The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Below the Raeven Estate, Abraham was sweating on his forehead. His Ein continuously flowed into the medicinal bath that was boiling.

Inside it was a beautiful girl, Celestina. She was still not awake.

"Her protector should be trying to find this Elder Saul now." Abraham cursed. He didn't know who this Elder Saul was, but to send the princess on a mission like this without alerting anyone was damning.

…….

Inside the Blue Ocean Pavilion, Elder Saul was resting on his usual reclining chair by his hut. It looked as if he was blissfully sleeping.

"You there!" A powerful presence appeared out of nowhere, shaking the ground around Elder Saul's hut. It was very early morning, so there were no students outside to feel this ruckus.

The rude intruder was clad in silver armor with a helmet covering his face. The helmet had a single tassel of red that flowed down to his back. His pauldrons and knee guards had the faces of dragons.

This person was Celestina's personal guard. A week ago, he reported the princess's disappearance to the Royal Family, who quickly sent out search parties and investigated.

Nothing came up until her S.O.S signal came from the Floating Mountains of Edin. Fortunately, Abraham found and saved her, but she was in a coma. From Abraham's intel, this old gardener was the one responsible.

The royal guard was fuming. His job was to watch over the princess but not all the time for her privacy. He didn't expect her to disappear. This tarnished his role as a guardian and damaged his honor. He desperately wanted to kill this old man sleeping on a chair.

Elder Saul did not rouse up from this outburst which infuriated the guard even more.

The royal guard was about to pull out his weapon. His Ein surged tremendously, revealing his strength as a Greater Knight Exalt.

But still, Elder Saul did not awaken.

Suddenly, the royal guard trembled; his power should have woken this weak elder up. But instead, he felt fear welling up from within. He felt his heart run cold as if blood had stopped flowing.

'What the hell is this?'

His legs limped as he clattered to the floor. Within his helmet, he was sweating bullets and hyperventilating.

"Calm down." A hand reached out and grabbed him, knocking the royal guard out of his current state.

It was Margaret Ward.

"Go back and tell the Royal Family that I will send an explanation." Margaret told the royal guard.

"Received." The royal guard said weakly. Though he had his responsibilities, Margaret Ward was the higher authority here. He floated up and flew away to get as far away as possible.

Seeing the royal guard fly off into the distance, Margaret sighed and turned to Elder Saul.

"Why did you involve the princess?"

Elder Saul finally opened his eyes, making Margaret stay on alert. A drop of sweat flowed down her chin and dripped to the floor.

"I did not. It was the boy's invitation, and she accepted."

"The boy? Oscar Terr?" Margaret's brow furrowed.

"I wonder what he is doing now?" Elder Saul seemed only to be interested in Oscar. "Oh, by the way. Don't be so disrespectful to test me."

He was referring to the royal guard that rudely came here. There was no way Margaret was unaware of the royal guard's actions; she had let him go to test Elder Saul's capabilities.

Margaret was expressionless but felt a cold sweat on her back. She bowed and left without a word.

…….

Oscar woke up to a burst of cold winds from the open window. His face was red and dried to the harsh cold.

"Who left the window open?" Oscar rubbed his dry eyes and said hoarsely from a dry throat. He looked through the window to see the two suns beaming down on him.

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"Lad, it is time to wake up."

Oscar was caught off-guard by the man sitting near the brazier near his room. He stared warily at this man.

The man was dressed in a green tunic with gilded golden designs around the wrists. He wore thick brown canvas pants with black boots. On his back, he carried a long claymore. His height was incredible; he was several heads above Oscar in height.

"Forgive me; who are you?" Oscar got off his bed quickly. He didn't know who this man was, but the power he felt from him was incredible. This coarsely dressed man was a Knight Exalt.

"I am Robert Raeven. A member of a branch family of the Raevens. We may not be part of the mainline, but we are powerful in our own ways."

He had a rough face with black eyes and indigo hair. There were hints of age across his brows. "Wear these and get ready in ten minutes. Your training will start soon."

After tossing Oscar some equipment, he walked out of the room to give him some privacy.

'Are we starting the training now?'

In a few moments, Oscar stepped out of his room. He wore a set of training equipment of leather chest, pauldrons, wristguards, and a small helmet. His obsidian buckler was latched onto his back as always.

Outside, Robert was waiting with his arms crossed. There were scars visible all over his arms from under the sleeve. "Follow me."

