Chapter 146: Life 66, Age 30, Martial Grandmaster Peak
As we walked out of Mortal City, the feeling that I got from Brother Wen was one of indifference. He didn’t feel like a guard that was sent to safeguard my life. He felt like someone who wouldn’t care if I lived or died.
On the other hand, Mao just seemed excited, like the day he had been waiting his whole life for had finally arrived.
This combination left me unnerved, but that was fine. If they decided to attack me for some reason, I was prepared. I didn’t know how strong Wen was, but I believed I could hold my own. And anyway, if I couldn’t, it just meant returning to try and fix everyone’s problems earlier than I expected.
The walk to the base of Dragon Peak was calm and relaxing. It had been a long time since I had been outside in nature, and even though I was wary of my travel companions, I still took the time to enjoy the walk.
Near the mountain, the terrain became somewhat hilly, but the entire area was a wide-open grassland. I could see scattered temperate forests on the mountain itself, but out here, a few miles away, there were only rolling fields of green grass.
While we didn’t rush, we did maintain a steady pace along the dirt road leading to the mountain’s base. Having left the city, we were no longer under the protection of the sect, and anyone could strike at us at any time. I wasn’t too worried since I doubted many would hang around this close to the city walls, but with the threat of the unknown lurking behind the surrounding hills and the danger of being betrayed by my companions, I didn’t allow myself to relax too much.
About half an hour after leaving the city, we came upon a three-way fork in the road. There was a trail marker explaining things, but Wen didn’t even look at it. He immediately took the rightmost path and urged us forward.
I didn’t stop to study the marker closely, but I did see that the paths were labeled the ‘Path of Body,’ the ‘Path of Mind,’ and the ‘Path of Soul.’ Wen guided us down the Path of Soul.
If the Association had been studying me, they would have seen my combat training, limited though it was. They also knew that I was proficient in both alchemy and formations. Were we going down this path because it was seen as my weakness? I had never cultivated my soul, but at this point, it had to be strong enough to withstand a test intended for some run-of-the-mill Grandmaster.