《The Nine Stars》 Character Page (Not a Chapter!) Character Page The Family Mother - She took care of the orphans until she meets her sad demise. Fate Card: ??? Vince Cloudstar - The Eldest of the Nine. The path of Sacrifice. Affinity Earth, Gravity, and Water. Fate Card: ??? Rune Cloudstar - The Second oldest. The path of Asura. Affinity Fire and Poison. Fate Card: ??? Ren Cloudstar - Third oldest. The path of the Traveler. Affinity Sword and wind. Fate Card: ??? Len Cloudstar - Fourth oldest. The path of Execution. Affinity Light and Dark. Fate Card: ??? Xue Cloudstar - Fifth oldest, The path of Creation. Affinity Beast, Metal, Fire, and Wood. Fate Card: ??? Saren Cloudstar - Sixth oldest, The path of Scholar. Affinity Traps and Lightning. Fate Card: ??? Luna Cloudstar - Seventh oldest, The path of a Guardian. Affinity True Lunar and Space. Fate Card: Hubris Sol Cloudstar -Seventh oldest, The path of a Vanguards. Affinity True Solar and Space. Fate Card: ??? Nena Cloudstar - The youngest of the siblings. The pathof a Paragon. Affinity Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Fate Card: ??? Weapon Spirits Mear - Xue¡¯s weapon spirit that inhabits her hammer. Sectless Sect Forces Top Brass Master Mo - One of the two Sect Masters of the Sectless sect the siblings Master. Path ???. Affinity Ice, ???, ???, ???, ???. Fate Card: ??? Master Celia - One of the two Sect Masters of the Sectless sect. Path ???. Affinity ???, ??? Fate Card: ??? Yorlin Evergreen - One of the Vice Sect Masters of the Sectless sect. Path ??? Affinity Wind, ???, ??? Fate Card: ??? Bu - One of the Vice Sect Masters of the Sectlee sec. Path ???. Affinity ???, ??? Fate Card: ??? Raxis V. Borsin - Palace head engineer and pioneer of metal maniacs in the sect less sect. Path the Scholar. Affinity Metal, Formations. Fate card: ??? Grand Elder Sao - An old man who calls himself a Game Master. Path of Games. Affinity Code, Formations, ???. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.Fate Card: ??? Elder Absinthe NineWines - Palace head of Wine. Path of Alcohol. Affinity Fire, Life. Fate card: ??? Elder Moonlight - The only surviving elder of the Sun and Moon clan. Path ???. Affinity ???, ??? Fate Card: ??? Mistress Yang - Palace head of cooking highly respected in the sectless sect. Path of Knives. Affinity ???, ???. Fate Card: The Waiting Elder Sam - A bread shop owner and father of Dela, Path of Food. Affinity Life, Fire Fate card: ??? Elder Sky Wind: Pilots the Tavern of Dragons and is dubbed the Sky Captain within the sect. Path of Flying. Affinity Wind Fate Card: ??? Elder Shi Lee - One of the Khoa Clan¡¯s elders who despises Bolen Khoa. Path ???. Affinity ??? Fate Card: Usurper Marley Mo - Daughter of Master Mo. Path ???. Affinity ???, ???, ??? FateCard: ??? Bolen Khoa - Bastard Son of the current clan head. Path of the Leader. Affinity ???, ??? Fate Card: Medicine Dela - Daughter of Elder Sam, Has a Crush on Sol. Path ???. Affinity Earth Lulia Khoa - The little sister of Bolen. Path ???. Affinity ??? Fate Card: ??? Eclipse - A inner sect disciple and blood related to Sol. Path ???. Affinity ??? Fate Card: Sectless Sect Low Brass Lao Shin - A strict apprentice chef demi-human under Mistress Yang Hon - A honest apprentice chef under Mistress Yang Fatty - A simple black robed disciple hangs with skinny Skinny - A simple black robed disciple hangs with fatty Norlen - A crew member of the Tavern of dragons Yao Pendragon - A Sect disciple mentioned by his brother a guard in Sanou City Lilly - A outer sect disciple Xue meet on the Tavern of Dragons. Muya - A outer sect disciple Xue meet on the Tavern of Dragons. Contestants Jao Striker - A warrior of a mortal kingdom who awakened his ancestral bloodline in the process losing his fire element for ten years. Path ??? Affinity: Fire, Earth, and Glass. Jayce Volkter - A warrior of a mortal kingdom who is Jao¡¯s best friend awakened his ancestral bloodline. Path ??? Affinity: Wind, ??? Princess Daina - A warrior princess of a mortal kingdom who disguised herself as her brother to fight in the war against Duke Kavor. Path ??? Affinity: Earth Fate Card: Raeki Nyui - Taoist name EmberFlake meets Luna in the baths. Path ??? Affinity: Ashes, Fire Fate Card: ???