Demon of Dawn and Dusk

The next several days followed the same pattern. In the mornings, I refined my body using the abundant Demonic Fire qi that permeated Flame Fiend Hall. Afterwards, I studied the complete manuals for the cultivation techniques I practiced.

A part of me felt regretful that I hadn’t reached the top of Flame Fiend Peak during the Crucible of Flames, thus earning me the token that would allow me to learn any art or technique belonging to the Dawn and Dusk Sect, but that was neither here nor there.

In the afternoons, I sparred with the snake twins and honed my skills. While their fighting styles countered the Frenzied Fiend style, that wasn’t the only fighting style I knew. I also knew the Disrupting Fingers style and the Subduing Palm style. It turned out that the snake twins also knew these styles, so they gave me pointers on those as well.

Sparring with the snake twins also helped me with the fighting style I was developing, the one that combined aspects of the Frenzied Fiend style with the Dancing Wind style. Rather than pure aggression, like the Frenzied Fiend style, this style focused on agility and precision as well. Using this style allowed me to better deal with the twins. I even managed to land a few blows on each before they defeated me.

As for the name, I decided to call it the Dancing Fiend fighting style. It was a dance. An aggressive dance, but a dance nonetheless.

That led me to think of Clarissa, who joined Divine Dancer Hall, which in turn led me to think about my other friends. I wondered how they were doing. Had they settled into their respective halls? I hoped so. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go see them just yet since I wasn’t in the Foundation Establishment realm; or so I thought. When I mentioned the matter to the snake twins, they told me that they could bring me to my friends.

“My sisters didn’t forbid you from helping me with this?” I asked.

Elliot shook his head while Ellen scoffed.

“We’re your servants, young master, not theirs.” Ellen said. “Your orders take precedence. Only Mistress Nova herself could gainsay you.”

Hearing this lifted my spirits, and I made plans to go visit my friends and see how they were doing. However, I decided to visit Flame Fiend Hall’s central square first. I spent the past several days cooped up in my estate. Before that, I was unconscious for three weeks after participating in the Crucible of Flames. I figured it was time for me to meet my fellow disciples.

The day before Sidra or one of my other sisters was set to check up on me, I headed to the central square with the snake twins. Elliot pulled a flying boat out of his storage ring and flew us there. As we drew closer, I looked over the edge and observed the central square from above. It was filled with hundreds of disciples, all of them in the Foundation Establishment realm.

Many were socializing with one another, including drinking and gambling. Others were trading in the small marketplace. A small number of disciples were sparring with each other. At least I assumed they were sparring, since actual fights were reserved for the arena. However, the brutality with which they fought each other led me to question that assumption.

I noticed that most of the men dressed like myself, wearing nothing more than a vest and trousers, while the women dressed like Astra and Estelle, wearing nothing more than trousers with bandages around their chest to preserve their modesty. One could argue that the disciples of Flame Fiend Hall wore little clothing because of the heat. However, I saw a few that wore crimson and gold robes, which undermined that argument. Honestly, looking at them all just reinforced my belief that most body refiners were just exhibitionists who liked to show off their physiques.

After observing the central square from above for a few minutes, I directed Elliot to land the boat near the small marketplace. The wares seemed interesting, and I had spirit stones to spare. I figured I might as well look around and buy something.

Elliot landed the boat and the three of us disembarked, before he returned the boat to his storage ring. Our entrance attracted attention, and I noticed several of my fellow disciples observing me with curious expressions on their faces, though none of them approached us. I ignored them for now and wandered through the small marketplace.

It wasn’t much, just a collection of stalls that occupied a small corner of the central square. However, it had a decent selection of wares available. Pills, talismans, magic treasures, and so on. There were even a few manuals. As disciples haggled with the vendors, the sound of their voices filled the air. Some grew so heated in their haggling that I was afraid a fight would break out. However, nothing of the sort happened, to my relief. I ignored the people and focused on the wares.

Everything was for cultivators in the Foundation Establishment realm, which put them above anything I currently had. This made sense. Most disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect became an inner disciple and joined a hall after they reached the Foundation Establishment realm. However, this also meant that most of it wasn’t useful for a Qi Condensation cultivator like me.

