To Walk The Mist

Using all his strength, Ed punched the first layer of human shields. They only felt as their body went up into the air. Their bones hurt and muscles torn from their place. Blood flowed.

Retreating back, Ed prepared for the second punch.

Ed Attacked again and this time, a clear path to elder ban was made. He retreated a second time. It looked to them as though he was mimicking a wild bull gaining momentum.

"It is not the blink skill he is using to move." someone said.

"His speed is purely from physical movement alone." another said.

"This guy, is he human?"

"He is mocking us by not using his energy."

Ed retreated and prepared to attack again.

This time, he was not stupid enough to rely on his physical strength alone. He felt his energy pulse in him. His knuckles cracked as his hand gripped into a fist and circulated a little of his energy to his fist. The elders tensed as though they knew what was coming. Elder Ban felt her form steadied by the elders behind her, while the elder beside her prepared to strike Ed the moment he is close enough.

Ed stepped back, aimed and shot forward with incomprehensible speed.

Crack!

The sound of his form breaking through the air could not keep up with is body that had already crossed meters to appear before turtle shield.

Grip!

His muscles stretched and his body tensed.

Bang!

As Ed's fist touched the turtle shell, a sonorous bang rang through the air. Pressure so hard, it pushed a wave forth descended from his fist. This wave flattened them so fast and strong, the elder could not break through to stab Ed.

Blood.

One could feel skin melt and bones crush to powder. It was like being hit by a falling star. There was no escape for any, even the mortals on the first level. His destructive and corrosive energy sipped into the air, stinging ones nose, eating through the barriers of the devil's cage, exposing all to the destruction of Ed's fist.

Boom!

The entire city caved into a deep crater.

Outside the city, Old Iba almost swallowed his teeth.

"How?" he asked.

Tie Nse laughed at the scene. One could not tell if he was happy of sad. Black lines appeared on his face.

"Why bother trying to teach him combat? This boy is too dangerous." he said.

"You only just discovered now?!" Old Iba scolded, "Where did you find this boy?!"

"Old Iba, I worry for my life....keke... is this boy even trainable?" Tie Nse said with a solemn laugh.

"He is still not strong enough to fight you. Don't forget, these guys all had their energy sealed." Old Iba said.

"That's beside the point. He must have used his energy with this last punch. Is this what all the combined energies can do? Is it safe to keep raising this boy?" Tie Nse asked. His expression held a hint of melancholy.

"Oh? You suddenly care about the world? You allowed him to kill innocent people. You, yourself are not so good. If he turns evil. It will be because of the kind of teacher he got!" Tie Nse almost believed his words. But in the future, he came to understand the teacher had nothing to do with at all.

"Not about the world, about me. Can I really be called his teacher in the future?" Tie Nse said.

"It will get to a point when you will not be able to train him yes. He just has to survive till then." Old Iba aid solemnly.

"I still don't know his name." Tie Nse sighed and Old Iba frowned.

"You still hold no shame."

Tie Nse put down Old Iba and looked down at the city as the dust cleared. The city was silent. The dome was gone. Inside the large crater, the ruins of a once beautiful city lay around Ed. His calm eyes held no feeling as it looked round the destruction looking for survivors. He could tell no one survived. The silence was deafening.

His heart did not even skip. His mind was blank. He held no regrets, no fear, no pain, no remorse. He was not sure when he begun to loose these bits of humanity, but it mattered not. It mattered not who died or lived. He looked up at Tie Nse in the sky. He felt nothing.

After the group had left the city, visitors who came after saw ruins. Many could not fathom what had happened. Soon, news spread through out the demon lands of the city and many cultivators rushed over to see. Some had tried to enter the city. When they stepped foot into the city, a corrosive smell stung their nose. As they breathed in the air, it entered their body and caused havoc. They felt as their energy veins snap around their body and screams rang out through the city. Soon, they just fell dead.

The ghost city, it was now called. You enter the city and leave as a ghost.