The realm that Baiyi had chosen for their excursion was neither big nor small. It was about the size of five Arfin cities, or the size of Shanghai on Earth. Locating a person in an environment that was wide and untouched by civilization could be considered quite a challenge — even for the experienced sorcerer, Sorcerer Terrier.
The assassination team strode through the shores of the gobi. Although they were without mounts, they did not take off into the air because they were afraid that Baiyi would spot them first. Since flying was not an option, they could only travel by feet under the heat.
Naturally, any sense of patience they had before the trip easily evaporated; this was especially for one of them who had very little patience to begin with. “Any results at all?!” Nergal, the Knife-savvy Assassin impatiently asked over and over again.
Sorcerer Terrier shook his head helplessly. He gave the same reply he had given only minutes ago, “I cannot detect what is outside my psychic energy perimeter.”
“Urgh!” Nergal cried out in frustration. He really wanted to scream at Sorcerer Terrier, asking him to expand the scope of psychic energy so that they could acquire Baiyi’s location immediately. However, if they did that, they would also be exposing their presence.
This was of no concern to Nergal, however. So what if their presence was exposed? There had five people on their team, and all five of them were adept at dealing with sorcerers; furthermore, they were only going up against one sorcerer, who was the only one on his team that could put up a fight against them. Nergal felt that even he added the dragons into the equation, his assassination team would still be the party with more damaging power. ‘Why don’t we just blaze through their entrails?’ For him, the only problem was that he wasn’t the one calling the shots. Their team leader, the Northerner, had stubbornly insisted that they be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible.
‘Only God knows what worries that big guy. Is it that Hope? Or that dragon? Why the hell do we even have to act so scared and handicap ourselves in the middle of nowhere? Isn’t this the perfect playground for us?!’ Nergal thought, feeling unhappy and confused.
Baiyi also felt confused at that moment, so he directed a question to the Void. “Guys, why do I detect anomalies in my psychic energy? I mean, these weren’t there before. Did… Did someone else come here?”
The psychic energy from Baiyi’s current body could only encompass a few miles; however, he still had that twenty percent unused power — which he had smuggled in after defeating Thaas — and the bit of consciousness he attached to the power, and both of them were still floating about. In order to maximize protection for his students, Baiyi did not stop the extra power and consciousness from scanning the realm.
Since the power operated outside of the realm — kind of like a satellite— the assassination team did not detect it.
“Wanna go check it out?” the Archmage asked.
“Yep; I kinda have to. Honestly, it’s a little unsettling. The psychic energy I detected was deliberately made to occupy a very small radius and frequency, which is abnormal. If it belonged to someone who was exploring a new realm, then the person would have expanded it as wide as possible to see if it picked up any energy signatures,” Baiyi replied.
“Maybe… It’s not human,” the Soul Armature Practitioner jumped in.
“That’s possible. However, I can guarantee that the psychic energy does not belong to an unknown Pokemon — a scenario I’m sure you are hoping for,” Baiyi replied. “I’ll have to ensure that the kids settle down first before I check it out, though.”
Baiyi had mentally prepared for the possibility that the psychic energy belonged to someone or something that would be hostile or harmful to them. That scenario was fine by him. If he was to fight in a place without a lot of people, he would not hold back; instead, he would go on a rampage!
Unlike the possibilities of enemies, Baiyi found two of his students more troublesome. The eldest student, Tisdale, and the youngest student, Little Mia, were playing some kind of brute game in the creek while Baiyi wasn’t paying attention. When Baiyi snapped back to reality, Tisdale had already shoved Mia into the water and fell in herself not long after. By the time the Soul Armature managed to fish them out, both girls were completely drenched.
Baiyi held Mia and brushed her hair hard with a towel. Both girls changed their clothes and had thick blankets wrapped around them. Only their hairs hadn’t dried at that point.
Baiyi’s attempt at drying Mia’s hair was too painful for the girl so she let out cries of agony. Tisdale, on the other hand, fared better. She was being towel-dried by Aya, who did the drying mildly, causing no pain. This, however, did not seem to help Tisdale’s mood. She lowered her head in dismay as she received Baiyi’s scolding. “Can’t you, at least, take care of the younger one?”
“Sniff… Mr. Hope… Big Sister Dale wasn’t doing it on purpose — owww! You’re too forceful…” Little Mia said, defending her beloved big sister.
“Didn’t I talk about this before we left? Safety first! You didn’t listen to a single word I said, did you? What is this? Teenage rebellion?” Baiyi continued in a helpless tone 1 as he ruffled Mia’s hair which had almost dried.
Baiyi caressed Mia’s cheeks a little, then he pulled Tisdale over and began to dry her hair with his painful method. Little Mia scurried to Laeticia’s side and allowed the girl to comb her hair.
