Three months went by in a flash.
During this time, Grace had been teaching her children all that she knew about martial souls, soul beasts and cultivation.
Although they would learn this from the academy as well, she wanted to be thorough to the point of even teaching them things they might never encounter, like the precious treasures called soul bones, including the most coveted among them—external soul bones.
She had been prepared to teach them everything, even teaching them the Blaiddyd Clan's meditation technique.
As for their soul rings, she believed that the academy would be able to help them more than she could.
In any case, they will not be wasting time idling around now that they have things to learn and a meditation technique to practice as they wait another month for the academy to start admitting a new batch of students.
On the eve of a relatively uneventful day, Caelum and Celine were startled by the sudden rowdiness and noise from the village.
All of a sudden, rushed footsteps could be heard amidst the steadily rising voices.
More and more shuffling feet resounded as the voices had slowly turned into frantic screams, the first being particularly shrill, cutting through the night like a sharp knife.
A cold shiver ran down the children's spines as more voices started rising from a distance.
These were louder, gruffer and carried a hint of violent, sadistic amusement that made everyone even more fearful.
Suddenly, the door to Caelum and Celine's house opened with a violent swing. Rushing in was their mother, Grace, who looked pale as a ghost.
"Come with me! Hurry!"
She had no time to explain the situation. She just got back from work when everything started.
A sudden bandit attack from a ruthless group known to wander these parts. Worse yet, these were former soldiers who deserted and turned to banditry.
Among them were some soul masters at rank 30.
If there was just one, Grace would have fought back, but she was outnumbered. She would not risk it.
Besides, these bandits were like a spreading plague.
Every time the two empires—Xing Luo and Tian Dou—would be in conflict, fighting at the border, there would always be deserters who would fill up this band of vultures.
There was simply no end to them.
Not to mention, driven by displacement, war, poverty and starvation, many other people from these villages affected by the increasing border conflicts turn to a life of crime as well.
This was an inevitable consequence of war and power.
Death is a staple that no one wishes for, yet everyone must partake in.
As Grace carried her children and sprinted out of the village in her martial soul possession, they were greeted by the sight of the untold truth.
Bandits plundering food and money, raping and killing, burning what little was left.
This was a nameless village, and it would be left as such, forgotten to time.
None of those who claim to protect the citizens of the empire would even bother to put them on record.
At most, they are just another small number in a much larger board of numbers.
This is war, this is power—the privilege to write off the tragedy of the weak as nothing more than an inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.
Those with power rarely care about the plight of the downtrodden, choosing their own benefits over everything else.
This was the life that Grace escaped from.
She did not want to be used by her clan like a tool.
And she hated the fact that they even thought to rip her unborn child out of her womb just to preserve their image. But perhaps it was foolish of her to think she had escaped it.
For as long as this world is governed by the malignant corruption of power, no one would ever be able to escape.
A sharp whistle cut through the night air as a soft grunt escaped Grace's lips only to be drowned out by the chaos.
She was already out of the village's perimeter by then and heading straight for the forest along the path to the city.
Caelum and Celine had been watching the sacking of their village and seen the moment when an arrow struck their mother on her lower back.
"Mom, you're hurt!"
They were crying now, the horror finally settling in as a string of blood trickled down from their mother's lips. Yet even with the pain, her speed only increased as she pushed her body ever forward.
She was a Rank 36 Soul Elder with a mutated martial soul called Chained Wolf.
Although it practically crippled her talent, preventing her from breaking through normally without unshackling a chain each time, her speed and power were still great.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine."
She forced a smile to calm her children down, but she knew her condition was not good.
The arrow that struck her was from a martial soul. The arrow itself had already disappeared, having dissolved into a poison that now wrought havoc inside her.
Her body was growing numb and weak, but she had to keep moving for her children's safety. But before she could advance further, her lupine ears and nose caught something.
The scent of blood came from up ahead along with voices and laughter.
Her heart was gripped by fear as she hurriedly changed course.
She could no longer bring her children straight to the city. Instead, she would have to risk going through the forest.
It was a dark and moonless night.
She just hoped that she would not accidentally cross the demarcation of this safe little woodland and enter into the deathtrap in the depths beyond.
Unbeknownst to them, a dozen golden eyes were watching them with a mix of wariness and intrigue.