The manual his master gave him contained dozens of techniques in different realms and elements. Some of them occupied the same function and level of power, though, differing mostly in specialization. For wind movements techniques at the Lesser Ring Realm, for instance, there were three distinct lines of specialization Red could have gone for: acceleration, sustained movement, and stealth.

They each had their own strengths and weaknesses, and it was possible to learn all of them and even fuse their functionalities at a high enough mastery. For a beginner, though, it was better to focus on one at first, and Red opted for stealth since it better suited his current needs.

Gale Drift was exactly that. It focused on the lightness of the wind to soften movements, making one’s body seem as light as a feather as they used wind currents to move from place to place. Such a technique allowed for a high skill ceiling, since it relied a lot on a cultivator’s ability to read and manipulate wind currents to glide from spot to spot, while it also spent a relatively small amount of energy.

Its weakness also related to its strength. Since this was a Spiritual Art that relied a lot on manipulation of the surrounding wind currents, it could be heavily affected by external factors. Strong winds could disrupt the path of its user, while stale air would also require a lot more energy to use the technique.

These weren’t deal-breakers to Red, though. Such adverse conditions could be circumvented with enough skill, and it just so happened that wind manipulation was what he was best at.

After he felt he had rested enough, Red set about activating the Spirit Gathering Formation.

Aurelia’s image manifested by the side, leaning against the wall as she inspected him with a frown.

“Already?” She asked. “You barely rested.”

“I have no time to waste.” Red shook his head. “Besides, I already memorized the Spiritual Art’s instructions. It will just be a matter of execution, so I should get it in a couple of days.”

Aurelia sneered. “A couple of days? When did you get this arrogant?”

Red shook his head. “It’s not arrogance.”

He was just confident in his skills. After practicing the Gale Breath, he now more or less had a way to judge how hard mastering such skills would be with his talent. This Gale Drift wasn’t any harder than the previous one, hence why he felt confident.

Aurelia shook her head and smiled. “Spiritual Arts aren’t just about understanding what’s on paper. Even if you master the circulation, you need to know how to use it in tandem with your body. This won’t be as easy as you think.”

“That may be so, but I won’t know until I try.” Red said as he put five spirit stones into the formation.

The density of Spiritual Energy increased in the room, and the youth stepped into the center of the formation as he begin his preparation.

He took a deep breath, and streams of energy entered his veins through his pores. He circulated that current, transforming it into the wind-aspected energy of the Storm’s Blessing circulation art and, once he felt he had enough energy, started to direct it according to the manual’s instructions.

As a movement technique, the circulation of the Gale Drift focused mostly on the lower body, and it didn’t require much preparation, unlike a spell. It took Red almost ten seconds to adjust the flow of energy through its proper path and in a state where it could be used.

Ten seconds was way too long for the activation of a movement Spiritual Art, but since this was the youth’s first time executing it, it was good enough.

Once the energy was ready, Red directed it to exit his body through his legs. An almost invisible cyan mist surrounded his feet and lower leg. He immediately sensed as if his body became much lighter, and it was as if a simple gust of wind could blow him away into the distance.

It was a strange and wondrous feeling, but Red didn’t have the time to dwell on it. With the initial part of the Spiritual Art complete, he focused on his surroundings in search of wind currents. This closed off space was the perfect environment to practice, as the wind from outside was weak, and easy enough for the youth to trace and capture.

Once he spotted a stable wind current blowing towards the other side of the room, Red didn’t lose his chance. He skipped forward, as if trying to step on air, his cyan feet landing upon the weak current.

And in the next moment, he floated. A fantastic and terrifying feeling at the same time, but it proved to him that the technique worked.

Yet this moment of wonder only went on for a split moment. With a sudden lurch, Red felt his body being carried forward outside of his control at a high speed. He tried to stop himself, or at least control how he was going to land, but as soon as he exerted force on his legs, the support he felt from the wind current disappeared.

‘It broke?’

These were Red’s last thoughts before he crashed into the ground with all his weight. He knocked down boxes and pieces of furniture, creating a path of disaster before crashing against the wall with a heavy thud.

After the sound of falling items and broken vases stopped, a heavy silence followed. Then a peal of laughter and a scream of worry.

“Ha, you idiot!”

“Master, are you okay?!”

Emer hurried over to him, but Red brushed him off as he got up.

“I’m fine.”

“R-Really?” The imp asked.

“I said I’m fine.” Red shook his head before walking back to the formation.

Aurelia stared at him with a look of gloating. “I told you it wouldn’t be so easy. Perfecting the energy circulation is the easy part, the hard part is to actually execute the technique!”

Red ignored her, looking around the room. Then, he directed his attention towards the imp.

“Move those items to another room.”

“A-Another room, master? Unless you plan on taking things upstairs, we might run out of space soon.”

“It’s fine.” Red shook his head. “It’s just for now.”

He couldn’t afford to have a cluttered environment as he practice his technique. That, and he couldn’t afford to damage his products whenever he crashed down.

“You’re just going to get back into it?” Aurelia asked with derision. “No time to ponder what you got wrong?”

“No point.” Red shook his head. “It will become clear with more practice.”

She smiled. “Really? If you want to, I can give you some tips.”

“No need. I can do this myself.”

“Hah! Suit yourself! Just be careful not to break your neck when you fall down again!”

And fall down he did.

Not once or twice, but for more times than he could count.

…

The first day.

“Look out! Someone might come to investigate all these crashing noises!”

“You made a dent on the wall there!”

“Ah, you almost crushed the imp that time!”

…

The second day.

“Falling down with a roll?! Any enemy would take advantage of that in battle!”