¡® Old Gods Rashaka the old god of the earth Reveera the old god of Gravity Imoogi the old god of Poison Enya the old god of Fire New Gods Maou the new god of Flesh Minor Characters Boren - The field commander of Diana¡¯s army. Cao - A slaver who leads three a huge mortal organization in dealing with trading mages. Dalous - A information network mage under the command of Boren. Derk - A very stuck up Inn hand of Tao Li. Duke Kavor - A Duke of a mortal kingdom who Jao, Jayce and Diana¡¯s kingdom fought against. Hoss - A simple guard that patrolled together with Rune before she became a magician. Ken - A Three thousand commander in Diana¡¯s army. Kao - A fat short man who Gave Ren Othin the sky blade. Lao Qu - The ex-minister of a mortal kingdom becoming an assassin and summoner, summons Lord Elbirret. Lord Elbirret - A monstrous existence summoned in the war between Diana and Duke Kavor Ecya - The Ancestor of Jayce that it fused with his soul. Not much is known about him only that he¡¯s very sadistic. Lord Sai - The Ancestor of Jao that is fused with his soul. Not much is known about him. Mai - A demi-human who comes from the Kingdom of cats fought in ¡®The Pit¡¯ Orin - Assassin enlisted by Elder Shi Lee Shai Xu - A Green Jay Xue meets Sua Striker - The Sister of Jao Striker. Tao Li - A owner of an Inn in Sanou City Tu Sue - A Porcupine Sparrow Xue meets Yal - A Three thousand commander in Diana¡¯s army. EmberShine - real name Ruth Snow she fights against Dela in ¡®The Pit¡¯ Chapter 1 - Scene 1 - A Daughter’s cry

Scene 1 - A Daughter¡¯s cry

A guardsman¡¯s life isn''t filled with glory, much less thanks. Pulling drunk people off the streets, dealing with unreasonable commoners, nobles, and their own superiors. Usually while being ill-equipped to deal with the problems that arise in the kingdom of Woute. Two guardsmen patrol a muddy road walking with their spears in hand. One a young woman of seventeen and the other a late middle-aged man full of life. The sunshine down brightly above the commoners showing off their boney bodies. Everywhere the two guards looked, they could see the people¡¯s bleak appearances. The people eyes sunken, skin unhealthy yellow, and virtually non-existent muscle. Looking at the commoner''s appearance a tell-tale sign could be seen these people were malnourished, but it wasn''t the concern of Rune and Hoss. The two guardsmen weren''t going hungry. Still, they wore ragged hand-me-down guard uniforms, and their weapons weren''t any better shoddily constructed iron spears. Hoss had a smiling expression, while Rune fumed at the passing people. It was an easy patrol today, their job was to watch over a certain tavern and catch anyone suspicious. Thanks to Rune''s glare the commoners tried their best to move out of the way. They were already starving, they didn''t want to get beaten by the guards on top of that. When he saw how Rune was acting, Hoss shook his head. ¡°You need to stop glaring like that Runey, or you¡¯ll never get married!¡± he teased, hoping to calm her nerves. All it did was focus Rune¡¯s glare on him. She was angry, which made Hoss wonder what had gotten under her skin. Usually, Rune wasn¡¯t someone who kept her thoughts bottled up. Although she glared, she wasn¡¯t the type get mad and bring it on the job. She spoke with a voice full of disgust. ¡°Why must we do that noble¡¯s bidding? We¡¯re not his men, Hoss. Why should we waste time watching this tavern when we could be protecting the people? Instead, we¡¯re protecting this place that uses the lives of the citizens as games pieces behind closed doors. We are not guard dogs, Hoss, we are guardsmen! Instead of protecting that pig-headed noble, we should send him to the gallows. The people seek retribution for suffering under the injustices he has caused!¡± Hearing the contempt and anger in her voice, Hoss gave Rune a cheery smile while petting her head. He puffed off his buff chest, showing off the scars on his arms like they were war trophies. He agreed with what Rune was saying, they should be protecting the little order this town had. They should be cracking down on criminals instead of protecting nobles interests. But having lived in this town so long, he knew speaking ill of nobles was a grave mistake in the wrong company. If a snitch heard, and told the nobles ears¡­ They would most likely end up in a ditch somewhere stabbed in the back. After all, no one cared about how a slum guardsmen died. After telling him what was on her mind, Rune¡¯s anger had started to lessen. However, she kept glaring, an unladylike habit she picked up while living in the slums. ¡°Come now Rune, we''re just two simple guardsmen,¡± Hodd calmly explained. ¡°The only thing we can do is discourage the townspeople from coming in. Think of it as keeping them away so they won¡¯t get hurt.¡± Despite being less angry, Rune kept glaring and snorted harshly at him. She turned her focus straight ahead. ¡°You¡¯re the one who taught me to be tough and sly, Hoss! Remember when I first joined the guard? The first thing you taught me was that the moment I let my guard down, I¡¯d lose my life. So why should I stop glaring if it might end my life? Besides, there''s only one man for me!