Chapter 120
Proposal
While Lucas was finishing up with getting his new skin done, Chu Shen was able to start on the kids. The first kid was a boy that was eight years old. If he was any indicator on how this was going to go, Chu Shen was in for a rough ride.
The boy constantly asked questions even after Chu Shen had answered them. He could barely sit still for the one meridian that Chu Shen could open for him. He was only a Rank 2 mage since they were considered too immature to fully awaken their abilities.
Slowly Chu Shen worked his way down the line. That cheery and hyper kid was, unfortunately, an exception. Most of the other kids were gloomy and depressed. You could see their sadness as plain as day. Their seriousness helped Chu Shen go through all 81 kids in only five days.
After Chu Shen finished opening the kids meridians, he went to talk with the teachers. What they needed to decide now was the future of these kids. Chu Shen could make them strong but they weren’t soldiers. It was like giving a child a gun. Even if they could kill someone, they wouldn’t have the mental fort.i.tude to do it on purpose.
Chu Shen decided to approach the teachers about this problem. “We can all agree that those sect’s won’t leave us alone. If they discover that Lucas and I tricked them, they would immediately set out to kill us.
“We need to take them out before they take us out. Also, I bet those kids want revenge for their friends, teachers, and loved ones that were killed. We need to face those sects sooner rather than later.”
The teachers all nodded. One of them spoke up first. “Allowing the kids to take revenge is a good idea. I would say that in four or five years their hearts will be hardened enough to kill.”
Chu Shen shook his head. “Well, I agree to that a.s.sessment. Unfortunately, we don’t have time. Due to some…. special circ.u.mstances, Lucas and I may leave at any time with no warning. It could be tomorrow or it could be in a year. There is no guaranteed time.”
All of the teachers showed shock upon hearing that. The one that had first spoke immediately cried out in protest. “What?! If you leave, how can we protect ourselves?! Please, don’t leave!” The others cried out in agreement. When Chu Shen mentioned leaving, they became aware of just how much they had come to depend upon this thirteen year old and his bodyguard.
Chu Shen shrugged helplessly. “Unfortunately this is something that I have no control over. I can’t stop nor delay it. You will all simply have to accept it for what it is.”
The teachers spent over half an hour trying to convince Chu Shen to stay but Chu Shen couldn’t tell them the reason why he had to leave. Of course, the reason was because of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. If it left, then so would Lucas and Chu Shen. They wouldn’t have a choice in the matter.
Eventually though they managed to accept this fact and moved onto the more pressing matter of the kids. One of the teachers looked at the others. “So, does anyone have viable options? We need to act quickly now since we don’t know how long our savior will be with us.”
A teacher at the end of the table stood up. “I think I have an idea. What if we……” He started explaining his idea but it was shot down pretty quickly. Other teachers introduced their ideas as well but every one of them seemed to be impossible or had some sort of major flaw.
Finally there was a teacher that had an idea that didn’t have any real noticeable flaws. “I know everyone hates the Asura Sect but no one can deny that they are very good at training warriors. I actually studied some of their training methods and I believe we can adapt it to ourselves.
“The Asura Sect would take their students and teach them how to cultivate and learn a couple abilities. After that they would be equipped with weapons and armor before being dropped off next to a magic beast hunting zone. There they were required to hunt down magical beasts each day for food.
“If they didn’t then they wouldn’t be fed at all. The students were trained there for a year before they would then be taken to dueling arenas. There the students would then fight and kill other members of the arena. If they survived there for another year, they were considered as members of the Asura Sect.”
The teachers faces turned ugly upon hearing that. Even Chu Shen was shocked at how ruthless the Asura Sect was to their students.
“How is this a suitable method for raising our students? We know how the Asura Sect turned out from the fact that they killed our sect down to the last man, woman, and child.” One of the teachers asked, clearly disturbed by what the other teacher was suggesting.
The one that proposed the idea shook his head. “I am not suggesting the arena part. That is just too cruel for young ones such as these. Instead, I suggest taking the kids to a magical beast hunting zone.
“There we can set up a temporary base like we have here and hunt down beasts for their training. Of course, we would be protecting them from the sidelines so that they won’t be killed by the beasts.
“With that they can get used to killing and gain experience fighting. We can also have training duels in the camp so they can become experienced with fighting against humans as well.
“However long it takes for them to gain a killing edge is how long it takes for them to become truly strong. Once we judge them to be of the right level, we can go forward with destroying the Golden Palm, Ice Dragon, and Asura Sect.”
The other teachers adopted a thoughtful look after hearing the entire proposition. “So will there be rewards for hunting more?” One of the teachers asked.
The one that proposed the idea shrugged. “I’m not sure. I figured we can all work out the details together. As far as I can tell though, this seems to be the only idea that can take less than a year.”
Everyone nodded. One of them turned to Chu Shen. “We have been kind of rude haven’t we? We haven’t even asked if the savior agrees with our proposition. Please savior, is there anything more you would like to add?”
Chu Shen shook his head. “No, I can’t think of anything really. I actually grew up in a small town that was attacked by magical beast hordes all the time. That was how I grew up being able to kill without thinking too deeply. Honestly, this sort of training method is the best one if we can a.s.sure everyone’s security.
“The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to choose a beast forest with low rank magical beasts. I think we should go to a forest with the average ranked beast at Rank 3. After everyone grows strong enough, we can move to a higher ranked forest.”
The other teachers liked that idea and immediately incorporated it into their plans. They spent another five hours going over the finer details such as the reward system, food, shelter, weapons, and other details.
It was also decided that they would need to scout out any forest before the students entered. After all, this was real life. Things changed all the time. It would be bad if all their promising students were wiped out because of a Rank 6 or Rank 7 beast moving into a Rank 3 hunting zone.
Because of that, Chu Shen, Lucas, and Su Gagi were chosen to scout out a Rank 3 magic beast hunting zone. They would return in a week with their report and then escort the kids to their new training camp. The reason Su Gagi was going along as well was because of the possibility of Chu Shen and Lucas disappearing. They chose Su Gagi simply because he was one of the only teachers they knew.
Chu Shen informed Lucas of their decision to scout the forest and their plans to train the kids. He didn’t like the idea of them killing beasts but decided it was okay so long as no one died. It had been decided that leaving as soon as possible was the best idea.
The next morning, they took the horses from the wagons and immediately set off to towards the magic beast hunting zone.