He didn't spare Oscar any further glance and went his own way.

Oscar hastily followed after Robert with a troubled look. "Sir, are you overseeing my training?"

Robert grunted without responding. He continued to walk while Oscar followed behind awkwardly. The silence between them was uncomfortable save the flickering of the torches they passed.

"Indeed. I will be training you under the orders of the head." Robert finally responded.

"Thank you for this."

"Don't thank me. I don't even want to be here." Robert scoffed and returned to being silent.

Oscar shut his mouth, not even letting out a sigh. He knew it must be tiresome for a Knight Exalt to come and train an Apprentice Exalt. Oscar was not even Robert's disciple, and Draven only taught him during his time in prison.

Soon they exited the Raeven Estate from the back entrance. There was a stone-laden path that led straight to True Sword Peak. Oscar followed Robert until he suddenly stopped.

In front of Oscar and Robert was something akin to a gate made of stone. Two large stone blocks rose high, slightly above Robert's tall height. On top of the two upright stones was another stone block laid horizontally.

It looked like a doorway but with no walls. It was just an array of stones with a gap in between.

"Be prepared for when you step through." Robert warned Oscar. "True Sword Peak is not for the weak."

Oscar nodded solemnly. This place was clearly special for the Raevens to make their home near it. There was no telling what lay ahead.

"What?!"

To his astonishment, Robert disappeared after stepping through the stone gate. There was not a single trace of him.

While Oscar was stunned, Robert's irritated voice resounded in his head. "Go in."

Not wasting a moment, Oscar bravely stepped forward and ran through the gate. It was like passing through water but a very thin veil of water. Oscar was reminded of a bubble and its delicate yet elastic surface.

He looked around and saw a white barrier shining all around the mountain like a wall. It resembled the water falling down a waterfall but in the opposite direction. The only clear place was the stone gate behind him.

Suddenly Oscar felt as if he had been cut into several pieces. He dropped to the floor, breathing heavily. He tried to get up, but again he felt the sensation as if he was chopped up.

"What is this? I'm getting sliced repeatedly every time I try to move." Oscar gasped.

"True Sword Peak cannot be accessed through any way than that stone gate. There are multiple other stone gates positioned around the mountain. If anyone tried to go through, they would pass through to the other side." Robert threw Oscar.

"Sir….That wasn't my question." Oscar said respectfully with a pale face. Robert had completely ignored his suffering and just explained the entrance.

"Gather your focus and stand. With a clear mind, you should be able to grasp it." Robert looked annoyed.

Oscar closed his eyes and focused his mind, clearing it of any idle thoughts and focusing fully on his surroundings. His blue Ein slowly flowed out. He stood up slowly.

Then it came. Oscar could make out what was a sword suddenly sliced out at him. It floated in the air, but Oscar knew it wasn't real.

It was like a ghost, an apparition. But the pain was real.

It sliced multiple times, making Oscar reel from the phantom pain of his limbs being chopped off. He knelt back down on the rocky, snowy ground with an expression of pain.

"A sword? How is that possible?" Oscar exclaimed. Although the image wasn't clear, he could make out the shape of a sword.

"True Sword Peak and all the other mountains that were carved contain the residual Ein and the will of the swords that carved it." Robert sat down and stared at Oscar. "Stepping onto the mountain will enact the lingering sword intent to attack you. How do you think the Raevens can train and become powerful swordsmen? They fight and learn from the apparitions of the old ancestors' swords."

"The sword intent? The thoughts and memory of their swords can carry on for so long?" Oscar asked. This was an incredible discovery. Other powerful noble families may have something like this as well. "Come to think of it. The remnant will of the Night Raptor was able to attack me."

"So you've dealt with the will of a beast before? How did it attack you." Robert seemed interested and asked.

"It invaded my inner space and tried to attack my core." Oscar answered.

"That must have been some special circumstance for a beast to do that. Don't worry; the intents that linger here will not attack your core." Robert took out a package of food wrapped in leaves. "Your training will not be complete until you overcome the sword intent. Ask me anything if you need it."

"So it's like that." Oscar took out his buckler with a smile.

He stood up straight with his buckler at the ready. The sword intent manifested and shot out at him. It approached him as if playing a game of stabbing the barrel, and he was the unfortunate barrel.

Oscar clenched his buckler hard and charged forward.

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