have the face left to be in the lizard's presence, he used his son as a middle man to spare himself from experiencing those feelings of shame.

In exchange for his wisdom tooth, the lizard refined a batch of Lunar Essence pellets for the Wolf Chief. He gave some to his son, keeping the rest for himself.

They could access their wolf forms whenever they pleased with the addition of those. Enruzan was confident in even surviving the assault of a Master with the pellets in his arsenal.

As it looked, the trip was off to a good start.

Kiszac and Moti led the rest of the Village in seeing them off. For some reason, this pair of father and son seemed really gleeful.

It was now approaching noon, the Red-Nose father and son hurried back to the dining hall after seeing off the Chief's group.

They were now seated before Raiken, who was enjoying a dish of noodles and meatballs covered in a thin brown sauce.

Slurping the noodles he had rolled on his fork, he squinted at this pair of father and son who wanted him to instruct them in swordsmanship. It was a practice he had complicated feelings towards. His Grandpa Dragon-Eye that was always around him since he was still just a mere embryo demanded him to dedicate his life to it.

These two were another bunch of blade lovers, when he thought he'd finally put all matters related to boring sword training sessions behind him, here they came, returning him back to it.

He would've ran them off if the Clan Head wasn't so useful in helping him broaden his knowledge of the Central Mountain.

"Alright", Raiken sighed helplessly, "I'll make it short and easy to understand for you. To get the greatest output in your sword moves, a fine level of control needs to be strictly applied. Before putting your energy in circulation, it's best to separate lines as thin as your limit of control can make them. After you form a thick row of them, press it as thin as your limit of control can do again. Continue on in this manner until it approaches a volume that is the limit of what you can maintain".

Refusing to miss a word, the two Red-Noses leaned towards Raiken unconsciously.

"When you have the energy maneuvered into a proper shape, keep it held together even when you're not circulating it. Letting it stay in your energy center like that will gradually speed up it's formation. It'll reach a state where you can circulate it instantly without having to build it up. At the level after this, you'll have to convert your moves to Corporeality Symbols. Anyone who hasn't achieved mastery shouldn't bother thinking about it".

Raven was also present, back after reporting the big news to the Clover family. Patriarch Four-Leaf scared him, behaving like he was ready to tear Raven's clothes off with his appetite for research. Mapping out a path for humans to also savor the practice of Refinement without having to keep their heads down in fear of supernatural beings was the Clover Family's dearest life's work.

Being able to bear witness to the emergence of a human practitioner brought tears to the Patriarch's eyes. He pounded Raven with questions, before asking to meet the lizard responsible for them being able to realize their dreams.

His request for a meeting was put off by Raiken, who only cared about improving the abilities of his two Chefs at the moment.

Raven was hiding out here to avoid the tests Patriarch Four-Leaf was trying to have him do.

He and the two of Red-Nose Clan absorbed Raiken's break down on sword maneuvers without allowing their minds to get distracted. The bowl that was big enough for him to bathe in was refilled when he finished it. He didn't stop the lesson until he swept through nearly 20 bowls.

Lying with his back on the table, Raiken patted his stomach in satisfaction. "You guys can scram out of my sight now. I've given you enough to polish your skills. After learning how to apply it smoothly, there won't be many things your sword can't cut clean through".

There was a lot to review, the Red-Nose father and son cupped their hands respectfully before Raiken. "We appreciate you taking the time out to teach us, Esteemed Guest. Let us be out your way, I look forward to having another of these lessons for the master level maneuvering techniques".

Speaking like he was guaranteed to attain mastery, Kiszac moved with lighter steps, leaving the dining hall with his son whispering excitedly to him.

With his Astral Refinement scripture and the sword maneuvers Raiken taught to occupy him, Raven sat off to the side. The Astral Refinement energy the scripture produced was potent, sword moves executed under it's power will be sharper, the force added together with it increased the lethality multiple folds too.

He did his circulations with full concentration. Sword strokes flashed in his consciousness, there were points where an elusive pulse spread across his body. When the sensation came over him, he rose to his feet, going to the middle of the hall. His mind was in a state where everything moved slowly, it felt heavier, as Raven's arm moved to draw his sword, it was like an invisible force pushed back at him.

A strong urge to do sword exercises had gripped him, resisting it was like not scratching a persistent itch.

It seemed like his muscles were straining too much with every movement. He actually had to heave with all his might just to swing his sword in a simple upward cut.

Raven frowned at being subject to the phenomenon. It felt like he would die if he tried the more complicated maneuvers.

After practicing another few sword cuts, Raven was forced to call it a rap.

Dropping to the floor on his butt, he sucked in air with hard pulls. These weren't ordinary sword techniques, you had to move your body while keeping your circulation to it's correct points.

