I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 329 - 329 328. Seeing the world_1

Chapter 329: 328. Seeing the world_1 Chapter 329: 328. Seeing the world_1 Spring breezes were gentle, the night cherry blossoms spectacular, the moonlight pleasing, and the courtyard mystical.

It should have been a scene quite suitable for lovers to exchange heartfelt words under the moonlight, while tenderly whispering in each other’s ears.

But in this archery dojo, Lu Ban always felt that something was amiss.

“Your shooting is very accurate,”

Lu Ban complimented, but then felt that praising her was a bit redundant. He had witnessed the Chief Priestess’s might, able to shoot an arrow thousands of miles away while sitting at the Great Shrine of Harmony Island; in comparison, the current archery felt like child’s play.

“Thank you.”

Amber glanced at Lu Ban, standing still with her bow in hand, yet not shooting any more arrows, nor showing any intention of doing so.

“The essence of Kyudo lies in the heart; if the heart cannot be calm, it’s impossible to hit the target.”

She spoke, her tone nonchalant, as if reciting a Japanese poem.

“Before that last arrow, my heart had already been disturbed, so now I will not shoot.”

“?”

Lu Ban was somewhat puzzled. Was she implying that his presence disrupted her practice?

“Should I leave?”

“No, it’s not because of you. It’s just that I’m not mature enough. A true Shrine Maiden should be able to focus without distractions, expelling all stray thoughts, which is to ‘dispel the external’. Only by dispelling the external and reaching a state of unity of heart and mind is it possible to ‘see the entire world’.”

Amber, perhaps due to being alone with a stranger, spoke more than she had in the afternoon.

“Dispel the external? See the entire world?”

Lu Ban certainly didn’t understand these concepts; he thought a proper mercenary wouldn’t either, and even if everyone did, playing the fool to gather more intelligence wouldn’t hurt.

“The spiritual training of a Shrine Maiden is divided into three stages: self-examination, dispelling the external, and seeing the entire world. Self-examination means to be able to feel all states of oneself through training, to control oneself. Dispelling the external is to be able to cast away stray thoughts, maintaining peace of mind even with external disturbances, to remain undisturbed in a bustling market, and therefore, to see the entire world.”

When Amber spoke about these things, Lu Ban couldn’t tell if it was his imagination or if her eyes sparked with life.

“Then what is ‘seeing the entire world’?”

Lu Ban picked up the thread.

“Seeing the entire world means being able to see anything in any part of the world; at that time, what’s used is no longer these physical eyes but the eyes of the heart. In this state, it’s the realm of the Lady Priestess; if any place over this great sea encounters an attack by impurities, Pure Fire will follow forthwith.”

Mentioning the Lady Priestess, Amber’s emotions became slightly more expressive again.

“Then I think you can try practicing in crowded places; perhaps it could be more effective.”

Lu Ban suggested.

“Such practice in cultivating one’s nature is better with more people around, the best would be a produce market. Watching two ladies quarreling, each cursing the other’s ancestors for eighteen generations, then you stand there, enter meditation, and the training effect would be excellent, I bet.”

“Produce market? Ancestors… eighteen generations?”

Amber looked somewhat puzzled.

“You haven’t left this estate before, have you?”

Lu Ban remembered reading in some novels about Shrine Maidens like her who usually lived secluded lives, some never having seen the outside world.

“I have no need to go out.”

Amber could only defend herself this way.

“Time spent in training is precious; it can’t be wasted on pleasures.”

“That’s also true,”

Lu Ban mused.

After all, the person standing before him was not any ordinary high achiever or genius; she was the successor to the next Chief Priestess, upon whom the hopes of the world were focused. Any deficiency in her strength could lead to the deaths of countless people, so there was no room for negligence.

“However, this visit to He Dao will give you a chance to experience the outside world, which is quite nice,”

Lu Ban teased.

“What I need to do is to reach He Dao, not to travel.”

Amber stated earnestly.

As the two of them chatted idly under the moon, the grass at Lu Ban’s feet suddenly shook.

Almost instantly, Amber raised her bow, drew the string, and the arrow shot forth, flying straight toward that clump of grass.

Thump—

The wooden arrow drove straight into the ground with a force that even Lu Ban had to admire. The wind raised by the arrow rustled through the grass, revealing what lay underneath.

It was a dog.

“???”

Lu Ban looked at the dog and felt it looked familiar.

It looked a lot like the one he had at home.

“Laika?”

Lu Ban tentatively called out.

“Woof!”

The dog ran over, frantically rubbing against Lu Ban’s pant legs.

“It really is you… Wait, how did you get here?”

Lu Ban rubbed Laika’s round head.

This place was not any island country but He Dao, the Foreign Domain.

But on second thought, considering Laika’s true form was a Hunter capable of time-traveling to chase down those Chosen by Gods, there was no problem for it to follow Lu Ban’s scent all the way to He Dao.

In other words, if it had come to kill Lu Ban, he might already have been dead.

“What is this?”

Amber’s nostrils flared slightly. She was always cautious around Laika, for there was a special sensation about the dog, similar to that of impurities.

“This is my dog, named Laika,”

Lu Ban explained.

“La…ika?”

Amber was uncertain about the pronunciation.

At that moment, Laika suddenly sniffed the air and looked towards Amber, then with its four short legs patter-pattering, it quickly moved to Amber’s side.

“Eh? Wait… Ah!”

Before Amber could react, the plump dog had reached her feet, affectionately rubbing against her white socks, then lay down on its back on the ground to roll, exposing its belly.

Lu Ban watched this scene with mixed feelings.

If Laika were to change back to its original form at this moment, the scene would simply be too wonderful.

Amber looked at the dog rolling on the ground, begging to be petted, and hesitated for a while before slowly squatting down and reaching out to touch Laika’s belly.

Soft, furry, and warm.

This strange sensation was somewhat comforting to Amber, who then imitated Lu Ban, rubbing Laika’s head and massaged its belly.

“Wooo—”

Laika emitted a sound of contentment and rolled even more energetically.

Suddenly, Amber stopped her movements. She stood up and took two steps back.

“Sorry, I must go back now.”

Picking up her bow and arrow, she bowed to Lu Ban and quickly turned to leave, as if something was driving her away.

Lu Ban felt puzzled. He stroked Laika’s head as it returned dejectedly and looked in the direction Amber had left.

“Is there a curfew or something?”

The sound of a bell rang as Lu Ban muttered to himself.

The next day, after a grand departure ceremony, the fleet set sail.

This island was called Sakura Island, and even the fastest ship would take more than ten days to reach He Dao. The fleet had chosen the safest route, which would take at least twenty days.

“Twenty days’ time, which means I’ll have to spend at least ten days in reality, not to mention the time afterwards to witness her becoming the Chief Priestess,”

Lu Ban thought to himself, while also feeling somewhat relieved.

Luckily, he hadn’t bought a set of bedding online; otherwise, no one would be there to receive the package.