More than that, almost everything was well beyond my means. The one hundred spirit stones I earned from participating in the Crucible of Flame seemed like a lot at first. However, that was in comparison to my previously impoverished state. Everything in the small marketplace cost hundreds, if not thousands, of spirit stones. I felt disappointed. Perhaps I should return when I was at the Foundation Establishment realm and had more spirit stones.

However, just as I turned to leave, a voice called out to me.

“Young Master Darian! Might I interest you in some of my wares?”

I looked over to find that the voice belonged to a disciple with sickly green skin, a single horn, and blood red eyes. Despite his horrifying appearance, the disciple bore a cheerful disposition. He stood behind a stall, which displayed a variety of wares. It looked like he had a little bit of everything.

“You know who I am?” I asked.

“Of course.” the disciple said. “You’re the only disciple in Flame Fiend Hall who is in the Qi Condensation realm. Besides, your appearance sets you apart.”

I looked around. He had a point. Everyone else in Flame Fiend Hall looked like a demon. The snake twins and I stood out because we looked the most human.

“Fair enough.” I said, wandering over to his stall. “What do you have available? Anything useful for a Qi Condensation cultivator like me?”

“I do.” the disciple said. “Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”

I paused to think about it.

“Yes, actually.” I said. “Do you have anything that could help me with learning about arrays and alchemy?”

The disciple’s expression lit up.

“In fact, I do.” He said. He pulled three manuals out of his storage ring and displayed them in front of me. “Two of these are primers for arrays and alchemy. The third is a primer on learning about talismans. All three can be yours for a mere one hundred and fifty spirit stones.”

I glanced over at the snake twins.

“It’s a fair price, young master.” Elliot said.

“More than fair.” Ellen said, narrowing her eyes at the disciple. “Manuals like these would be worth about seventy five spirit stones each. He’s giving you a discount.”

“This is because I have no use for these manuals myself.” the disciple explained. “Besides, it doesn’t hurt to get into the good graces of the young master of Flame Fiend Hall. Compared to that, the loss of a few spirit stones is nothing.” He shrugged. “That said, you have to buy all three to get them at that price.”

Ah, so that’s how it was. At least he was honest about it, and it wasn’t as if I would hold it against him. By showing me good will now, there was a chance that I would show him good will in return later on. While he would suffer a loss today, he might end up making up for that loss later on.

“The problem is that I don’t have one hundred and fifty spirit stones.” I said with a frown. “Do you accept contribution points as well as spirit stones?”

The disciple nodded.

“I do.” he said. “One contribution point is equivalent to one spirit stone.” He pulled out a jade slip. “You can transfer the contribution points to this.”

After some deliberation, I decided to spend an even amount of spirit stones and contribution points, seventy five each. That way I still had a bit of both.

“Excellent!” the disciple said after we finished with our transaction. “A pleasure doing business with you, Young Master Darian. Oh, and welcome to Flame Fiend Hall.”

“Thank you…I just realized that I never learned your name.” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Sorry about that.”

The disciple chuckled.

“It’s fine.” he said. “You can call me Senior Brother Fenton, or just Fenton if you prefer.”

While he was the stronger cultivator, I was the young master of Flame Fiend Hall. In terms of status, that put me above him. That meant I could be informal with him. However, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to be respectful towards Fenton.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Fenton.”

I started to turn away, but then something on his stall caught my eyes. It was a plain copper ring. There wasn’t anything special about this ring. It didn’t contain any qi, nor did it bear any inscriptions of any kind. Yet, it captivated my attention all the same.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing to the ring.

Fenton followed my finger and frowned.

“What is that doing here?” he muttered. “I thought I left that at home. I must have brought it by accident.”

“Is it for sale?” I asked.

I wanted that ring. My intuition told me that I would gain something special if I acquired it.

“No.” Fenton said after some hesitation. “Not because it’s too valuable. In fact, quite the opposite. It’s worthless, as far as I can tell.” He frowned. “I thought it was special because I found it in a hidden realm during my last mission out into the world. However, after examining it, I’ve realized that it’s just a mundane ring. I even had an elder from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion take a look at it and she said the same thing.”

“In that case, would you sell it to me for one spirit stone?” I asked.

Fenton raised an eyebrow at that.