His muscles and bones needed to be tempered before he could use these new skills with better ease.

Raiken had only taken a look, training in higher forms of swordsmanship will be a struggle for ones with starting points as low as humans had. Their body's limits needed to be exceeded by many times until unleashing them became similar to swinging regular sword strokes.

Watching a guy swing a sword around while looking as if he was trying to squeeze out a giant turd wasn't interesting, so Raiken closed his eyes to heighten the circulation of his Draconic energy.

Not that long had passed when the metal door leading to the kitchen swung open. A big bellied muscular man walked in carrying a plate with an iron covering. His long white shirt had a high collar, the hat on his head had a brim of smelted gold and metal. Even the cloth which the top was threaded with had gold that was melted and fused in it.

This man was Mhackie, a highly valued Chef of the dining hall.

He spent all of yesterday sweating over an oven, trying to make something the lizard would like. A number of items he either cooked or baked were rejected before he decided on the one he was carrying.

Hopefully it could pave the way for him to make a request.

"Good day to you Esteemed Lizard, remember me from when you had breakfast yesterday"?

Lazily, Raiken opened a crimson eye to study the Chef. He did recall this pregnant looking guy, but he didn't want to be bothered. When he was about to send him away, Mhackie removed the cover from the plate he carried.

A sweet smell entered Raiken's nostrils, leaving behind a pleasant tingle. He looked at the plate and saw a pie with yellow crust, caramel colored icing was spread across it in thin lines.

It could give you high expectations about it's taste just by how good it looked.

When he saw Raiken open both of his eyes, unable to look away from the pie, Mhackie's nervous heart could finally settle down.

From the looks of it, his skill as a Chef could even win over mighty monsters when he put all of his heart into it, Mhackie thought. Maybe his colleague who always went on about how cooking that was done from the love you had in your heart for it would always be the best, was on to something.

"I brought you a snack, I hope it's alright".

Still not taking his eyes away from the pie, Raiken nodded distractedly. "Sure, I don't mind, it looks like you did a good job".

With Raiken's acceptance of his offering, Mhackie gave a silent cheer at crossing the biggest hurdle.

"Then here you are. Give it a taste, let me know if it's to your liking".

He placed the pie on the table with a big smile, showing off a set of straight white teeth.

Without caring about maintaining his manner as a peerless existence, Raiken dug into the pie, grabbing a handful in his claw.

Some of it smeared across his snout when he stuffed it in his mouth. There wasn't a clash of tastes between the different items used to make the pie, which were all sweets of various kinds. They were skillfully blended together to enhance the taste of the main ingredient.

In a flicker which couldn't be seen by the eye, Raiken's hand scooped the plate. He was so lost in the tastiness, he hadn't realized the pie was all gone until his hand kept reaching yet still coming up empty.

"That's all"?! He cried out mournfully.

"I'll assume that you like it then Esteemed Lizard", Mhackie laughed. "I put a few more in the oven together with that one exactly in case of that".

"I'll have my daughter bring them in", this was his actual objective. It was rumored that the lizard could see what kind of Spirit Body you had when it looked at you. This topic was brought up all of yesterday and today among the members of the dining hall. Their Head Chef Marlhi and her daughter learned about their Spirit Bodies from it.

Raven, "The Luck of the Clover", was already sitting there now practicing Refinement.

No matter how far out of reach they were often told it was, humans have never given up on their dream to become a Refiner!

With a definite route to making that wish come true just an arm length away, it would be surprising if they didn't grow restless.

Chef Mhackie's regular favorite move of hanging back and letting others test the waters was discarded without a second thought here.

He wanted the lizard to lay it's eyes upon his daughter, it'll be great news for them if it turned out that she had a useful Spirit.

After giving Raiken another broad smile, he went back to the kitchen door. Sticking his head in, he yelled for someone to go get his daughter.

They didn't wait long before a skinny girl in a white undercook's shirt walked in carrying a covered plate. Her long hair was tied into two neat buns on top of her head.

Two more Undercooks followed after her, carrying plates of their own.

These were merely side characters in Mhackie's eyes. Mere stage hands to carry things around for the true star, his daughter!

"That's my daughter, Izzy, right here Esteemed Lizard. This stinky girl actually knows a thing or two about cooking".

This was the play he took out to bring the lizard's attention to his daughter.

Izzy was embarrassed getting called stinky in front of other's by her father. She would've caught a fit if the Esteemed Lizard she heard was going to teach Liqi magic lessons wasn't here.

Before a great being like this who could make Village Chief's helpless, and order around Clan Head's, she was more subdued.

"Oh? She knows how to cook tasty things as well"?

Any other detail they told the baby demon about her wouldn't have stood out as much.

He looked more closely at her than he otherwise would have.

