The griffin-like creature did not pause. With a powerful leap, it sprang at Khalid, its massive claws slashing towards him in a deadly swipe. But Khalid was quick on his feet. He avoided the blow easily. The creature growled in fury, its glowing eyes settling on him before it attacked again, this time attempting to snap him in half with its jaws.
Just as the monster struck, Khalid sprang into the air, dodging the attack with ease. In one fluid motion, he unsheathed his sword, holding it downwards towards the creature below him. His eyes flickered shut momentarily as a dark purple aura burst around him, arcing with suppressed energy. The monster, feeling the threat, attempted to pursue him into the air, launching itself from the ground with its powerful legs.
But it was too late.
Khalid's form flickered, and he vanished for a moment. When he rematerialized, he was already at the rear of the creature, his sword slicing through the air. The monster, as though frozen in mid-air, did not even know what occurred—until Khalid alighted softly on the ground.
There was a moment of silence. Then, with a sickening crunch, the body of the monster tore in two, cut cleanly in half. Its body fell to the ground, dead.
Isshin, Rune, and Karin gazed in stunned silence. They had witnessed great techniques, but nothing on this scale. Khalid's velocity, precision, and brutality astounded them and left them speechless.
Khalid, however, did not seem impressed. Instead, he seemed irritated. He had wanted this quest to be a simple one—nothing that required him to exert actual effort. That he had to use even a fraction of his power irritated him. He muttered to himself that the reward for the quest should be ten times greater.
As he turned to depart, his eyes fell to the earth, where a gleaming beast core lay amidst the fallen. He stooped and retrieved it with an indefinite look of interest before letting out a sigh. "Time to go back."
With that, the four of them went to the area of the commission. Khalid told the person in charge about the mission specifics, handing over the gem and being paid. After that, he glanced at his students. "Let's go get something to eat."
The three students fell back, still in shock at what they had seen.
Um… okay," Rune finally replied as they walked into a local tavern.
Even as they ordered and ate, their minds were preoccupied with Khalid's overwhelming strength. Halfway through the meal, Karin hesitated before finally asking the question everyone had in their minds. "Um… sensei, what's your cultivation realm now?"
Khalid barely even glanced up. "It's nothing wild," he waved the question off, dismissing it entirely.
As the night drew in, the group departed the tavern. Khalid stood outside for a while, gazing upward in silence—not toward the moon, but in the opposite direction. Something unnerving was in his silence. The students did not inquire further. They returned home, each wrapped up in his own thoughts.
When it was time to sleep, none of them were able to sleep.
Not being able to remain motionless, Isshin went out for a breath of fresh air. To his surprise, Karin was sitting there with a distant expression on her face. He sat down next to her, and they both sat in silence initially.
"Can't sleep?" Karin finally asked.
Isshin sighed. "Yeah. I just can't help but wonder what sort of things a person must endure in order to become as strong as Khalid-sensei."
Karin nodded. "From what I've observed of other powerful cultivators… it's never a smooth road.
After a second, Isshin looked at her. "Where are you from, by the way?"
The north," she answered.
"I heard there aren't many people there."
Karin shrugged slightly. "That's right, but it's not as terrible as everyone puts it out to be. We just prefer to be in our own world." Before the topic could be broached further, Rune emerged from behind them. "Yo, what's up?"
Isshin smiled. "I guess none of us can sleep."
"Let's spar then," Rune proposed.
Karin shook her head. "I'll pass. I'm going to cultivate."
Isshin and Rune, though, got into position. They opted for a hand-to-hand combat, pitting their close combat skills against each other. The fight was fierce, both of them stretching themselves to the limit. Isshin just about managed to eke out a victory in the end.
"Yeah… close combat is not really my thing, man," Rune conceded, panting.
You simply must keep moving," Isshin said, extending a hand to pull him up.
While they were preparing to enter, they heard an unusual noise. It came from Khalid's room.
They were curious—and somewhat anxious—and carefully looked through a small window in the wall. What they witnessed disturbed them.
Khalid was training. or rather, he was attempting to. His eyes were shut in intense focus, his body strained. But something wasn't right. There was no Qi flow. No energy movement. It was like he was attempting to push something that wasn't there. His face contorted in rage, his body on the verge of collapse, but he persisted, stubbornly refusing to give up.
The three students looked at each other in concern but decided against intervening. They returned to their rooms, however, sleep did not come so easily that night.
The next week was arduous. Khalid subjected them to rigorous training sessions and quests of escalating difficulty, making them sharpen their teamwork and fighting effectiveness. Gradually but steadily, their camaraderie deepened. With hard work and determination, all of them broke through in cultivation.
Isshin Ryugen
Level: 72
Health: 30
Strength: 42
Endurance: 46
Mana/Qi: 31 Intelligence: 27 Points Available: 6 Level of Cultivation: Golden Core Realm, Stage 4 Titles: None Rune and Karin had also made advances, now at the Golden Core Realm, 4th Stage along with him. Their improvement was undeniable—but the further they went in their training, the more they became aware of how far they still had to go.