A pair of bulls slowly pulled an old wooden plow down the field. On its trail, hunched figures walked through the turned over soil, spreading sparse seeds.
Most of them were young and old women, some children included. They worked under the blazing sun, following a demure rhythm.
The hardest worker of them all was actually a tall man. He had sharp facial features, covered up by his loose hair, black as a raven. The sunshine would occasionally flash on his eyes, revealing their deep green iris. The color of life!
Despite his noble disposition, the skin of his forearms were burnt by the scorching sun.
After long, the bulls finally came to a stop, showing themselves exhausted.
"I think it's better we stop here for today." stated the young man while sweeping the sweat from his forehead.
"We do as you say sir Alexander! I don't think we could continue for much longer anyways!" An elder said in a graceful tone as she saw the children's drowsy eyes.
As so, the group slowly headed back to the small village nearby the fields. The buildings were humble in size, built from the most simple mud bricks.
Their roofs were made from dried-up plant fibers. It provided a good shade in the summer, but was not good in protecting against the rain.
Alexander eventually parted ways with the crowd, walking to a tiny hut at the village's outskirts.
He preferred to live in more secluded places, for the sake of peace of mind.
Since leaving his sect behind to wander the world a few years ago, Alexander limited himself from using or cultivating his spirit energy.
At age eighteen, members of the direct lineage of the Ascension Hall could enter the Ancestral Chambers and select a secret cultivation art.
They were late bloomers and only engaged in intense cultivation as adults! Even so, the sect dominated their peers!
After achieving major success in cultivation with only the most basic spirit gathering technique, Alexander was a bit skeptical about further improvements.
However, as he wandered through the grand halls filled with antique books and storage treasures, a particular book caught his attention.
Its cover was made out of some kind of reptilian skin, a mixture of black and dark green. Carved out in crooked letters, one read "Abnegation Heart Sutra".
Considering Alexander's view in life, highly influenced by his past life's memories, this cultivation art appeared to suit his taste.
It was a technique created by some obscure grand-master of the sect. By circulating this art, one suppressed their spirit energy out of free will. With each level of suppression, a unique seal was created.
Each seal represented an attachment the cultivator left behind, granting them an opportunity of Sudden Enlightenment!
Ideally, this technique should be used by those older monsters who only lacked insight into the Dao. Yet to Alexander, it was a perfect fit for someone who helplessly got stronger just by breathing spirit energy in the air!
Since then, he has been practicing the "Abnegation Heart Sutra" to suppress his unnatural talents.
As so, he obligated himself to live a mundane life of a mortal!
After roaming the lands for some time, using his self learnt medical skills to treat the miserable, Alexander eventually arrived at this village.
All the men old enough to fight were enrolled into the army. This remote human kingdom was in a dire state, fighting on two fronts against a neighboring empire.
The desperation was so that even boys at age 14 were recruited to the frontlines. Therefore, aside from the high death rates in battle, the people left behind suffered from famine!
Without their main work force, how could the elderly and the young grow food on their own?
Passing through these lands on his mortal pilgrimage, Alexander did his best to help the villages along the way.
This town was the Farewell Village, right at the border of the county. It was a few days of travel on foot from the frontlines.
Having heard of the ongoing war, he saw it fit to help the wounded and experience the struggles of a mortal warrior
.
This was all novelty from him. Back in the old days, in his former life, if Alexander had a mortal foe, he would just sit in cultivation for a millenia, waiting to seek peace through the forgiveness of Time or outlive his enemy.
Mortals would go to war over a piece of land! It was intriguing!
As so, Alexander stayed around for a few weeks, finally plowing and planting the village's fields before the beginning of the rain period.
During this time, he did his best to befriend the people. In the morning, he would play with the children, teaching them some basic survival skills, like setting traps for rabbits and starting a fire.
The villager referred to him as Sir or Lord despite his denial about his noble origins. At the end, he had to settle for the title Saint. However, all he did was make medicine out of local herbs and attend to the wounded and elderly.
Having completed his mission, Alexander silently withdrew from the village one night. Nobody knew about his departure until the morning. Yet his present lived on among the people for years to come.
On his way, Alexander noticed the land became more barren the closer he got to the battlefield.
The fields were intentionally burnt to ashes and the little houses destroyed. All life was banished from the realm.
Alexander had a premonition: this mortal kingdom was set on fighting to its last breath!
What could have caused so much hatred?
Since ancient times, humans had always fought among themselves, yet united in the presence of a common foe.
However, this was the first time he had seen such extremes among mortals. Could there be some unknown force influencing them from behind the scenes?
Despite being tempted to release his overwhelming powers and get to the end of this inquiry, Alexander reprimanded himself.
Let's first experience the mortal flow of destiny!
Besides, who could escape his eyes if he really wanted to see?