Forgotten One

Just as Lei Shu finished eating, he pleaded for the recipe, "So how do you make the spring-summer glow?"

"There's no point in me telling you the recipe now. You haven't even heard of the ingredients as they aren't obtainable in the Shu Empire." Mo Fen replied. "Also, at this point in your training, you could become a Beast Tamer. However, I don't know of any Beast Taming techniques to teach you. Unless you find someone that is versed in such techniques you won't be able to proceed on the path of the Dao of the Beast. Right now, just focus on your cultivation, don't think about beasts until you break into the Mind Forging realm."

"Master, this disciple doesn't know much, can you explain the Mind Forging realm?"

Mo Fen had gotten used to Lei Shu's lack of knowledge by this point.

"The Mind Forging realm is broken up into 10 minor realms, so it's the same as Body Tempering in that aspect. Mind Forging is the next great realm after Body Tempering. During the Body Tempering realm, you temper your body 10 times, with each tempering your body can withstand more spiritual energy without killing yourself. This is why this is the first realm; it is a necessary foundation for advancing."

"In the Mind Forging realm, you obviously don't forge your mind. Everyone was already born with a mind of their own, in this realm, you must forge pathways in your mind. With each pathway, you forge your mind will remember and grow accustomed to it. What these pathways do is make you circulate your spiritual energy faster. The faster the circulation the faster the attack and the slower the circulation the stronger the technique. In the Mind Forging realm, you'll finally begin to learn basic techniques."

"The only issue is that you cannot overuse your spiritual energy or any of these techniques. In the Body Tempering and Mind Forging realm, you cannot produce your own spiritual energy. If you attack without care using this energy your body will become exhausted and you may even pass out from the fatigue. Only the next realm will alleviate that problem but you're still far off from that so let's not talk about it now. Also, with each increase in realm your body will be capable of storing more spiritual energy."

Lei Shu thought about it and sighed. He really was too far from other realms. He basically just began his journey; he wasn't even halfway through the Body Tempering realm. He gave up on the idea of speculating the impact future realms would have on him, none of it mattered right now. The next goal was Mind Forging realm but to reach that he needed to pass through the Body Tempering realm first.

"Master what should we do now, we've finished our feast and its already morning, isn't there any training I should do?"

Mo Fen took a red powder out of his sleeve and sprinkled it on the beast bones. "Young one, sit back and enjoy life, everything isn't about cultivation, even though many people believe it to be. This powder is from the dark horse, if you grind its hooves down to dust, you'll obtain a red powder. It's good for preserving food, here give the bones to Billa. He won't ever have to worry about them rotting again!"

"As for your training, hmmm. You're currently at the second stage of Body Tempering so we could go dabble around the inner portion of the canyon and try to fight mid-stage rank 1 spiritual beasts. With your growth now you may be able to break through to the third stage of Body Tempering…"

"AOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Billa was currently a rank 1 spiritual beast as well but he was much stronger than any beast at the same realm of cultivation as him. The weird thing was that his body was emitting a faint ominous black haze. It slowly engulfed his body and made a small cocoon. Spiritual energy was flowing towards the cocoon, it was unclear if it was nurturing it, or being devoured completely.

Lei Shu had never seen Billa act in such a way, he didn't know if this was a bad omen or a gift.

"Master, what's happening to Billa will he be okay? The dark spiritual energy doesn't look too friendly; it is madly devouring the spiritual energy around it."

Mo Fen's eyes glowed with a dull brilliance. "My disciple you truly are a great man, someone who will have his own path, unhindered by anyone. Your body is of Earth, your mind of Heaven and your heart of Hell. You are absolutely brilliant, a miracle disciple."

Lei Shu wasn't sure what to say, "Old man I get that I'm great and all but what in the world is happening to my companion? All I need is a few words, will he be safe or not, and if he isn't safe is there anything I can do."

Mo Fen admired Lei Shu's loyalty. "As of right now, there is truly nothing you can do for Billa. He is currently attempting to advance, I guess he pushed the issue in order to help you rise in cultivation faster. He probably also did it so he wouldn't become a burden for you."

"That dark cocoon surrounding his body is made from his spiritual energy. Magical/Spiritual Beasts are much different than us. Their bodies are incredibly tough, and they are born innately with spiritual energy. Some beasts can work to the point they obtain spiritual energy, but some gifted beasts are born with it. The only thing out of the ordinary is the amount of spiritual energy it is absorbing. Normally this advancement wouldn't take too long because it's just in the early stage of rank 1 which is akin to Body Tempering. However, with this much energy being absorbed, Billa must be incredibly more powerful than we imagined, his potential must be crazy."