A shiver couldn't be prevented as Izzy came under Raiken's crimson eyes.

"Well, her Spirit isn't one that fits well with a cooking profession".

Was Raiken's verdict, to Mhackie's disappointment.

An insecure look of fragility dulled Izzy's eyes, she gazed at her father as if telling him to fix it somehow.

The normally quick witted Mhackie was flustered by his little princess's dilemma.

"If not cooking, is there something else her Spirit is good for"?

With his mouth still tingling pleasantly from the pie, Raiken felt more accommodating towards the Chef.

"There is. Though she won't be able to fry anything to deliciousness, frying it to a crisp won't be an issue".

At first Mhackie didn't get the joke, but he guessed it after some thinking. "Her Spirit might not be much help with cooking, but it should show it's true worth in a fight".

Though it disappointed him that she won't be able to follow in his footsteps, he was still able to share a relieved laugh with Raiken.

Izzy puffed out a breath of relief too that at least her Spirit wasn't useless. She couldn't picture herself as a sweaty warrior, and muscles weren't cute on a girl either. It made her wonder what other kinds of work a Spirit could be a good aid for.

She knew about fighting and cooking, but were there Spirits that could aid in treating sick people? Or ones that could help keep bugs and other pests away from people's homes?

Watching the silver lizard spreading more pie on it's snout as it swept through another one, Izzy thought it looked cute instead of like a mighty beast.

_________________________________________

Back in the Nar Orc territory, the Trollsbane squad members built an enormous building to serve as their Chief's base in two days.

They sat up late into the night before, eating the raw flesh of monsters who had the poor luck to fall into their hands. Wooden containers with tops that could be pulled off were passed around. As a species of monster which had night vision, the orcs didn't need light to see.

Cooking food to purge bacteria was also unnecessary with their powerful digestive and immune systems.

The idea that eating could be pleasant beyond the benefits to your Refinement hadn't come to them.

Using the muscle coordination technique Pernoaken created, the Trollsbane Squad members improved their bodies through eating the flesh of monsters.

Last night when they were eating their full, getting drunk while bragging about their sexual prowess, a slit opened up in the sky some distance away from them.

When they were slumped back feeling satisfyingly drunk, a silver light flashed as it moved leaving a wind in it's trail. It blew away revealing Chief Merken, standing with the light scattering behind him.

As his black eyes looked in the distance at the slit in the sky, he cursed at it being on this side of the border between his territory and the Air Rending Lion tribe.

Why couldn't it be on those bloodthirsty Lion's side? At every chance they could, these cats were quick to show off their prowess.

These two factions were both full of top killers, the leaders of both groups only needed a glance to tell a war between them would only benefit others at the end of it. Neither of them wanted to lose their core members in a fight that didn't have the appropriate gains.

This Tribe which consisted of Clans of predatory cats under the the Air-Rending Lion Clan's rule stayed on their side of Southern Tyjuku. Merken's House of Nar did the same, without once trespassing through the generations of each party.

Both of these landlords had a healthy respect for each other's killing prowess!

Merken felt that this odd slit in the sky couldn't be anything good! From what he was observing so far, it even seemed to be growing larger.

"Chief"!

"Chief you were up? We didn't disturb your rest did we"?

"Hiccup. The Chief? Where? You bastards need to quit playing, for I kick you in the balls".

It had to be noted that every Nar Orc felt pride in their identities as Orcs with deep history. Other Orc Tribes even used an offshoot of their Nar tongue to make their own tribal language.

For the Nar name, these orcs would kill and were never scared to die!

"Ha, ha, ha. How do you like this pleasant surprise Spike Head"?

A deep voice was blown on the wind, currents of golden air strung together to form a huge lion head. While his subordinates were thrown back to sobriety by it's appearance, Merken looked back calmly with a silver light revolving in his eyes.

"Why are you giving me that kind of look? Don't tell me you want to go ahead and count this as trespassing? Because technically, it's not. Ha, ha ha".

Chief Merken scoffed, "I don't have the time to joke around with you. While you're laughing at me, you better make sure that the busybodies coming to stick their noses over here don't knock over your litter box when they're sniffing around".

"Ha, ha, ha. That might not be a bad thing, it might be just the push I need to attain mastery", the Chief of the Air Rending Tribe, Hack, returned with a booming laugh, his voice becoming a purr.

"It's even better that the phenomenon appeared on your side. Even I won't be stress free if one of those elementals from up top comes to investigate".

This was the thing that worried the two Chiefs. An Elemental from the Sky Country taking an interest in the event, there was a chance that they would be forced to provide assistance. Which wasn't something to be worried about by itself.

It would become another story though if the forces in the deep forest decided to step in. They've always been firmly against the Sky Country gaining any sort of lasting influence in the forest. Which they regarded as their property.