Written in Blood

Learning on the Go 3

Large spires shot up into the sky like fingers rising from the earth. Below the towering spires was an impressive wall that stood at least 30 meters in the air. The buildings had a similar architectural style of the southlands, but all the buildings of Firedawn were shingled with a crystal called fireglass that gave off a reddish-orange hue that when the sun hit them would cause the city of Firedawn to look like it was lite ablaze. The buildings themselves had a distinct architectural style that Ao Ruang was unfamiliar with since all the buildings he had grown up with were built with logs raised on stilts to keep pests and dirt from the forest from gaining easy access.

Within his and Ding Liling's view was a giant gate with the emblem of a dragon ablaze the last couple days on their journey Ao Ruang had discovered he could go roughly a day and some change before having to feed and he only needed 1 or 2 mouthfuls to get his fill. Though he noticed the red mass in his daitian would be significantly smaller he still gained incredible benefits from it.

In a mere 3 days he had gone from not even being in the Iron warrior realm to now being already to the third rank of the Iron warrior realm which should put him in line with his current generation...at least in his hometown. Of course this was probably assisted by the fact he had been practicing cultivation to no avail for years and had gained many insights into the little progress he had made.

Ding Liling had been a major help along the way filling him in on customs and some of the happenings of the world since he was from a place far isolated. Ding Liling had the ability to cultivate, but as a orphan she never had the opportunity and Ao Ruang insisted that even if she is older the benefits to one's youth and health couldn't be ignored and told her to cultivate with him and instructed her on a very basic cultivation method from his village he used himself. Really it was just basic meditation and didn't have any special names for it.

Ding Liling had rode on the horse the entire way while Ao Ruang walked, but it didn't bother him too much as he felt it was good to walk places. It forced him to focus on where he was going and be alert for danger. Ding Liling had begun to wear a high collared shirt to hide the minor wound Ao Ruang would leave behind on her.

Several hours passed before the distant Spires towered above them and they came towards the gates to be stopped by several guards. Ao Ruang looked in wonder at the towering spires and the bright almost glow the city gave off.

"Business and purpose for coming to Firedawn." a guard said as they came near the large gates of the city.

Before Ao Ruang could open his mouth Ding Liling spoke up "My brother and I are here to visit family and we are looking at staying for a period of time."

With a nod the guard waved them forward and moved to the next travelers who were behind them.

Ao Ruang looked at Ding Liling pleased with his choice in companions he needed someone more familiar with the way so this land and he was as far as he was concerned and everyone around him. A country bumpkin. "Why did you say that?"

"Guards do not want details, they only want the bare bones and that is it. If you are too wordy they become suspicious of your intentions and that is never ideal." Ding Liling spoke as if she had seen this happen quite a few times.

Ao Ruang nodded and followed Ding Liling who was now dismounted and walking beside him.

"The goal of being in the city is to not be too noticeable, but with you being a cultivator it is best if you try and join one of the sects of the city as they will pay for you and disciples of sects are allowed 1 servant if you get in you can bring me in and they will cover our basic needs. They also have the most information about what is happening to you in their libraries."

Ao Ruang nodded in agreement and they quickly booked a room in a small inn not far from the city gates. Ao Ruang was confident he could enter a sect with his newly improved skills. He was also curious as to how much he had changed. He could already feel his strength increasing several fold.

…

After speaking to several locals Ao Ruang found out that the top sects of Firedawn were the Ghostly Whisper sect, the Fire hand sect, the Golden Bell sect, and the Soaring Sky Sword sect. Each one specialized in a specific type of martial technique, but they were all open to all types of cultivators.

The Fire Hand sect was focused on elemental cultivation methods, but particularly fire based Ki cultivation. Ao Ruang knew nothing about elemental cultivation, but seeing that he had a slight aversion to the sun he couldn't justify going to one that probably required lots of outdoor day time activities. The Golden Bell sect was a sect based mostly on duo cultivation techniques. Ao Ruang asked Ding Liling to explain what that meant, but she quickly told him that he wouldn't be a good fit for that kind. This left him with only two true options: the Ghostly Whisper and Soaring Sky Sword sect.

"What do you think, Ding Liling?" Ao Ruang sighed exasperated.

"How am I supposed to know? I am not a cultivator, but if you ask me the Ghostly Whisper sect sounds like they use more taboo methods of cultivation and it would be easier for you to hide your odd cultivation with them. Particularly since many taboo methods require night time cultivation it would give you an excuse to not be in the daylight."

Ao Ruang nodded as the logic was sound and he wasn't sure which one to choose anyhow. It didn't help that he had zero experience with weapons outside of simple daggers.

"The Ghostly Whisper sect has their weekly assessment tomorrow. We should rest and head over tomorrow. Ding Liling…"

"Yes, Ruang?"

"I'm getting hungry."

Ding Liling face flushed as she nodded and followed Ao Ruang into their room. Ao Ruang still hadn't gotten used to the idea of feeding on blood, but instinctually he could feel when he needed more.