Apollo watched the carriage disappear around the corner before he began walking. Instead of heading toward the street where his beggar spot was, he turned left, heading in the direction of the training ground.
"I need a sword," the beggar muttered to himself. Now that he was here, he figured he should take advantage of the opportunity. The training ground was the closest, so he decided to go there.
Apollo hoped to find a spare wooden sword that he could 'borrow.' He could have asked the Headmaster for one, but in his excitement over the rewards and benefits, he had forgotten to request a weapon.
He didn't need a real weapon anyway. With his Simple Sword Technique, he could make anything as sharp as a real sword—sharper, even, if necessary. There was also something else he wanted to try, but he needed the wooden sword to make it work.
After walking for a while, he sighed. "It would've been better if I could take out that blue falcon," he muttered, glancing at the setting sun casting an orange glow over the streets.
The Headmaster had forbidden him from using the falcon, even though the creature had been given to him. Apollo could only use the Water-Attributed Falcon within the Great Serpent Cultivation School. It was frustrating, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"You can just put it there," Sir Guo instructed, as two men in simple clothing placed a scarecrow on the ground. Unlike traditional scarecrows, this one didn't have a pole through it—it stood upright like a person. Made of wood and grass, it was dressed in an old shirt and pants that concealed its bamboo legs.
"This is the last one," one of the men said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Sir Guo nodded, and the two workers headed for the exit. They were responsible for crafting the specialized scarecrows designed to measure a cultivator's strength.
Looking around, Sir Guo smiled in satisfaction. Finally, all the training dummies had been replaced with new ones. They were more durable than before, able to withstand a few strikes from someone at the 2nd-Step Qi Condensation Stage.
The culprit who had destroyed all the previous dummies a few weeks ago was still unknown, and it was suspected that the same person was responsible for killing one of the Martial Students.
Just thinking about it frustrated the guardian of the grounds. "If I ever catch him, he'll wish he wasn't alive."
Since the training ground was a joint effort between the martial schools and the mayor, Sir Guo didn't have to worry about the cost of replacing the scarecrows. However, it still took time to make them, and the grounds required at least ten.
Looking up, Sir Guo noticed it was almost nightfall. A few martial students were still training with their swords and techniques, most of them Outer Disciples on missions or tasks that allowed them to leave their Martial Schools.
"I'll stay here and wait for them to leave before heading back," Sir Guo muttered, walking over to the stage steps and sitting down.
Just as he took his seat, he noticed someone entering the training ground.
"Oh, he's back?" Sir Guo raised an eyebrow, recognizing the familiar figure of the beggar walking in.
"Did they install new training dummies?" Apollo muttered to himself. He remembered slicing all of the scarecrows in two and leaving them like that. "These new ones look strong."
He walked toward the nearest one and tapped it with the back of his hand. The soft thump and the sensation he felt were strange—it had the same feel as human flesh. Yet, the dummy was clearly made of wood, bamboo, and some grass he couldn't recognize, though its texture felt oddly lifelike.
Squinting, he noticed faint letters, similar to the ones used by Array Masters when they activated their abilities. He still couldn't understand how they did it without drawing on the surrounding Qi, and it amazed him every time.
Shaking his head, Apollo looked around and saw a few martial students training. His eyes then landed on a man sitting on the stage steps.
Sir Guo was staring at him. Apollo quickly looked away.
"The perv is eyeing me again," Apollo muttered to himself. Not wanting to engage in a stare-down with a pervert, he found a spot and sat down. He decided to cultivate and wait for most of the students to leave before grabbing a wooden sword from the weapon rack. Then, he could finally try out the technique he'd been dying to test since coming up with it.
Closing his eyes, his world turned dark until it was just him and the firefly-like Qi surrounding him.
Immersed in cultivation, Apollo lost track of time. The small ball of Qi in his dantian gradually grew larger as time passed. He could feel it wouldn't be long before he'd unlock the door to another realm.
But his peace was shattered when he sensed someone standing in front of him.
Opening his eyes, he saw Sir Guo, wearing his bamboo hat, looking down at him.
"F*ck!" Apollo jumped back. "Don't do that!"
"Do what?" Sir Guo tilted his head. "I was just looking at you."
"Don't stare at me like that!" Apollo protested. He had felt it—Sir Guo's gaze seemed to pierce right into his soul!
"I don't understand what you mean, but you should go now, kid," Sir Guo said. "We're the only ones left."
Apollo glanced around and saw that the other martial students had left. He must have been cultivating for several hours.
"Nah, I'm going to stay and train," Apollo said casually.
Sir Guo went silent for a moment before speaking again. "What are you planning?"
"Planning? Didn't you just hear what I said? I'm staying to train," Apollo raised an eyebrow.
Sir Guo narrowed his eyes at the beggar. He felt uneasy. The last time he left Yoma here, the scarecrows had been cut in half, and a dead body had been found on the training grounds. It had only happened once, and it could've been a coincidence, but Sir Guo couldn't shake his suspicions about this beggar.
"What? Am I not allowed to train at this hour?" Apollo asked when Sir Guo didn't respond.
"You can, but the only light you'll have is from the moon," Sir Guo pointed out.
"That's fine," Apollo nodded.
"Then I'll be going." Sir Guo stared at the beggar one last time before turning to leave. Despite his suspicions, he wasn't too worried. The new scarecrows were reinforced and could only be damaged by someone at the Qi Condensation Stage. As far as Sir Guo knew, this beggar was only at the Foundation Building Stage.