"Ahhhhh, that feels great!" John exclaimed with a relaxed, satisfied smile on his face. After learning the Prime Shadow had information regarding Lilian, he raced over the hill to the nearby natural spring.
The spring was nestled in between hills and cliffs, making it easy to miss unless stumble upon. Crystal-blue water fell down from holes in the cliffside, crashing gently down onto the spring below. The spring itself was also crystal-blue, and the water contained properties that made it far more refreshing and invigorating than normal water.
John had paused for only a moment to take in the beauty before jumping into the spring, crashing beneath its surface. After enjoying the sensation for a short while, he got to work, using the soap to wash the toxic slime off his body.
That had been several minutes ago. Now he floated on the water's surface, staring up at the blue sky above.
"After the month in the damned cave, I want to just relax and float here for the entire day…but I can't," John said, frowning. The Prime Shadow had information regarding Lilian, which he was desperate to hear. Relaxing like this also nagged on his mind, as he couldn't fully relax while Lilian's fate was still unknown.
"Each second not spent training or looking for her is a second wasted," he said, motivating himself to leave the comfortable oasis.
The water exploded a moment later as he mustered his Qi and shot into the sky, appearing high above the oasis. He gave it one last look of yearning, then sped towards the Prime Shadow who stood nearby.
"All cleaned up?" the Prime Shadow asked, looking John up and down. John only wore a simple pair of pants, while he kept his top half exposed. It was rare for him to be so isolated, and took this rare opportunity to bask his body in the warm sunlight as much as possible.
"Quite a powerful build you have there," the Prime Shadow noted.
"The information?" John said, shifting the subject to what truly mattered.
"Ah yes, the information regarding your missing companion," the Prime Shadow said. "I'll keep the details brief, but the important parts are that the Guild has established a special, covert group to infiltrate The Auction, led by Zuri herself. She managed to infiltrate them several days ago, and has learned a bit about them, and also about your companion.
According to her, The Auction is a very new, very mysterious group that popped up recently. Their goals are unclear, but from what Zuri can tell, they are working on acquiring as many resources as possible. Right now, that mean's spirit crystals, and so they are reaching out to hold their auctions, much like the one your companion was a part of. Zuri is working to infiltrate deeper into the workings of The Auction, which may give more insight into who they are, and what the status of your companion is.
However, she did manage to acquire this one piece of information regarding your companion. The winning bidder was someone from one of the Three Dao Sects, although she's not sure which one just yet."
"The Three Dao Sects!" John repeated, surprised to hear them be part of this conspiracy. The Three Dao Sects were the strongest powers of the human race; the Sword Dao Sect, the Mage Dao Sect, and the Yang Dao Sect.
"The Three Dao Sects deal in slavery?" John said, loudly, and with great displeasure. His opinion had been neutral regarding them, but instantly soured as he heard this.
"I'm not sure how it works on your world," the Prime Shadow said, his expression also clearly disproving of the practice of slavery, "but on this continent, the Three Dao Sects are essentially the law of the land. They consider themselves to be above everyone else, with their subsidiary sects akin to second class citizens. As for those that are not a part of either, they are considered third-class citizens, which the Three Dao Sects consider to be so far beneath them that even slavery isn't a big deal for them. Obviously, members of my Guild are considered exceptions, beyond the boundary or rule of the Three Dao Sects, but that's the only exception.
As for your companion, she is not a part of the Three Dao Sects or any of the subsidiary sects, so her being sold and bought would not be considered a taboo thing in their eyes," the Prime Shadow said, a thoughtful look appearing on his face for a moment. "Especially the Sword Dao Sect. If your companion was sold to someone in that sect, then we have a headache on our hands."
"Why is that?" John asked, frowning.
"Because, not only is the Sword Dao Sect the strongest of the Three Dao Sects, they also live by the rule of strength," the Prime Shadow said. "That is, that strength is the only law that matters. That the strong rule, while the weak are ruled. And that the sword is the ultimate strength, and therefore, the ultimate rule. They are an egotistical bunch of sword-maniacs, who consider anyone not of the Sword Dao to be lesser than them. If your companion is there, freeing her from that place is going to be tricky."
John frowned, while anger boiled up within him.
'Once I found out who has her, I'll make sure they regret even laying eyes on her,' John promised himself, doing his best to contain his growing rage. 'But getting angry right now won't solve anything. What I need, now, and always, is strength. Only when I have the proper strength will I be able to change these circumstances.'
"After each training portion you successfully complete, I will give you the latest information I have about your companion," the Prime Shadow said.
John took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. His eyes and face becoming firm with resolve.
"Let's continue the training," he said, to which the Prime Shadow nodded approvingly.
"Good, then the second training regimen will now begin," the Prime Shadow said, a mischievous smile appearing on his face as he wrapped John with his Qi. John noticed the smile, a bad feeling creeping within as he felt himself moved through space.
He reappeared an instant later, finding himself standing in a dark, familiar place. He frowned, shifting his gaze to the Prime Shadow.
"Is this a joke?" he asked, noticing he was back in the cavern, standing before the tunnel in which the Toxfoul bats lived.
"I'm afraid not," the Prime Shadow said. "Your first training was to successfully hide your aura from the bats. But that much is easy when all you're focusing on is hiding your aura. The assassination art requires you to be able to hide your aura while activating the art, which is much more difficult. As such, the next trial you need to pass is this; you are to sneak past the Toxfoul bats once more, only this time, you must be channeling your Qi internally, to a level at least fifty percent of your full strength."