“Are you sure? If you want, I can just give it to you. I have no use for the thing.”

I shook my head.

“I would feel bad taking it from you for free.”

Fenton studied me for several seconds, before he shrugged.

“Very well, it’s yours for one spirit stone.”

I handed him the spirit stone and took the ring. A quick look confirmed Fenton’s words. There was nothing special about the ring. I filled it with my qi, and nothing happened. It was exactly what it looked like, a plain copper ring. However, a part of me knew that wasn’t the case. There was something special about this ring. I just needed to figure out what it was. After placing the copper ring in my storage ring, since I didn’t want to risk wearing it just yet, I continued on my way.

After leaving the marketplace, I debated with myself on where to go next. The idea of socializing with my fellow disciples didn’t appeal to me. Ironic, since that was exactly what I came out here to do. However, now that I was here, I found myself reluctant to go through with it.

I liked drinking, but drinking with random strangers sounded like a terrible idea. I could gamble, but I didn’t have much to spare and I didn’t want to waste what little I had left. Besides, gambling didn’t sound like fun. Perhaps I could spar with my fellow disciples. However, I was weaker than everyone here. I doubted sparring with me would appeal to any of my fellow disciples, unless they liked bullying the weak. Given what I knew about cultivators, that was possible.

After eliminating those possibilities, I realized that maybe I was a boring person after all. Other than drinking and fighting, all I wanted to do with my time was train and cultivate. Everything else sounded like a waste of time. There was eating I supposed, though that wasn’t a hobby. Or was it? Hmm.

As I considered what to do next, I felt a sudden sense of danger. I looked around and noticed five disciples heading in my direction. It was clear that they had malicious intentions. I recognized one of them as the young man who threw the oversized fireball at me at the beginning of the Crucible of Flames. While they were spread out and approached me from separate directions, my intuition told me they were working together.

“Young Master.” Elliot muttered, just loud enough for me to hear.

“I noticed.” I said.

My mind raced as I considered what to do. Fighting was a poor choice, since they outnumbered us. The snake twins were both in late Foundation Establishment, but I didn’t know if that was enough to make up for the difference in numbers. However, fleeing wasn’t an option either. They could just give chase. Not only that, but Flame Fiend Hall was filled with martial idiots. They might consider fleeing from a fight dishonorable. No matter how I saw it, the situation looked bad for us. I needed a third option.

“Well now,” a familiar voice said, interrupting my thoughts. “If it isn’t Young Master Darian. I’m surprised you’re able to walk, considering the beating you received during the Crucible of Flames.”

I looked over to find a trio of disciples walking towards me, two women and one man. The man and one of the women were in mid Foundation Establishment. They looked mostly human, with gray skin and a single horn each. The woman had red eyes while the man had poisonous green eyes. The man had short black hair while the woman had long black hair that reached down to her waist.

The remaining woman, who I took to be the leader, was in peak Foundation Establishment. She was tall and muscled, rivaling Cultivator Willow in size. She had gray skin, medium length white hair, and amber eyes. A pair of horns protruded from her forehead, and a pair of tusks poked out from her bottom lip. She had…vast tracts of land. So much so, that the bandage wrapped around her chest barely covered them at all. She might as well have been naked from the waist up. However, the most notable thing about her were her arms. She had four of them, which I found both uncanny and intriguing.

I noticed that as soon as the leader of the trio called out to me, the five disciples from before stopped in their tracks and glared at her. However, she paid them no mind and continued walking towards me with her two friends in tow. When the trio were just a few feet away, the snake twins placed themselves in front of me, blocking their path.

“That’s far enough.” Elliot said, a warning in his tone.

“Aw, come on,” the leader of the trio said. “Don’t be like that. I just want to say hi to the young master.”

She sounded sincere, and it looked like she wasn’t working with the other disciples. Besides, her voice sounded familiar and I wanted to find out where I heard it. However, Sidra’s warning rang out in my mind. Perhaps this woman and her friends had approached me with an ulterior motive in mind. What if I was wrong and they were working with the others after all? I would need to exercise caution.

“Elliot, Ellen,” I said. “It’s fine.”

The snake twins looked at me with questioning looks on their faces. I nodded. They moved out of the way and I stepped forward. The leader of the trio looked me up and down, her amber eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Look at you,” she said. “The last I saw of you, you were battered and covered in blood. You look good cleaned up.”

