Once the dinner was finished, everyone settled in for the evening, with the Elders drinking and sharing stories while the Disciples caught up on much-needed sleep in preparation for a long journey the next day.
The Crushing Mountain Elder had agreed to escort the rest of the failed applicants to the city in exchange for the information that led him to such a perfect new Disciple for his own sect, while the two Divine Realm Cultivators were too busy making snide comments at each other to sleep anytime soon.
According to the younger Elders, they had a falling out over a thousand years ago and split apart their former Sect to set up two encampments across the pass from each other.
"So, it's an extended lover's spat?" Luna whispered to Penny, making the Lycan laugh.
"Not quite, at least, I don't think so. We will explain when you're older."
"The answer is always later or when I'm older. I tell you, this is discrimination. I need juicy details." Luna replied indignantly.
"Enough gossiping, you two. Get some sleep. We will be heading out first thing in the morning toward the Dragon Peak." Cain called back to where they were sitting.
"Can you tell Penny to sleep in wolf form? She's so much softer that way." Luna pouted, already upset that she couldn't get her gossip fix.
"Discuss that with Penny. It's her transformation ability."
Luna just grumbled under her breath and headed into the tent, where she found Solara sleeping alone and pulled her into a tight embrace before almost immediately drifting off to sleep.
"They're so precious when they're young. I recall my own when they were that age. All they wanted to do was fight with each other over everything. Even a different shape of steak for dinner would cause a huge blowout about who got the bigger portion." The Crushing Mountain Elder informed them with a nostalgic tone.
"Oh, I know the feeling. I used to work at an orphanage before joining the Foot Clan, and the children would argue over everything and do their best to pretend to be grown up. They would argue every night about bedtime, but the moment they were in bed, they were out like a light, exhausted." One of the younger Elders laughed.
"Yeah, that happens a lot. But my Luna is a cuddler, so she doesn't sleep unless there is someone else there to hold on to. Part of the living on the road, I suppose, but I am sure it drives some of my other Disciples insane." Cain agreed.
"I can't blame her, though. If I had a four-meter-tall wolf available, I would cuddle it every night as well." The Crushing Mountain Elder laughed, making Penny roll her eyes at him.
The Immortal noticed her look and decided to explain. "I raise guard dogs for the Sect of the Pyrenees variety, and they make excellent pillows. They're big dogs, but four meters tall is a lot of furs to keep a fellow warm in the mountains."
"I suppose that makes sense. The colder it gets, the more comfortable it is to sleep in wolf form instead of human or Lycan. That skill was a really useful one to learn." Penny agreed.
Eventually, they all turned in for the evening, leaving the younger Elders of the two sects to keep guard for the night. The Divine Elders could have returned home in a few minutes, but camping gave them one last chance for interaction before Cain and his crew left in the morning.
"If you happen to be by here again, please do stop in. Your ability to work with Disciples is truly incredible, and it has opened our eyes to just how rigid our teaching structure has become.
Once upon a time, we strived for nothing more than to become strong, no matter how we accomplished it. But at some point, we started focusing on our legacy instead and limiting the skills that we were passing on to the ones that we ourselves had learned and used." The Foot Clan leader informed them while munching on one of Cain's specialty roast pork and egg breakfast burritos.
"The Crushing Mountain will welcome you as well. We owe you for this fine Disciple, and we hope that you can stop by sometime and help guide a few of our other youngsters toward the path of true power." The massive Elder declared.
"I will stop in at as many places as I can the next time I come through this region. I can't guarantee where my travels will take me next, though, as I am hoping to meet with the Ancient Dragon, as I have been advised that they might have information that will help me ascend." Cain explained to the group.
"Brave and adventurous. We won't keep you then, but I would advise that you remain close to the ground during the next week of travel. The monsters in the sky aren't as benevolent as the Dragons are, and a group like yours will draw them from many miles around." the Thunder Gods' Elder suggested.
"We will keep that in mind. The Disciples need some more practice fighting monsters as well, so hopefully, the few that we meet on the ground will be enough to keep them occupied and to help hone their skills."
"That shouldn't be an issue. Once you are past this point, the mountains are truly wild, and Spirit Beasts run rampant. We cull the strongest in the Sect territory to keep the Disciples safe, but we don't do the same out here, so you may run into something stronger as well." The Foot Clan's leader advised.
"That's what we are hoping for. A solitary Immortal Beast would be excellent training for the Disciples, and it would help hone their coordination the way that an easier fight wouldn't."
The girls all gave Cain a dirty look at that suggestion. Easy fights are good fights, they didn't want to get beat up by some angry Immortal Monster, but if they happened to come across one, there really wasn't anything that they could do about it.
With the camp packed up and the other Cultivators departed, Cain led his band of misfits toward the Dragon Peak. The road didn't go anywhere near there, so they were going to walk through the woods following a river that was supposed to run down from the lake at the base of the mountain they were looking for.
They did their best not to make too much noise, intending to make it as far as they could without indulging Cain's desire to see them fight some random monster that they came across, but their plan was doomed to failure from the start.
Every beast, both magical and mundane, needs to drink, and they were walking beside the only water source for dozens of kilometers.
They had barely made it until noon before a small group of wild boars could be heard along the riverbank in front of them, fighting amongst themselves.
"This is the perfect opportunity to restock with fresh meat. I know you all like the pork, so head up ahead and get us some good stuff. I will be right behind you in case something goes wrong." Cain whispered to his Disciples before picking up Solara and pulling his flying sword from his inventory.
If they watched from the ground, the low-level alchemist would be in trouble, but from further up by the tree branches, they would be much safer unless the Pigs had some sort of ranged attack.
"Since we can't avoid this, I will draw their attention. Penny and Tena take my flanks, and Luna can summon reinforcements behind them. Once they're gathered together, Sabbat can take them out, and we can call it a day." Jen suggested.
"Less fire, more stabbing. I want meat for lunches. You guys help gather them up, and the summons will cut them down." Luna countered.
"Fine, but only because we like your cooking." Tena agreed and activated a skill that would let her walk on water for a short time, so she could take the left flank without splashing through the river.
The attack was swift and brutal. Luna summoned both a half dozen copies of carnage and a dozen of Oath Breaker to ensure that the group of wild boars was taken down efficiently, while the other three melee Disciples charged and then went to full defense after they caught the beasts' attention.
It was all over in under a minute, and Jen only had to cast a few defensive barriers to avoid having anyone take damage.
"Excellent job of the kills, and good experience rewards as well. Solara will thank you once she recovers from the notifications. Store the meat once Carnage finishes with the butchering, and let's get a move on before the blood draws even more attention from the monsters in the area." Cain congratulated them.
"And no slacking." Luna reminded Carnage, who had visibly slowed his work at the promise that there were more monsters in the area.
"Fine, but call me again soon." The big red demon complained, flapping his wings against the trees to rustle the branches in annoyance at not getting to fight anymore.
"You know we will. There is a lot of forest for us to cover between here and the Dragon Peaks, and the monsters will only get stronger as we get further from civilization." Cain assured him, then extended his senses to make sure that nothing was sneaking up on them.
The coast was clear, and they were back underway in minutes, jogging toward the sound of a waterfall, where their map said that they could safely set up camp for an evening, as a local Sect had set up an outpost there to keep track of the monster population.
