Hartley left the apothecary and headed straight for the Weapon smith.. The long shadows of the evening were now casted across the center of the city and the lively atmosphere had died down. He still had over 800 gold coins on him and was overjoyed.Now he could bring back the rest of the stuff from his shack in his s.p.a.ce ring he thought to himself. He entered the Weapon Smith and bought a black bladed sword for 120 gold, it was a top quality product, black steel was renowned for its durability, some even say a good quality black blade could even hold its own against a genuine spirit weapon, how true that was, Hartley had no idea, that was what the weapon smith had told him.
Hartley also got himself a set of 6 throwing knives also made from black steel, the workmanship wasn"t too bad either. At this point he was a bit hungry, he wanted to find an inn and get something to eat and a bed for the rest of the night, if it was any other point in his life, he wouldn"t dare even think about an inn but now he had some coins he was going to spoil himself a little.
The rude pointing and whispering from the locals had somewhat died down by now but as he was making his way around asking directions for an inn, he was mostly shunned by the superficial residents, some thought it was beneath them to be seen conversing with someone dressed in home-made clothes while some didn"t even respond, they held their heads straight and went about their business as if the wild looking youth was an apparition.
Sighing in frustration Hartley was beginning to think the wilderness riddled with fierce- beast weren"t as savage as these people, then someone called to him.. He glanced back and there was someone standing in front of the armory shop waving him over, it was Zhi Ruo, she had bought a lot of pelts earlier..
After coming over Hartley respectfully bowed from the waist and answered " Sister Ruo" she once again blushed and started talking,
" I heard you were looking for an inn I can recommend my Uncle"s inn, its just at the edge of town,"
she then quickly asked
"Why have you not processed those yellow striped leopard pelts you are wearing?" People pa.s.sed by and gave the red hair girl funny looks when they saw her comfortably chatting to the wild youth.
"I have no idea how to do it" replied Hartley with a helpless shrug.
Zhi Ruo put one hand on her hip and pointed her nose towards the sky while bragging "I not only make the best armor, I also make luxury robes for the Lords and Ladies of clans round the Waltham Province." She looked at Hartley with a bit of disdain before continuing, "you have one of the most sought after pelts attached to you with gra.s.s.. If you pay me 3 gold coins I will process those pelts for you and make a couple of robes"
Hartley respectfully bowed and quickly replied, "then I will have to bother Miss Ruo." he paid her on the spot and got directions to Zhi Ruo uncle"s inn and headed off.
Two hours later he was sat cross legged in a small room cultivating Blue Star energy, he had opened another 20 pages in Blue Star Gravity Sutra book. He had a faint blue aura rising around him.. HIs daintan had a flickering blue star, the light from it suffused through his daintan all around his body and integrated with his bones and muscles.. At this point Hartley"s physical body was also half step xiantian realm. He knew now after reading the last 20 pages, that what he needed most was enlightenment.
As he sat there as steady and un-moving as a mountain, there was a gravity pulse coming from his body which seems to synchronize with his heartbeat. Everything in the room which wasn"t tied or nailed down floated up for a second when he inhaled before gently setting itself down once again when he exhaled.
Zhi Lian was Zhi Ruo"s uncle, he was sat behind the bar looking up at the ceiling. There was dust coming down on his customers heads, not many noticed it but he noticed the weird pattern of dust fall, he had been staring at it for a few minutes wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him.
The thin screen of hazy dust swirled through the yellow candle light flickering on the counter, it was alternating between free falling from the ceiling then the next second, he swore it was rising upwards again.
His mind ran towards the wild looking youth he had rented the room to earlier.. The youth had thick pelts tied to his body with straw.. "What is he doing up there?" Zhi Lian could contain his curiosity no more, but just when he was going to have a look, his niece came through the door and funnily enough she was asking for the wild youth.. She had a package in her hand she said she had to deliver.
Back in the room on the 1st floor of the inn Hartley was so close to stepping across the line, it was palpable. Eyes closed, concentration at its maximum. Hartley was feeling a sensation of time, Time was timeless, it could be manipulated just like gravity, it was starting to fee malleable like something he could mold, just when he was about to try and manipulate time he felt someone approaching his door, he opened his eyes and the blue aura surrounding his body disappeared. Ten seconds later the door knocked and he opened it..