“Greetings.” I said. “You already know my name, so I won’t bother introducing myself. May I have yours?”

The leader stared at me for a moment, before she burst out into laughter.

“What a polite youngster.” she said. “My name is Zenia. These are my juniors, Kayden and Eliana.”

“Hello.” the man said.

“A pleasure to meet you, Young Master.” the other woman said.

Kayden? That name sounded familiar. Where had I heard…? It hit me. I remembered hearing these voices towards the end of the Crucible of Flames, just before I fell unconscious.

“I remember now.” I said, snapping my fingers. “You’re the ones I heard during the Crucible of Flames.” I gestured to Zenia. “You even gave me advice.”

Zenia let out another laugh.

“Indeed!” she said. “The three of us were about to head back to my place to have a drink. Why don’t you join us, to celebrate this reunion?”

I then realized that Zenia had approached us in order to help us out of a potentially dangerous situation. Even so, could we trust her? I studied Zenia for several seconds, before glancing at Elliot and Ellen to see what they thought. They both nodded.

“Very well,” I said. “I’ll join you.”

“Excellent!” Zenia said. She walked over to me and clapped both of her right hands on my shoulders, before looking out towards the disciples in the central square, the ones who had approached with malicious intent. They glared at her before turning away and walking off.

Elliot pulled the flying boat out of his storage ring and the six of us boarded it. It was a bit cramped, due to the boat’s small size. Somehow I ended up pressed against Zenia. She felt warm. Her scent teased my nostrils. She smelled like fire and blood, though not in an unpleasant way. Ellen looked unhappy about this, but held her tongue.

“I’m a core disciple as well,” Zenia said. “So my estate isn’t far from yours, Young Master Darian.”

Elliot nodded, before heading in the direction where the estates of the core disciples were located.

“Thank you for inviting me, Senior Sister Zenia.” I said.

“Just call me Zenia,” she said. “There’s no need for formality between us.” She scratched her cheek. “I do feel a bit guilty, since I’m the one who broke your leg during the Crucible of Flames.”

I thought back to the moment when a large rock hit my knee and snapped my leg in half.

“Think nothing of it.” I said. “That was just part of the Crucible of Flames. Besides, you gave me some good advice towards the end.”

Zenia chuckled.

“I’m surprised you remember that, considering the state you were in,” she said.

“Yes, Young Master,” Eliana said. “You looked more like a piece of tenderized meat than a person.”

Kayden shook his head.

“I’m surprised you lasted that long as a Qi Condensation cultivator.” he said. “Even disciples in the Foundation Establishment realm don’t push themselves like you did.” He shrugged. “Everyone held back to avoid killing you, but still. Most give up well before that point.”

For some reason, I felt the urge to tease him.

“You mean like when someone breaks their arm?”

Kayden’s expression fell.

“You remember that?” he asked.

I grinned at him.

“Yes.”

Kayden slumped.

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“No.” Zenia and Eliana said at the same time.

Kayden glared at Eliana.

“At least I made it further up Flame Fiend Peak than you!” he said.

“At least I didn’t give up!”

As the two of them started to bicker, I looked over at Zenia.

“Thank you for intervening back there, Zenia,” I said.

She glanced over at me and smirked.

“Some idiots got it into their heads that they could make a name for themselves by beating up Hall Master Nova’s son.” She snorted. “As if there is any glory or honor in ganging up on someone weaker than yourself. When I found out about their plans, I figured I would get involved.”

So that was what happened. I suspected something of the sort, though not to this degree. I questioned the intelligence of the disciples who thought it would be a good idea to gang up on me, given how overprotective my sisters were. A sparring match or a fight in the arena was one thing. Ganging up on me to give me a beating? I doubted any of those disciples would have lived through the night.

“Regardless,” I said. “I appreciate your help back there.”

“Good,” Zenia said. “I know the perfect way you can pay me back.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “What? Did you think I helped you out of the goodness of my heart? I’m a demon, not an altruist.”

I chuckled.

“No, I figured you were after something.”

“Smart,” Zenia said. “But we can discuss it in private later.”

We remained silent for the rest of the journey.