Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1057 - 1056 - Shadow Dance Art

Ranger was amazed at the turns of his life. He had been born in a humble demonic clan as a servant. It was only when he broke through to the Demon Soul Realm and revealed he had a genius grasp of his shadow and metal elements.

Such talent was quickly adopted into the clan but his advancement was as difficult as most demons in the current world. They were lucky enough to live near the Fionan Empire and had their Law Bindings to protect them.

He had always heard of the legendary Crescent City as a far off goal of many of the warriors of the clan.

The war was already an accepted part of their lives but their power was too low to even have them brought over to run errands for the main camps.

Ranger was different.

His almost delicate control of shadow Qi revealed he could learn a rather complex and difficult Art long left to collect dust in the archives of the clan.

It was the last time of his life that he knew joy.

He was able to stretch his senses into the shadows all around him. Night time was not as helpful unless enough light existed to cast shadows, but forests and ruins were his playground.

Mountain passes that none could scout effectively were wide open paths to him.

The severe limitations most cultivators suffered in the current era were nothing to him. He could reach almost 100 kilometers when he was at the peak of the Demon Soul Realm!

His clan was not of the wicked kind so he broke through to the World Realm normally and his abilities expanded beyond all the hopes of the clan.

It was the danger of that knowledge they all missed.

His capabilities had spread swiftly until a medium power learned of his skill. The Clan Head was notified of an envoy meeting to discuss recruitment and all seemed well. No one could imagine what was to come.

Ranger had been training when the plumes of smoke followed by screams revealed they were under attack! Heaven Realms, rare cultivators in the current age, wiped them out! Some of the demonesses were taken away but Ranger was one of the few men to be hauled off to begin serving in the wars.

The next century was a mix of dangerous missions and being pushed forward in his cultivation. They did not want him to be pill foundation as his skills were too important.

The more news of him spread, the more conflicts he saw. So many died to claim him and it was not unusual in the wars.

Everyone was looking for an edge and skills like his were in high demand.

Ranger felt disillusioned about his life. He knew he would die a servant without ever knowing how many died in his moves from one power to the next.

Finally, the latest indignity had been when all restraint was lifted. He was scouting around the Divine Ruin when it vanished. He plotted the course of the streak that had left it but when he returned to his current masters, their camp was in flames!

Escape was his first thought, yet a collar had snapped around his neck before he could even move! The Holy Flame Sect then used him to capture others.

It had been 7 long years since that started and the final missions had been scarce.

They did not believe him and removed his arm in the field. He also saw them act cravenly trying to find women or children to amuse themselves. It had sickened him.

Finally, a powerful being that seemed made of shadow Qi itself brought death to them! He said nothing as he watched them die as a burning feeling in his chest felt liberated.

The brutality was more than called for in his opinion but just when he thought death would finally claim him, he was brought before a strange man.

His emerald eyes were clearly those of a beast but Ranger felt it. That man was not like any beast he had met. The feeling of danger was not apparent and neither was there any of the strutting of pride most beasts had at the Immortal Realm.

It was only when he interrogated the Shandor Syndicate peddlers that had been in the arenas he had frequented that he felt all his instincts scream at him to run.

The man with emerald hair could kill so easily but seemed harmless! He was the most dangerous person he had ever met! Still, Ranger felt confident he was worthy of being followed.

He said his name was Taren Cord but Ranger knew that was a lie.

He did not care as his arm was restored and Lord Cord simply talked to him about his Art. He asked in depth questions about how it used shadow Qi and natural shadows to sense the world around them.

He grasped the limits quickly but then revealed ways to make it more efficient! He also trained Ranger on better ways to cultivate that solidified his foundation far better than any technique he had yet encountered!

The Sky Realm was usually where most cultivators ended but now his bottleneck was falling away!

He also helped protect their new base in the tower ruin that was quickly shaping up to a decent place to live again.

The War Maiden Katara had all the authority they needed with the formations so it was clear the Heavenly Maiden Sect was deeply involved with his new master.

He had expected Oz to be carefully monitored but the oath took care of most of it. The only thing Ranger noticed was similar deep conversations about poisons. Despite being human, the man knew far more about poison Qi than even demons did!

"Concentrate." Lord Cord's voice broke Ranger out of his thoughts. He closed his eyes and focused as he sat in a lotus position in his quarters. A simple mattress was laid on the floor but that was all the furniture in the room. He needed nothing else.

Various light Qi and blue flame Qi were casting complex shadows across the complex and into the ruins. It was far beyond his ability to work from the inside to the out, but his master wanted him to do it.

Rather than mapping the path with the shadows, he was teaching Ranger to sense the shadows beyond each wall directly.

It was far more difficult than he had ever tried but the Shadow Dance Art was incomplete. It had been copied from another source that was missing the higher realm steps. Taren Cord stated he had never heard of it but compared it to other sensing Arts.

Further, as Ranger practiced the Art, Lord Cord seemed able to pick it apart and improve upon it!

He had mastered it in less than 3 days!

Still, he did not seem to have the same talent Ranger had with it. It had been truly shocking to learn Lord Cord had full access to both natural and demonic Qi.

Ranger felt his shadow Qi flickering down 2 floors and nearly at the edge of the tower border. Unlike the interior walls he had slowly been able to jump through, the outer wall had a powerful formation flowing through it now.

It interfered with his senses and his brow began to sweat as he tried to sense the shadows beyond it.

"Stop trying to use Qi. Just feel the shadows. The world is always there, it always exists. You do not need your personal Qi to feel the world." Ranger found such instructions difficult to follow.

All Arts and techniques were about expanding their own Qi outward to control the world. Why would simply sensing the world work?

Still, he had seen the results of Lord Cord so he tried to stop forcing his own Qi and focused on the shadows in his range.

Unlike his own Qi, he felt a faint resonance within the shadows in the tower. The darker it was did not seem to matter but his mental vision shifted as he focused on a large shadow cast by blue fire 3 floors up.

It was exposed to the sunlit day but the clouds made it larger across the whole exposed stonework. His brow wrinkled as he realized the Qi was not static. As the fainter shadow deepened, he felt the Qi move! It was moving even as the shadows faded and returned!

The steps in his Art suddenly made much more sense to him! Shadows were cast by objects exposed to light sources but where did the Qi go? Where did it come from? Was it converted or appeared just because a shadow was cast?

He then understood it danced between shadows! It moved from one shadow to the next!

It was so elegant that it made his previous Art look like a child's drawing! He used his hands to move in the air in time with the dance he saw. The shadow Qi responded in his dantian as his Sky Core glowed with power as he felt a new understanding flood his mind.

Suddenly, the walls seemed paper thin to him! His Art was inelegant but now he felt it flow like pure high end music as he felt his senses fly across the entire city! It gave him a headache quickly but he knew it was simply inexperience at that point.

"I did it!" Ranger exclaimed so quickly he seemed like a child but Lord Cord smiled at him while nodding.

"Now, I want you to feel the world around us. Tell me what you sense." Ranger was not sure what his new lord wanted but he let his mind follow the flow of shadows as far as he comfortably could.

Ranger let his senses fly outward and then frowned.

There was something wrong. It felt vile to him and he did not want to trace it but he did so. Certain places burned in his mind and it made him jerk backward only to find his Lord waiting to catch him.

"Did you see the array?" Ranger understood suddenly and rage rose in him. Someone had created an array! It was manipulating the war!

"There are places of darkness and I know where they are!" Lord Cord smiled wide at him and he knew he had done well. He was not sure what his lord planned but he knew it made him happy.

He hoped he could continue to be of service but he was glad to help his Lord in the present state.