¡± Hoss chuckled at Rune¡¯s response, ¡°Indeed, I remember how troublesome training you was. You were so feisty when you joined the guard, giving the captain-major headaches. ¡°I remember how, in revenge for winning in all those poker games, he threw me a fresh runt to train. I never expected that little runt to grow into a fierce Guardsman!¡± ¡°Whatever!¡± Rune snorted. ¡°Hoss, what do you know about this noble Dezmin? Are the rumors true, that he¡¯s attempting to become king? Is that why he¡¯s trying to coax the slavers to his side?¡± Hoss smile vanished in a blink. "Lower your voice, Runey. The noblemen and slavers have ears everywhere. ¡°One wrong word, and we¡¯ll both be dumped on the roadside with our necks slit. As for Dezmin... It isn¡¯t our concern. We''re guardsmen, not knights! We keep our heads down and patrol.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± she pouted, ¡°It¡¯s just-- ¡± Rune words got stuck in her throat as she stopped moving as her body felt like it was on fire. From her stomach, a wave of hunger pulsated throughout her body all the way to her fingertips. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. She didn''t know why this happened she just knew she had to eat something. Pulling out some rations from her pouch Rune took a bite hoping to quell the feeling. Alas, a wave of pain washed over her as she fell to her knees on the dirt road. Noticing that Rune had fallen to the floor, Hoss turned around to see what happened. Eyes growing wide as he watched Runes sudden transformation first hand. First, her skin that once had a healthy glow had now turned pale as paper. Next strange red and green lines started crawling out from the center of her chest. The web grew from that point and all along the rest of her body, before sinking under, away from the naked eye. Hoss was awestruck only managing to get a few words caked with fear, ¡°Ah? Runey you ok?¡± She didn¡¯t respond as her body felt like it was on fire within moments her long brown hair lit ablaze. An inferno turning her dull brown locks into a scarlet red, and her once black eyes now shined an emerald green. Mana emanated from Rune¡¯s body, heating up the air and making it feel toxic to breathe in. The hunger pains that wrecked her body turned to ecstasy as the mana started to flow into her body. It entered every place it could, flying into her eyes, ears, nose, and pores. When enough mana gathered in her body, a flicker of red and started to swirl around her. Although the process seemed long it only took about thirty seconds. After a bit of time the changes Rune calmed down, and the hunger disappeared. Along with the with the phenomenon surrounding her vanishing into thin air. Still, the mana inside her flowed throughout her body filling her with an unknown warmth. A joy she had never felt before as she stood back up with a smile on her lips. That is until she glanced at her partner, Hoss, whose expression showed a mixture of surprise, shock, and fear. Hoss was now on the ground in a daze, his face an ugly shade of green pointing at her with a trembling finger, ¡°Awakened¡­¡± Rune who was filled with happiness woke up form the warmth in her body. Her face turned pale with the shocking realization. She had awakened to magic. ¡°I have to go Hoss¡­ Don¡¯t tell anyone!¡± Her arms were trembling as she ran away from her post in great haste. She knew now was not the time to guard this shifty tavern run by that disgusting noble. She had to get home and ask her mother what to do! Rune ran home to where her Mother and siblings lived, trying her best to hide her flaming hair with a dirty blanket. Only to fail as her hair burned it away into ashes making her curse under her breath. While she fled down the road, Rune didn''t see the thug sitting on a porch eyeing her with greed. She sprinted down the main road, knowing full well this would expose herself more. But she didn''t have the luxury to waste time every single second of her time now was precious. Unable to take the side roads filled with treacherous gangs she ran with all her might. Trying to make it home while hiding her face with the remaining pieces of the dirty rag. ignoring the strange looks that turned to awe when residents saw her flaming red hair. Sweat poured down her face as she thought to herself, ¡®Why did this happen to me? I don¡¯t want to taken by slavers, I don¡¯t want to be eaten by nobles. I don¡¯t wanna be used like a toy until I''m thrown away. Why are the gods cruel to make those without the status carry such a power?