Chapter 15: Heading Out

"As the elder said, it's a language that I don't recognize. It's pretty much useless to me" John thought as he reached out to put the page back. His hand stopped halfway to the shelf before returning to his side.

"Well, if no one has used it for hundreds of years, it's uselessly sitting here collecting dust. I'll keep it for now. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky enough to run into someone who can read this language."

John put both techniques in his storage ring before walking over to the section that contained movement techniques. Ever since his fight with the Panther, John had come to realize the importance of having a good movement technique.

John spent the next hour reading all the different movement technique descriptions before deciding to pick the "Five Step Movement Technique." As the name suggested, the technique revolved around taking five steps, with each step building off the previous resulting in ever increasing speed. It was effective for both fighting and running.

"These techniques should last me through the Mist Creation realm. I think I'm pretty much ready to head out" thought John as he put back the remaining books before walking over the elder.

"Which techniques did you choose?" asked the elder curiously.

"Mountain Crushing Sword and the Five Step Movement Technique" replied John.

"Both very good choices. Among Mist Creation realm techniques, they are both top tier techniques" replied the elder. John talked with the elder a bit more before thanking him and walking back downstairs. On the first floor of the library, John grabbed a map of the surrounding area before leaving.

After leaving the library, John walked back to his mansion as it was already nighttime. He greeted his parents when he returned home before heading up to his room and falling into bed.

Early the next morning, John woke up and got prepared for the day.

"I should wash up before I head out. Who knows how long it's going to be before I have another chance to clean up" thought John as he walked over to his washroom. After cleaning himself up, John walked over to his wardrobe. He donned his black robe and stored the rest of his black robes in his storage ring.

"Good thing I have a lot of these robes. I'll be able to change them out quite often" thought John as he turned around and left his room. Arriving at the kitchen a minute later, John was greeted by a full meal sitting on the kitchen table.

"What's all this?" asked John as he saw his mother standing there with a smile.

"Well, it's the last meal I'll be able to cook for you for a while, so I decided to make sure to go all out. That, and you'll need the extra energy on your journey ahead" replied Rachel Fenix.

"Oh. Thanks mom" John replied with a smile as he sat down and started to eat. Barden walked in a few minutes later and sat down as well, joining John in scarfing down the meal in front of them. The three of them ate for quite some time before finishing the meal.

"Man, I'm stuffed. That was delicious" said John out loud as he proudly patted his bulging belly.

Rachel smiled at her son's content expression before a serious look appeared on her face.

"John, you must be careful. If any trouble arises, use the talisman right away and come back home immediately" said Rachel with a concerned expression.

"I will. Don't worry, I'll be extremely careful on this journey, so you don't have to worry too much" replied John.

John stood up from his seat and walked over to his parents, hugging them both tightly before parting. "I'll be back before the pocket realm opens," said John.

"Good. I expect nothing less than you coming back and surprising us both" replied Barden with a proud look on his face.

After hugging his parents once more, John turned around and left his house.

"I hope he'll be alright" said Rachel as she watched her son walk out of the house.

"He'll be fine. He has the spatial talisman. Besides, someone with his destiny won't die easily" replied Barden as he held his wife's hand.

John left the mansion and walked onto the main road of the clan. He passed by hundreds of other people before eventually arriving at the front clan gates.

"Leaving to hunt beasts again young master?" asked one of the guards as John approached.

"Something like that" responded John with a smile as he continued to walk through the clan gates.

After walking through the clan gates, John stepped to the side of the busy road and took out the map he had collected earlier.

"Lets see what we have here."

The Skycleave mountain range was an expansive mountain range that spanned for thousands of miles from east to west. The Fenix clan was situated about the halfway point of the mountain range, on the north side. At the far east side of the mountain range, the Skycleave mountains eventually branched off and travelled north to south for thousands of miles as well.

"The Varis Clan is a few hundred miles to the west of here, while the Flowing River Sect and Crimson Valley Sect are opposite us on the south of the mountain range. I don't want to venture towards the Crimson Valley Sect, and I've already been to the Varis Clan, so I suppose I'll follow the mountain range east" thought John as he studied the map.

To the east of the Fenix Clan were various other smaller sects, clans, and kingdoms.

"The Dreadel Kingdom is about a thousand miles to the northeast of here it seems. I've heard quite a bit about it, and I believe it's on the same status level as our clan. I guess I'll start my journey by heading there" thought John as he put away the map.

"To get to the Dreadel Kingdom from here, I could take the main road that leads all the way there, but that will be too safe. No beasts dare stray onto the main road, so I suppose I'll travel through the Skycleave Forest to the south of the main road. Although I shouldn't stray too far away from the road or I'll run into stronger beasts than I can handle."

John shuddered a little bit as he recounted his experience with the Dark Spotted Panther.

On both sides of the Skycleave mountain range, the Skycleave Forest stretched for thousands of miles as well. Every sect and clan in the surrounding area was technically located within the Skycleave Forest.

Putting away the map, John stepped back onto the main road and started walking north. About an hour later, John came to the same bend in the road as last time. Instead of stepping off into the woods on the west, John followed the road branch that led northeast away from the Skycleave Mountains.

"This road heading east eventually leads to the Dreadel Kingdom. I'll follow it for a bit before stepping into the woods. The journey should take me about a month on foot." thought John as he took the road to the east.

John followed the road heading northeast for a full day before coming to a town as the sun was setting. The town had several dozen large buildings and hundreds of houses dotting the open landscape on both sides of the road. A large wall surrounded the perimeter of the town.

"I'll stay here for the night and then head into the woods tomorrow" thought John as he walked into the small town. After paying the two copper entrance fee to the guards at the front gate, John found one of the town Inns and walked inside. The main floor of the Inn was bustling with activity, as dozens of people could be seen eating, drinking and laughing.

"Excuse me, how much for one room for the night?" asked John as he approached the Innkeeper.

The Innkeeper looked up and was slightly surprised to see a lone boy. "Twenty five copper for one night" replied the Innkeeper.

John took out twenty five copper and gave it to the Innkeeper. The Innkeeper took the money before leading John to his room on the second floor. The room was quite small with only a single bed and wardrobe closet inside.

John looked around the room a bit before sitting down on the ground. Gathering his focus on feeling the surrounding Qi in the air, John slipped into a meditative trance. Having studied the clans cultivation technique earlier, John started cultivating according to its principals.

"Feel the Qi. Draw it to my body. Draw it into my body." thought John as he repeated the steps his father had taught him. Several hours later, John slowly opened his eyes.