"A major difference between Spiritual Beasts and us is that we have 10 minor realms. Every # increase for a spiritual beast indicates a great realm advancement. If a beast is rank 2, then they are in the Mind Forging realm. Also, spiritual beasts only have 3 minor realms early, mid and late stage. Some beasts may even refer to themselves as peak stage if they are unable to advance but they are stuck at the threshold for the rest of their lives. There can be peak stage mortals as well. Although they have 3 minor realms, it isn't any easier for them to breakthrough. Beasts have a greater lifespan than mortals and due to this it is harder for them to break through to the next minor realm and it is even harder to break through to the next great realm."

"Judging by this Billa really is extraordinary. You found each other and I would say that this was fated, but I don't believe in that nonsense."

Lei Shu's face had a tinge of red to it, he was extremely happy knowing the benefits he had gotten. If he hadn't fallen into the canyon, none of this would have happened, he really should thank that sc.u.mbag good for nothing brother of his. I wonder how strong he has become, hopefully, one day we could exchange some pointers."

The thing that really made Lei Shu blush the most was how much Billa cared for him. If the advancement went wrong Billa could be severely injured, spiritually and physically. Despite that he tried to advance in order to better support Lei Shu, this really warmed his heart. He was smiling from ear to ear, he couldn't seem to stop smiling, he was truly happy at this moment.

As they finished speaking the cocoon of darkness began to shake back and forth and it slowed down its absorption of spiritual energy. The surroundings finally began to calm down and Mo Fen explained.

"Billa is currently stabilizing his realm. Before completely advancing spiritual beasts will stabilize their realm, unlike mortals who slowly work to stabilize it. This is because mortals channel their spiritual energy, whereas beasts have it existing throughout their whole body."

Lei Shu furrowed his brows a bit. He thought to himself, "What the hell, channeling spiritual energy, mine exists throughout my body I thought that was normal." He wanted to bring up his confusion, but he chose to wait because Billa was in the final stages.

Mo Fen continued, "As you can see, the cocoon has thickened in the final stages, this is meant to ensure its safety. Basically, an extremely resilient armor surrounding its entire body from harm.

Low grumbles could be heard from the inside of the cocoon. It began wiggling back and forth and "RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP" it was suddenly torn open from the inside.

2 golden globes could be seen enshrouded within the darkness, without making a sound Billa leaped from within the cocoon to Lei Shu's side. Billa had managed to grow a bit, he was now the size of a medium dog from Earth. Don't be fooled by its size, it could easily devour any animal on Earth without it even knowing it had died till it was too late. This devastating beast was now nestled beside Lei Shu, receiving its daily head pats and hugs filled with love and care. They looked at each other, even though they didn't understand each other they felt every word.

Billa was bustling with newfound energy, his coat was shining, and he looked even fiercer.

Mo Fen took this time to abruptly speak out. "Good, good, Billa can now handle about 2 practitioners in the late stages of Body Tempering alone. He will be a great help to you so make sure you cherish each other."

"No need for such words Master, if my life was in danger, I don't believe Billa would hesitate to risk his life for mine. So why would I hesitate either? I would risk my life for my family and that includes you, Master."

Mo Fen felt a sense of belonging that he hasn't felt in ages. For almost as long as he could remember, he had been kept in this canyon. He had almost forgotten how the other Empire's looked back in his time.

"Now what Billa has advanced why not continue cultivating yourself?"

Billa awoooed in the agreement.

"Now that Billa is at mid-stage you 2 can freely trample the beasts in the inner region of the canyon alone. Take your time and focus on absorbing, your body is not like others, only you know what is necessary for your body. Try not to go too deep into the inner region unless you're prepared to battle a rank 2 spiritual beast."

"I'll give you a quick run-down of the rank 2 spiritual beasts in the canyon so you don't get caught off guard by anything...….. Okay so now that you know what to look out for you should be fine."

With a wave of a sleave, Mo Fen disappeared once more. He truly was knowledgeable. He gave the tools Lei Shu needed to succeed, but he didn't hold his hand and walk him through the crafting process. Without Lei Shu, those tools would be scraps, just sitting and collecting dust. It is the same as Earth, "You can show the man the path, but it is up to him to walk it."

Lei Shu reminisced about this quote from Earth, it truly did apply everywhere.

After he snapped out of that dream state, he leaped directly off the mountain top. Landing into the ground and leaving behind his footprints, beside him a jet-black beast.

"Let's go Billa, onto the inner region, onto a feast for the both of us." Lei Shu laughed heartily while l.i.c.k.i.n.g his lips. Even though he was devouring the cooked meat, he kind of started to miss the texture of raw meat. The texture was so raw and real, and the hunt was exhilarating. The effort and payoff made one feel extremely accomplished. Once they regained their strength and ate their fill they would go out once more and repeat the process. The difficulty increases with each repeat, the thrill of the hunt!