River of Existence

"Phew…"

"It's… really cold here…"

"…Why… why can't I see anything?"

Chen opened his eyes and was quickly revealed to a land of eternal white.

Ice and snow spanned as far as the eye could see, and somehow, he was strapped to the back of a horse.

"What the…"

He had found himself in a peculiar situation. His memory was foggy beyond compare, however…

He still remembered that dark dream, and the instant he recalled his own words, he felt a blazing flame spurt in his chest.

But, that also came with a massive headache.

"Urgh… what's going on…?"

He glanced towards his left, and spotted an unfamiliar person wrapped in some bandages, who was also in the same situation.

And then soon afterwards, he noticed that he was completely surrounded by trained soldiers on horses, and that they were the only two who were not riding the horses properly.

"Are we… going to war…?"

Suddenly, an ear-piercing roar resounded from the front, and he drew his attention to the two men leading these soldiers, which he assumed were an army of soldiers.

And then, he noticed a huge pack of wolves approaching slowly, which jolted him fully awake from his half-asleep state of mind.

"Holy… what the hell is that?!"

"Quiet!" One of the soldiers responded, watching the situation unfold at the front.

All of them did, and so Chen had no choice but to also watch what would unfold.

At that moment, one of the two men leading everyone stepped down from his horse and swiftly unsheathed his blade.

"It's been a while since I could properly show off my skills in front of my soldiers, isn't that right?"

The soldiers cheered.

"…Then I, Captain William Evans, of the Polar Saber Squad, shall reveal my blade to the world once again!"

He declared these words with confidence to the point that someone could even assume he was the strongest in the world.

However, this was merely proof of his resolve as a squad leader.

A determination to fight, that could perhaps even bridge the greatest gaps between strength. This kind of determination somehow resonated with Chen.

Then, that seventeen-year-old watched as Captain Evans took on his sword stance, which he called:

'Eighteen Prowling Claws of Tenacity'.

Each technique that defined that sword stance adhered to a single 'claw', and in this way, he allowed himself to fight like a beast, with a deep comprehension of his animalistic instincts in battle.

Because of this, the wolves assumed he was only fit for the alpha wolf among them to battle.

As it stepped forth, scars scattered on its monstrously-sized body, Captain Evans still retained the same determined look in his eyes.

He and this alpha wolf were both 'predators' in a sense. But, there was something about him that the wolf lacked about itself.

"1st Technique: Earth-yielding Slash!"

Following his shout that startled the beast, he stabbed his blade into the snow, and yanked it upwards with all of his might.

Unlike the beast, he had the ability to access Qi. And, at a certain level, the way he harnessed his Qi and utilised it alongside his techniques could create devastating attacks.

However, he didn't even need that to deal with this beast.

A massive upheaval of snow followed, burying the alpha wolf and buying enough time for the captain to immediately unleash another technique.

He focused and held his blade tightly, and prepared to unleash his fifteenth technique to end this battle swiftly.

He concentrated his gaze towards the pile of snow in front of him, his blade pointed in front of him.

However, there was something odd that was emanating from that pile of snow.

An evil scent seeped out, causing the air to smell like sulfur.

And then, with a sudden burst of speed, the wolf charged out from the snow, set ablaze with a demonic fury that drifted around it as red smoke.

Even Chen himself could instinctively sense the danger, even from where he was at the moment, surrounded by mercenaries.

But, it seemed the mercenaries could not feel the danger emanating from the alpha wolf.

If the odd feeling in his heart was correct, the squad leader could possibly even die if that wolf attacked him.

And so, by sheer instinct, he used a 'talisman technique', for the first time in a long while.

His hand sent out a pulse of light, which condensed to form a 'talisman', and it attached itself to the Captain's back momentarily before disappearing, imbuing his sword with a profound light energy.

Such a powerful element could cut through almost anything ordinary, but it was also a great suppressor of all sources of darkness, like the evil energy drifting from the wolf.

And so, the captain unleashed his fifteen 'claw', which sent quick and powerful waves of light-imbued slashes from his blade and cleaved the alpha wolf into many pieces of burning flesh.

"Phew… that was more intense of a battle than I expected."

Captain Evans grinned, and his finisher line was followed with a raucous round of applause.

But, as he returned to his horse next to the vice-captain, he looked over at Chen once again.

"You! Come here."

"Er…"

Chen complied, though he felt uneasy, and walked all the way to the front, where he was met with the captain's constant gaze.

"You didn't have to do that."

Chen's heart skipped a beat as the captain said that.

"You… you noticed?"

"Of course. I have a Soul Core, you realise? Three, at that. And, those who can wield the power of their Soul Cores efficiently and effectively often have far better senses than those who do not."

"…Right…" Chen replied, scratching his head.

"I could have easily dealt with that demonic wolf anyway. With three Soul Cores, you could even slightly manipulate and control the elements of this world with your Qi."

"…Captain, I think he gets the point…" The vice captain murmured.

"Ha… right. I got a bit too ahead of myself there. But still, it seems you don't truly realise how big a leap in power and spiritual strength you gain with each Soul Core. With enough of them, you can even create 'spiritual connections' with Gods, I've heard, and gain a teeny-tiny portion of their 'conceptual authority', whatever that means."

"So, with that being said, there was no need to empower me. Not once did I use the power of my Soul Core anyway."

The vice captain face-palmed. It was entirely obvious that the captain thought he had 'lost face' by receiving help.

Meanwhile, Chen just nodded, and then felt compelled to ask a question. He was slightly fearful at first, but just decided to go for it.

"Where is this place? Why am I… here?"

"…You don't know where you are? Have you lost your memories?"

"…I'm… not sure. I think so."

"Well, this place is known as the Windfall Mountains, a region of the country, Windgal. We are in the Northern Continent, which is under the rule of the three Celestial Sects."

"The… Northern Continent?"

"Yep, that's right," Vice Captain Harrison replied, "However, young man, I've be meaning to ask you… what exactly did you use to help the captain while he was battling that demonic wolf?"

"…Uh…? I… I don't know. I've always been able to do that, I guess. I think it's called, a talisman technique…?"

Captain Evans chuckled.

"A talisman technique? Then, could you perhaps be a disciple from that long-lost Sect? The 'Grand Talisman Arrays Sect'?"

Chen shrugged.

"Well, you can go now, and also, try and wake up that other guy as well. We're soon to arrive at Frostfall Peak."

Chen nodded and walked off.

Meanwhile, the vice captain stared at him as he did.

"…I wonder, how did he sense the wolf's demonic aura?"

"What?"

"The wolf. That boy managed to feel its intense aura also. I believe that's why he thought he needed to save you."

"…Interesting. I wonder if the other guy whose still unconscious is gonna be as interesting as he is."

"But, on another note, that demonic aura is very reminiscent of the wyvern's."

Vice Captain Harrison agreed.

"I thought so too. The theory I had about them seems to ring true right now, that there's some 'demonic lord' pulling the strings from above."

"…There's too much to report to the Commander this time around. Why did this all have to happen only now?"

The vice captain shrugged.

"Also, about that boy… should we tell them about his potential connection to that ancient Sect? Or just leave it alone for now?"

"Hm… yeah… I suppose we should do something about that too…"