When Chen Zhen stood up he noticed there was a ring left on the table. The three of them could hear Shanggu Julong's voice in their head, "That is an interspatial ring. It has enough supplies of spirit cores for you to reach the liquid core stage. I want you to keep expanding your dantian every morning until you reach the liquid core stage. In the meantime, since I will not be there to control the battle puppet, I want you to go into the woods to gain real life experience and to temper yourself. By the time you have reached the liquid core stage, I should have everything set up for Mei Ling and the children at the Shanggu Clan. Your job will be to escort their family safely to the clan. I will wait there for you to check your progress. Shanggu Feng, and Lou Tian have plenty of martial knowledge they can impart to you, so follow their lead. As far as your journey to the Shanggu Clan goes, I have left a silver battle puppet that is equivalent to a peak solid core cultivator. It has just two uses available to you and will only activate when your life is truly in jeopardy. The three of you are more powerful when you are together, remember this. I expect great things from you."

Shanggu Julong had left well before his message to them had ended. Chen Zhen was a little confused by the cryptic message at the end. Chen Zhen, Shanggu Feng, and Lou Tian shared the same body. They literally couldn't be separated. To the three of them the meaning of Shanggu Julong words was lost on them. Chen Zhen picked up the interspatial ring and examined it. It looked like a flat green jade ring with a dragon and phoenix circling it. It seemed that Shanggu Julong had made it especially for him.

"How do I use this?", Chen Zhen asked.

"Pinch the tip of your finger and place a drop of blood onto it.", Shanggu Feng answered.

That's sounded unnecessarily painful to Chen Zhen. But he did it anyway. Chen Zhen hadn't realized how much his pain tolerance had increased, he barely felt that at all. As soon as his blood dropped onto the ring it expanded briefly, then shrunk to fit his right ring finger perfectly.

"Now send your spiritual sense into the ring.", Lou Tian said.

When Chen Zhen put his sense into the ring, all three of them were amazed by how much room was in there. This was definitely a top high grade spatial ring. It could hold a warehouse worth of items. The storage area was three hundred meters wide, by one thousand meters long, by two hundred meters high. As Chen Zhen focused down into a tiny corner of the ring he fifteen each of the rank 2 Thunder Bison and Fire Ox spirit cores. There was also the silver battle puppet sitting like a string-less puppet next to the spirit cores.

"Since Ancestor Julong and you didn't officially have a master/ disciple ceremony and exchange gifts. This is mostly likely his way of giving you a gift worthy of his status. This top high grade spatial ring will be useful forever. And since Ancestor Julong made it personally you can be sure its made of only the best materials.", Shanggu Feng said proudly, as if his ancestor's accomplishments were his own.

With his new ring in hand Chen Zhen went outside to the stone platform. In his mind he had named this his training platform. As soon As Chen Zhen stepped onto the platform a light flashed and he had a new set of training clothes on. These were easily twice as heavy as his last set of clothes. Chen Zhen started by exercise his body to grow accustomed to the new weight. He didn't want to risk his life just yet in the woods outside the clearing. Chen Zhen spent the day practicing the moves he had been taught by Shanggu Feng, and Lou Tian in the woods. They explained that he wouldn't be ready to learn the next step of the martial technique until he could instantly cause fire or thunder to appear in his hand with but a single thought. At first Chen Zhen was allowed to stand still and circulate the energy in his body until his hand ignited in fire and thunder. Shanggu Feng and Lou Tian tried time and again to get Chen Zhen to focus on one or the other. But Chen Zhen refused to listen to them, he had first done it this way and that was how he would stick to doing it. As the day drew on They had him throwing punches and kicks while also igniting his hands. To Shanggu Feng's, and Lou Tian's surprise Chen Zhen began to ignite his feet also to compliment his kicks. Chen Zhen never ceased to amaze them with his comprehension and unorthodox way of thinking.

Whenever Chen Zhen would get tired Mei Ling would bring him some water from the stream and some spirit beast meat on a platter to help him replenish his energy. As Mei Ling observed Chen Zhen's practice she was astonished to learn that he was such a novice. Due to his display in the woods when he was saving them, she naturally a.s.sumed he was a seasoned fighter like her husband. She would sit under a tree in the yard of her old home and watch her husband practice for hours, so she was very familiar with fighting talent. Even though Chen Zhen showed remarkable potential, he was still very lacking when it came to her husband's abilities.

By the time the sun had set, and the moon was high in the sky Chen Zhen was finally quitting for the day. He could ignite his hands and feet at will while he was fighting now. Shanggu Feng, Lou Tian, and Mei Ling were all impressed by Chen Zhen commitment and perseverance. Chen Zhen knew that the only way to see HIS family again was to become stronger. Having Mei Ling and the kids around gave him a familiar feeling, but he understood that it was a false feeling. They weren't his family. As he practiced he kept that as his mantra to keep himself focused throughout the day. Chen Zhen was happy with his progress for today, but he felt that it was missing an edge that fighting someone or something else brings. He was ready to explore the woods around the clearing tomorrow to better improve his fighting skills.

The next morning Chen Zhen finished his routine in record time. He rushed out to the training platform and felt his clothes weight increase once again. He spent a couple hours adjusting to the new pressure on his body, before he felt comfortable enough to try leaving the clearing. When Chen Zhen stepped thru the barrier this time he took his time and observed his surrounding first. Now that he took the time to pay attention, Chen Zhen couldn't help but gawk at the size of the trees around. Every single one of them had a ma.s.sive trunk size, big enough that it would take ten to fifteen grown men to reach around just one of them. Looking up Chen Zhen couldn't see the tops of the trees they were so high. The dense foliage blocked most of the sun creating a constantly twilight in the forest. The clearing that Chen Zhen was used to was its own separate world. The features were entirely different from what was around them. This extreme contrast was completely unexpected by Chen Zhen.

Chen Zhen stretched his spiritual sense as far as he could to try to get a better understanding of his environment. Chen Zhen noticed many rank 2 spirit beast in his direct vicinity. The farther away he sensed the more powerful the spirit beast became. Chen Zhen quickly retracted his spiritual sense when began to notice the irritation of some of the stronger spirit beast. Since he was already familiar with the Thunder Bison and Fire Ox, Chen Zhen headed toward their territory to try his luck hunting.