At the break of dawn.

  Chirp, chirp.

  It was the start of another beautiful day for many, including Geno’s grandfather. He had long since fallen asleep in his bed, now awakened by the sound of chirping birds. For a moment, he frowned. He felt as though he could smell a faint stench but assumed that the scent was wafting through his open window.

  He went about his morning routine, washed his face, made breakfast, and ate at his extravagant dinner table alone.

  He wasn't lonely though, no, not at all. He was suffering from success, if anything, for there were few losses he had taken in his lifetime.

  His son and his daughter-in-law had their own abode elsewhere. They had run off together a long time ago.

  He had come back to his hometown on Castaway Island after suffering a grievous wound during some minor success in the outside world. This wound caused his condition to gradually deteriorate, and he would use spiritual medicine to slow down this process.

  Fortunately for him, his cultivation was never that high, thus it wasn't too difficult to slow down the deterioration. He had spent a portion of his wealth taking care of his health, a very funny twist of fate because in this aspect, he felt no different than a sickly mortal. Still, he wasn't foolish enough to believe he had been dealt a bad hand.

  He loved to bully the weak, especially women.

  He had cornered a fair maiden in the past, believing that she had no background or power to speak of. He would learn that she did, however, once she crushed a jade slip and he realized his mistake, but it was too late.

  A bolt of lightning shot out from her jade slip, destroying his defensive treasure and passing right through him, grazing his dantian in the process. He rubbed his old wound and had a thin smile on his face.

  ‘Decades ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday... It seems like I'll take these regrets with me to my grave because I simply can't forget,’ he thought.

  He got up, leaving his dirty wares there, knowing that his maid would come by for them. He didn’t feel like playing with her today, he would give her a break.

  He slid into his outdoor shoes, grabbing a small watering can and filling it with water. The morning sun hit his wrinkly face, feeling pleasantly warm. A cooling breeze blew by, to which he inhaled deeply.

  He made his way over to his garden before his smile instantly froze.

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  A portion of his garden was completely trampled, and there were some muddy footsteps going up the wall behind the garden. His eyes trailed an imaginary line that led behind him, and there were also some muddy prints on the side of his house, leading up to the second floor.

  His face turned red with anger but also anxiety as he rushed back into his house and up the stairs. He carefully scanned his room.

  He woke up and left here not long ago, and nothing seemed amiss aside from the smell, so he started checking for anything that could be missing.

  The first thing he checked was his nightstand, and his face hardened like a boulder upon seeing the empty drawer.

  His chest heaved, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "GUARDS!"

  Yaaaawn.

  Orien stretched his arms peacefully as he stirred in bed. He didn't get as much sleep as usual, especially because he was excited. Like it was his birthday, he just couldn’t wait, and he hurriedly whispered, "Good morning, Wisp! When do we start?"

  "Hold your horses, boy. I have it all mapped out, but you will need to quit school for a while. This shouldn't be a huge problem given that a few students have already been taken, and even more are training in various ways for the upcoming evaluation. You've got less than four weeks. If you want to put on a show, we need all the time that we can get,” Wisp said.

  "Got it. I guess my parents will be okay with this, but I'll really need to yield some results. Let's go to school to let them know of my plans and maybe we can see Haruki as well. I would like to talk to him before I disappear for a while," Orien explained.

  The two, boy and soul, made their way over to school after Orien had freshened up. Today would be their first day of training, but only after he took care of business at school.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  Orien stood in front of the headmaster's room and straightened out his robes after knocking.

  He had initially passed by his classroom to see if Haruki was there, but he was not. There were a few scattered classmates, so Orien advised them that if they saw Haruki, he could come looking at the highest peak to find him. His thought process was interrupted by the sound of shuffling beyond the door, indicating that the headmaster was inside the room.

  ‘Why am I nervous? I’m not in trouble!’ He thought.

  The headmaster had always given him an unfathomable feeling, and Wisp confirmed that the headmaster was indeed a cultivator, although he couldn't pinpoint what stage. This seemed to trouble Wisp, which was the first time Orien had seen Wisp think about something like that.

  Due to this, Wisp suggested that he hide outside and not get too close to the headmaster lest something go wrong and he was discovered.

  Creeeak.

  The door opened with a creak, and a short old man with a head full of long white hair and mostly closed eyes was staring at Orien with a smile.

  "What is the matter today, Orien?" The headmaster asked.

  "I'm honored that you know of my name despite my lack of achievements, sir!" Orien bowed and then continued, "So as to not let down our humble school, I would like to request the remainder of the month off so that I may train for the upcoming evaluation!" Orien didn't think that he would deny him, but for some reason he was still as nervous as before.

  "Hohoho, well said, my boy! No need for all the formalities. Thank you for letting me know. You are excused, however, try not to get into too much trouble," The headmaster’s smile seemed more unfathomable than ever.

  Orien couldn’t possibly discern the true meaning behind that smile, so he returned a smile towards the headmaster and said, "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down!"

  He quickly left and met up with Wisp outside the school's courtyard where they then conversed about the other preparations that he would need for training.

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