Awakening the Divine Spark

"Why do we need to buy these?" Xiao Lian was confused, but this time it was Lee who had starry eyes.

He was currently caressing the neck of a beautiful chestnut steed, who, just a few moments ago, seemed wild and arrogant, but now was gently nibbling on his shoulder.

Lee already chose two – this moody one and a black horse for Xiao Lian, but mostly because of the color. The guy wore black so it was his turn to finally look cool, even if it was for the first time in his life.

It has been long since Lee talked to a horse, but it seemed that here they were similar to the ones in Sunwell. The moment he focused on his blue spark and the water particles revolving around it, the horse came over to him on its own, greatly surprising the current owner.

They were in a small town, right next to the Azuremist sect. The people here were mostly farmers who grew crops on the nearby slopes, providing provisions for the sect.

When the two arrived, the first thing Lee did was to rent a room for the night. Afterwards they strolled around until found someone willing to sell horses to them.

Xiao Lian’s question was understandable. Normally cultivators didn’t ride horses. To cover long distances was faster on feet, to not speak of short sprints in case of emergency.

But they were puny outer disciples who had to walk for several days to get back to the Nethermoon sect, and ignoring the fact that it was faster, Lee found riding a horse much more fun.

"You’ll see." He said, "I’ll teach you how to ride one and you’ll love it!"

Xiao Lian honestly doubted it, and he also didn’t like they spent all the bounty money they got just like that. But despite him being older, he was kind of inclined to let Lee take the lead.

The rest of the day was spent Lee teaching Xiao Lian, and the two boys riding around the town became an entertainment for the bored locals.

Fortunately Xiao Lian grasped the principles pretty quick, but in the evening his bottom hurt nevertheless. Lee’s logical arguments made him bare the pain, though, when Lee said that they could pick the next dispatch mission and reduce the time it took to complete at least by a third if they rode horses.

In Xiao Lian’s memory the crowd of challengers who were after his contribution points was still vivid, and he gladly accepted the idea to stay away from the sect for a while.

After the sun set, both washed up and sat on their beds, meditating. Xiao Lian wanted to consume the sensory pills immediately, but Lee persuaded to wait until their return. The argument that the environment there was more suitable for cultivation than a room in a random tavern, was persuasive. freёnovelkiss.com

What he didn’t say was that he didn’t like the way they got their hands on the pills, especially after Xiao Lian held a small lecture on how amazing they were for beginners like them.

***

While the two were cultivating, there were two pairs of eyes who watched them from a distance since the darkness fell.

On the rooftop of the building on the opposite side of the street were squatting two people.

"Why aren’t they consuming the pills?" One of them whispered.

"No idea. Maybe the idiots plan to sell them." The other one said.

"Keep your voice low!" The first one shushed him, and then said, "Like I let them. I didn’t like the idea from the start! In addition, I still have a use for them ... so I guess it’s better to take them back."

"They’ll notice!" The second one said the obvious.

"And what exactly they can do about it?" The first one said, "Let’s go. Do you have the package?"

"Of course!" The other one said, and showed a small bundle in his left hand.

If Lee could see them, he might’ve recognized the first guy. His face bore close resemblance to the fatty they met earlier in the day, except the guy was slim, even athletic.

Neither Lee nor Xiao Lian noticed two shadows nimbly jumping down from the roof like cats and then soundlessly dashing over the street. Within moments they were next to the window, but this time they didn’t start a discussion.

One of them pulled out a small jade bottle, similar to those Xiao Lian received earlier In the day. Meanwhile the other one slightly opened the window.

Then the first one took out a pill, in a size of a hazelnut, crushed between his fingers and sprinkled the powder inside the room. He didn’t bother with the fact that it didn’t get further than few feet, but the moment he was done, the second guy closed the window again.

During the whole incident they didn’t make a sound, and now sat below the window, holding their breaths.

Lee was currently observing his sparks. He was certain that during the bandit incident, Xiao Lian’s sword had to hit one, or at least somehow disturb the elemental particles revolving around them. Strangely enough, the only damage the sword dealt was to his inner organs, but the passive powers of the water spark took care of that.

Once again he got the feeling that the sparks weren’t actually in his body, but in the so called Dantian, where elemental masters ignited theirs. Technically it was located in the lover abdomen area, but it was a theoretical location, a continuation of one’s consciousness.

The easiest way to describe it was – it existed in a parallel dimension to the physical body along with cultivators mind. But after one absorbed a beast’s spark, they wouldn’t have access to it, to not speak of a spark residing there.

The problem was – it was against everything Lee heard in lectures during the past three months!

Of course, he would’ve loved if he, by a wondrous chance, became an elemental master. Unfortunately the sparks were simply there, and he had no ability to tap into their power, at least not the way an elemental master should.

All Lee could do was to make his palms moist, or harden them if he focused on the yellow spark. Compared to the time he broke in Lunax’s vault, it was much more easier, but he didn’t have hopes of defeating enemies with such skill anytime soon. If at all.

Neither of the two boys noticed someone behind the window, and neither noticed how they passed out. The two intruders undisturbed got in, opened Xiao Lian’s bag and replaced the package he earlier received in the Task Pavilion.

One of the guys searched them and took the two pills Xiao Lian was so thrilled to receive. He left the empty jade bottles in the bag, though, and the other guy widely grinned, guessing his intention.

It was almost guaranteed the two boys would accuse each other of the theft and get in a fight later.

"Let’s see what the sect master’s wine taste like!" When the two intruders left the town, the one holding the stolen package, said.

"Shouldn’t we get it to the elder?" The other one asked.

"Are you nuts? We can’t show it anywhere in the sect. What if the elder gets implicated? Even if stealing this thing is basically a petty theft, we can get killed because of that!" The first one said.

"In that case, we should make sure the bottle is empty before we discard it, right?" The other one grinned, "I always wanted to know what exactly the sect master is brewing."

"Ye, a strange hobby for a man of his caliber ..."

***

When Lee woke up only before noon, Xiao Lian also just sat up in his bed, and was currently rubbing his eyes, trying to understand where he was. After a short discussion, they decided they had been too exhausted during the past days and the prolonged sleep was the result of the body’s natural reaction.

Xiao Lian didn’t check the bottles, in fact, he completely forgot about them. Lee turned out to be right – riding a horse was fun when one knew how to, and the two spent the next five days enjoying the ride back to the sect.

They could’ve returned faster, but there was another day till tournament, so they had time.