Jacob and Xenia sat in the lotus position, their eyes were closed and their energy began to surge around them.

"So far, you have honed your internal senses, let’s see you you fare with your external senses. For this is the true definition of defense." The great sage spoke again, his voice rattling the walls of the small structure in the middle of the pocket world.

"These attacks will come in three phases. The first phase will consist of attacks formed as punches—if they land, it will feel like getting hit by a fist.

The second phase will consist of attacks formed as sword slashes—if they land, your skin will be cut open instantly.

The third phase will consist of attacks that will be as heavy as boulders—for this, you have to use your Qi to block them; as they will most likely crush you if they land.

The test will begin in thirty seconds, good luck." With that said, the voice of the great sage was gone, replaced by an almost overwhelming silence that filled the entire room.

In this pocket world, there was air to breathe, but there was no sound of breeze; or anything really. If not for the fact that they could hear each other speak, they would’ve thought that they’d gone deaf from the silence.

Jacob sat there, unmoving. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, his eyes still closed and his palms planted calmly on his laps.

"I was born ready, young master Jacob." Xenia responded.

A small timer appeared at the top of the room, thirteen seconds were left.

The time counted down, each beep resounding in their ears.

12 seconds...

11 seconds...

10 seconds...

9 seconds...

8 seconds...

7 seconds...

6 seconds...

5 seconds...

4 seconds...

3 seconds...

2 seconds...

1 second...

Phase One Begins.

The timer went off, the room grew even more silent than before.

The first attack came from Xenia, a heavy invisible fist came hurling towards her abdomen, she forced her Qi outwards, sensing the punch which came flying towards her with unprecedented speed.

She gently put her hands up, parrying the attack, her cultivation process was unbroken.

Jacob sat there, aura swirling around him. The fist came for him now, darting towards his face, he felt it, he felt how fast it was.

He carefully put up a hand to the side of his face, blocking the attack, but he was not ready for how powerful the hit was going to be, causing his hand to cave inwards before his straightened it again.

Over the next few minutes, they both received attack after attack, some landed but were not enough to cause significant damage to them, they manage to parry the majority of it.

By the end of this phase, Xenia was breathing hard, her face was covered in sweat and she was struggling to maintain focus.

Jacob was also struggling to stay focused, but he wasn’t exhausted, not like Xenia. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and sighed; he never expected for such a test to even make him sweat, he desperately wanted to open his eyes and find out that it was raining instead.

A voice sounded from the roof of the building.

"Phase One is complete, Phase Two will begin in two minutes."

Then the silence returned.

_ _ _

A young man could be seen returning from the market in a small town near the Ten Thousand Beast Forest. It was a small place called Unity Town, located just on the outskirts of the city of Malkovia.

The man carried a small bag containing all kinds of fruits and vegetables, the money given to him by the Ironfell patriarch was enough to last him for five years, living a modest life in this town.

Unity town as the name stated was a town where different races lived together semi-peacefully, as conflict can never truly be eradicated.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Vampires, Wizards and Witches, Orcs, Giants, Dragonborn and occasionally, very rarely, Angels.

If one was looking for somewhere to blend in without attracting suspicious stares/glances, or judgement from strangers; Unity town was the place.

Leon had been there for over two weeks, living alone and catering to the horses as he had found them a decent stable to spend their nights.

He had almost reached his small apartment on the side of the road, he walked happily into the alley, whistling his favorite tune.

He got to the door and put his key in, just as he did so he felt a small prick on his neck and froze in place. His small bag dropped to the floor, and all his fruits rolled out.

A chill ran down his spine when he heard the voice of a women behind him. "A peep from you and this goes into your blood stream, I give you five seconds before your skin melts all over the fucking floor, leaving a pile of organs on the roadside." She said in her most ominous voice whilst pressing an injection against his neck.

The voice sounded feminine but dangerous to Leon, he held his hands up in surrender, sweat dripping down his forehead profusely.

"W—what.. do you want?" He stumbled over his words, gulping loudly as the stranger pushed him up against the door.

"What do I want?" She laughed maniacally, "What do I want?" She asked again, the question seemed rhetoric so Leon remained silent.

"That’s right, I want you to tell me where Jacob Ironfell is."

"What?!" He almost screamed, he knew Jacob was powerful, and he comes from a bloodline of very powerful people. Surely, someone like that can not be without enemies.

"Are you going to tell me? Or are you tired of this miserable life you lead?" She said again, pressing the injection against his neck even more, piercing it and causing a drop of blood to roll down his neck.

"I want you to think very well about your answer Leon Schira, it is not difficult to find you."

Leon gulped, he had no other choice, he had to give up the answer, he could not afford to get in the middle of such conflicts that require energy that far surpassed his.

"I—I know where he is, I...I’ll tell you, I’m sorry... he’s in the T—Ten thousand b—b—beast Forest." He confessed, his heart beating a mile a minute.

"Look at you, you’re a weaker man than I thought, you better not be lying, otherwise, the next day I come would be your last." And with that she vanished, just as she had appeared, leaving nothing but the sting of her words to haunt the young man.