World of Souls

Chapter 1: Sa Muni

A typical morning in the small town of Manthan in the kingdom of Karmapatta, which lies south of the Malabar mountains.

"Hai...ha!....ha!....ha!"

Loud noises of exertion reverberate the surroundings in a small field.

"Extend your limbs more, the more you stretch the more flexible they will become." A booming voice was heard which commanded complete obedience.

"Hai...ha!....ha!....ha!" And the students followed.

"Halt!" An order was given. Like a taut string was suddenly loosened, the legs of almost a fifty people bent down on the ground, completely tired. A lot of them rubbed their legs vigorously to get the blood flowing. Leg stretching exercises were always very brutal for even the best of them. It always felt like the instructors were trying to extend their legs by a few inches. Not that anyone had grown taller this way.

The chief instructor, Tri Manlu, was an old man with silver hair wearing a loose blue dress and right now he was standing with crossed arms watching the field. Anyone looking at his eyes would be spellbound by their intensity and would feel like the eyes could look into their soul itself. And he probably could.

The person who could look into the soul cannot be lied to. Everyone of the students knew that and none tried to cheat on this exercise, no matter how painful it became.

Just a moment ago, they were all hanging upside down on the trees using only the strength of their feet. The exercise varied for different ages. Based on the age, all students were divided into grades. Light grade meant the ages of 6-9, bronze grade were ages 9 - 12 and silver grade were 12-15 years old.

Light grade students were simply trying to hang upside down while the instructors gently pulled. The bronze grade ones were holding onto weights with their hands. The silver grade ones needed to lift the weights to their legs and back. No wonder most of them collapsed on the ground.

Tri Manlu looked at the few fellows still able to stand after this. A small smile appeared on his face as he saw Sa Muni still standing. But then his smile vanished and the stern look came back.

"Being a spirit warrior is about the strength of your soul. Without a strong soul, you cannot make contracts with magical beast spirits. A strong soul can only reside in a strong body. Without a strong body, your soul cannot improve. Even if you somehow make contracts with the beast spirits, you will not be able to use their power with a weak body. Remember the more powerful a beast spirit, the more body strength you will need to host it's power."

Everyone listened with rapt attention.

Tri Manlu took off his shirt and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a strange power surrounded his body. His hair grew longer and his skin grew darker. More hair appeared in his chest and arms, like a werewolf. He opened his eyes and they had turned into animal eyes. Two canine teeth extended out of his mouth like a beast and his breath came out as mist.

"Grrr...." A small growl and then he jumped. Right above the students and reaching the trees in a single jump. About a 20 metre distance was covered in an instant.

He swung his hands and smashed it on a thick tree. The tree, whose width measured 2 or 3 hands, broke apart in two.

He took in a deep misty breath and recovered his original human form and walked back.

All the students watched the entire scene from start to end with twinkling eyes. A lot of them had a sort of reverence and worshiping look. They knew that in front of them was a genuine spirit warrior. One who was able to make a contract with a magical beast spirit and borrow it's power.