“Oof… Sir, please be a little gentler, okay? My neck is coming off…”Tisdale protested in a small voice.
By the time Baiyi was done setting the two troublemakers straight, it was noon — time for the sumptuous lunch prepared for them by the Aya, Attie, and Nota. This feast was even more bountiful than what they always had back home. The sumptuous meal washed away the dejections felt by both girls after their little accident.
Baiyi took the girls’ clothes to the water and washed them, then he wrung the water out of the wet clothes using magic and folded them neatly into stacks, which was then transferred to their storage pouches.
When Bayi was done with the domestic chores, he issued an announcement. “Alright; let’s camp here today. Please, set up your tent after lunch, then rest here. There is something I want to check out, so we’ll organize our activities after I return.”
“If I return a little later than expected — Aya, please take them around the woods to hunt for some food. I assume that Zakum the fox and friends 2 are pretty good at that. Am I wrong?” Baiyi finished, eyeing the kitsune. It raised a paw and wore an expression which seemed to mean “You can count on me!”.
“That’s all. I’ll be heading out now,” the soul armature said, then he soared into the air and streaked into the horizon. He left a dozen storage pouches where he stood, and they were all filled with different, mundane household items that the girls used at home; for example, the girls’ little round mirrors.
It was as though the man had stuffed the entire house into pouches he left behind.
“Is he always so… meticulous?” Aya smiled forcefully and asked the students as she pulled out a wooden pail used for baths from a storage pouch.
“Mr. Hope has always been very meticulous. Whenever I’m by his side, I feel like home is wherever I go,” Little Mia smiled and answered.
It was too bad Baiyi did not get to hear the nice things Mia had to say about him. He was off speeding in the direction he had detected the anomaly, and in a short while, he left the woods completely.
Soon, he found himself in a barren wasteland — the gobi.
“It’s gone?” Baiyi looked around. He spotted some small desert shrubs, and that was it; there were no other living beings around. Even the strange, unidentified psychic fluctuation had disappeared. “Did the culprit detect me and severe it? Brr. That’s kinda creepy—”
Suddenly, a very soft sound emanated from the shrubs below Baiyi.
It was the sound of a drawn bowstring being released! Instantly, a long, thin stand of blackness had reached the nape of Baiyi’s neck, without a sound!
Baiyi did not turn. He cocked his head to a side just at the right time, and the black rod brushed by his neck.
As soon as it did, the Fifth Walker’s fingers closed around it, catching the object. He looked at it and was surprised to realize that it was an arrow made out of pure darkness.
‘Seriously? Using bow and arrows against a soul armature is not very bright…’ Baiyi thought in amusement and hurled the arrow in the direction it had come from, controlling it with his own mana, this time.
However, the arrow had not reached its destination before Baiyi felt a strange force forcefully interfere with his psychic energy, causing him to lose control of his own mana. The arrow lost its force and felt down weakly.
Baiyi immediately dispelled his Levitation spell, and in a matter of seconds, he was speedily descending to the ground below.
The instant Baiyi landed, a large and mighty silhouette leaped out from the sand beneath him. With a roar filled with power, a fist the size of a casserole streaked towards him.
“Holy-level knight? Nah… It’s a warrior…” Baiyi initially froze for an instant, but he quickly regained his senses and teleported away from the path of the fist that had come at him like a tank. He reappeared a short distance away. As soon as he appeared, he leaped higher into the air to evade three more raven-black arrows.
Whilst in the air, Baiyi quickly spun his body into a manner that defied the laws of physics, successfully evading three knives.
As soon as Baiyi landed, he had no time to adjust his footing before the Holy-level warrior arrived. The warrior was big and heavy-looking, but he was so fast that he moved like a phantom! In less time than it took to blink, he had arrived right in front of Baiyi. A fist engulfed in flames 3 raced towards the soul armature’s chest with a momentum that threatened the earth itself.
One blow from that, and Baiyi’s Augustril armor would be smashed like glasses.
Fortunately, the warrior was not the only one who was fast; Baiyi’s reflexes were just as quick. A wall of ice appeared instantly appeared in front of the fist, stopping its momentum.
The flaming fist crashed into the ice wall, causing a huge explosion. Afterward, a huge cloud of mist surged from the middle of the hot gobi desert.
Baiyi took the chance to perform another short-distance teleportation, putting himself out of the warrior’s attack range. This time, the opponent did not advance, and instead, he stood where he was.
It seemed that the testing period was over.
“Aye. That wuss pure brilliant physique. Ye bear makings far beyond a sorcerer,” the northern Holy-level warrior spoke first.
“Hmm? This is interesting. You guys are not here to kill me, are you?” Baiyi asked, feeling intrigued. “Good, I’m dying for some afternoon entertainment.”