“What kind of stance is that?! Is that how you land on your feet?!”

“Why are you looking at me?! What’s there to be proud about landing on your own two feet?!”

…

The third day.

“… Don’t get cocky! See if you can ride a stronger wind this time!”

“Hah, there we go! Not so easy, is it?”

“Let’s see if you can actually use it in the way it’s meant to be used!”

…

Later on that third day.

“Bah! It’s just a damn Lesser Ring Realm technique! If you made any less progress with your talent in wind, I would be surprised instead!”

Red finally deigned to sit down, deactivating the formation that had provided him with constant energy for practice. Then he took a deep breath and let his muscles relax.

He did it. He mastered the Gale Drift Spiritual Art at an initial stage, being able to activate it in less than a second. Though he would like to credit his perseverance to it, the truth was that the task wasn’t as hard as he imagined it would have been.

His mastery over wind seemed to give him insight into how these wind currents worked. How much weight he could apply on them before they broke, how far and how fast they could take him - these were all things that became apparent to Red in the first day of practice. After that, it became a matter of executing it successfully, a long process that was much expedited thanks to him being able to identify all his mistakes very quickly.

Now, he felt confident in riding most wind currents with his Gale Drift, even some stronger ones. However, he could only call this initial mastery of the Spiritual Art, and not complete mastery, because learning how to ride the currents was just one half of the technique. The other half was how to control said currents while riding them, directing them towards where you wanted to go with as much speed as you wanted to.

That was still something he was far from mastering.

‘Right now, I’m very beholden to the surrounding winds in how I move, but…’

For a three-day effort, it was a staggering success for Red.

“Master.” Emer approached him once he noticed the youth stopped cultivating. “Tomorrow is the day you agreed to go investigate that formation for Young Master Northvale, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Red nodded. “But I have something to do first.”

“M-More?” The imp seemed worried. “You have been practicing for so long, master… Do you think that’s wise?”

“It’s fine.” Red nodded. “This was nothing compared to drawing formations.”

The youth wasn’t boasting either. This practice was much easier than the energy and concentration he spent building the Spirit Gathering Formation, and at most, his Upper and Lower Leg Spiritual Veins felt sore.

Such discomfort was akin to nothing at all to Red, though.

“B-But what else do you plan to do, master?” Emer asked.

“I’ll be going out.”

“T-This late?!”

“It will be fine.” Red said. “I don’t intend on being noticed.”

“B-But, master…”

“Just make sure things are in order here.” The youth said. ”If anyone tries invading the house while I’m away, you know what to do.”

The imp hesitated, but staring at Red’s impassive face made him nod. The youth then turned around and started to walk upstairs.

“Master?” The imp seemed confused. “Are you not leaving?”

“I am.” Red said. “Not through the front door, though.”

Over the weeks he spent in this manor, the youth had become accustomed to being spied from outside, often by the same regular set of fluctuations. Said spies observed his house at all times, covering all angles of escape Red could have taken - including the upstairs windows.

This was a problem for Red, as while this movement technique made his steps silent and his movements quick, it didn’t make him invisible. If he tried to leave his house, they would notice him, and even if he tried to lose them after, wouldn’t they be inclined to break into his manor by then?

It was a tough situation to be in, but thankfully, the people spying on him were only mortals, so Red had a potential solution at hand. And as it so happened, the time to put his plan into action was almost here.

As Red arrived at one of the bedrooms upstairs, he stood beside a window and focused on a certain fluctuation on the other side of the street. The youth could tell with his crimson sense that they posted on a roof of a neighboring house, where they could see all the windows on this side of his manor.

‘It should be just about now.’

Sure enough, another fluctuation approached that spy. This happened every night, and it was a change in shift Red had gotten used to. Once he felt the two fluctuations make contact, the youth peered through the curtain of his window, and sure enough, two almost imperceptible shadowy figures seemed to be speaking to each other a few hundred meters away. It would have been almost imperceptible in the night, even for a Lesser Ring Realm cultivator, but Red was blessed with a vision that allowed him to see at night as well as he could in daylight.

Once these two people turned towards each other, the youth moved.

The window unlatched, and he hopped out before waving his hands behind him and closing the window with a soft gust of wind. Then, he landed on a dark alley by the side of his manor, crouching down and paying attention to the surrounding fluctuations.

The two spies kept the same state of emotion, and soon enough, the new arrival set himself down while the older one walked away and disappeared from the range of his crimson sense. They hadn’t noticed anything.

With a hop, Red moved through the alleys, avoiding any fluctuations that might be coming in his direction. Once he was far away from his home, he climbed up the side of a building, looking over the modestly rich area of the city he lived in.

‘No one is following me.’

Only when Red noticed this, did he slightly relax.

Aurelia’s voice reached his ears. “Can you tell me what you’re doing, or are you going to keep me in the dark again?”

“You can guess.” Red said.

The woman was smart enough to figure this out on her own.

“You’re going to visit that girl?” She asked.

“Yes.” Red nodded. “I want you to examine her.”

“Since when did I agree to such a thing?”

“I thought we were partners.”

“Gah, you only say that when it benefits you!” Aurelia said. “But fine! I’ll help you, but I’ll be keeping track of this favor this time!”

“Very well.” Red nodded.

His attention then turned to the distance, where the lights of the slums at the edge of the city still burned. That was his destination, and now Red had the means to arrive there safely.

‘Let the wind carry me.’

His energy circulated, and a soft cyan energy covered his feet. The youth waited, and a few seconds later, he felt a breeze hit his back.

Then, he hopped off the building, and like a leaf to the wind, a dark figure floated over the neighborhood, unseen and unheard by anyone.