¡¯ Dark thoughts filled her mind, for she¡¯d heard the rumors of what happened to awakened mages. By the time she made it home, she was gasping for air. Despite being a guardsman that wasn''t starving she and her family lived in a shabby shack. Her pay wasn''t all that great so they could only live the sea of shacks that looked more like a landfill. Still, although it was shabby, this shack was her home. She knocked on the door three times, and it was Nena that opened the door. Her little sister looked at her in curiosity as she entered to see her mother preparing lunch. As luck would have it, it was her day off from working in the dragon wheat fields. Hearing the commotion the mother looked up from heating stew with surprise. Even though Rune looked different from normal she still recognized her daughter. Motioning her inside the house the mothers'' eyes held worry, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Rune I know how to deal with this! Quick come inside!¡± Chapter 1 - Scene 2 - A fathers death Scene 2 - A father''s death Inside the house, Rune¡¯s siblings were doing chores in the house as most of them had the day off from work exception of her and Vince who was off being a rogue in town. Seeing them all smiling eased Rune¡¯s anguished heart slightly, living in slums such as these took a toll on a person''s mind. The home was the only place that the siblings could relax thanks to their loving mother otherwise they would be like most people in this kingdom treading very carefully lest they end up face down in an alley with a knife in their back. Rune, her mother, and her seven siblings sat around on the floor sitting on the hard ground. Her siblings stared at their sister with curious with the wondering why their big sister dyed her hair. Sitting at the head Mother showed a brave expression hiding the lingering fear deep within her eyes, ¡°Everyone I know it¡¯s sudden, but we have to run away, With your big sister awakening we must get away as fast as we can. None of you want to lose your big sister right?¡± Everyone nodded their head fiercely in agreement, unlike the other slum dwellers these siblings had formed an iron bond together and at their core, their mother was the centerpiece that strengthened it, her words were law. Seeing everyone fierce expression Rune could feel the hand of death that was strangling her breath to breath loosen ever so slightly filling her body with warmness. Sitting next to her the youngest, Nena holding her hand with a bright smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry sis! When Vince comes back he will protect us!¡± Her smiled warmed Rune¡¯s heart against the ever creeping darkness surrounding her thoughts, and her gaze lost wondering where her eldest brother Vince had run off to at this time. If she didn¡¯t awaken she would go off to search for him and drag him back. Alas her Mother stopped her from going out and told her to wait to see everyone agreeing to her suggestion clasped her hands together, ¡°With a goal in mind quickly my children we must pack and move in haste!¡± The pack of children moved around the small shack with a quickness, time was not on their side at any moment the slavers could kick down their door and take their sister away. Still, of the nine inside the house Rune couldn¡¯t seem to move her body as sudden thoughts shook through her mind, ¡®Should I just give up now? We don¡¯t even have a plan together If they follow me they could die. Shouldn¡¯t I just leave right now?¡¯ The fear and guilt was building up within her, one step at a time, while she was indecisive everyone had quickly packed up which wasn¡¯t much stuff to begin with. Mother moved over to Rune as they finished packing helping Rune stand up, ¡°Sweetie it¡¯s time to go. We need to move while the sun is still on our back.¡± Shaking her mind away from the darkness Rune remembered a line her little brother Saren spoke about often in his weird stories,¡®Those that never move forward, never get to see the ending brought forth.¡¯ Ren her brother and fellow gardsmand led the way out of the house With Rune and Mother leading behind them. Even though Vince wasn¡¯t here he would catch up in no time after reading the note they left behind. The one question they had in their hearts was where their mother would be taking them, but they knew deep down as long as they stayed together they had a shot somehow.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. At least that¡¯s what Rune thought. The three exited the house together after covering Rune¡¯s head with a huge sack that was formerly used to store flower, hoping to disguise her from any greedy eyes. Luckily hair wasn¡¯t a raging inferno anymore so it didn¡¯t catch on fire. But as soon as they exited the house Rune¡¯s hopeful intentions took a nosedive a small group of armed men wearing grey robes confronted them with less than honorable intentions. Even in more shock to Rune¡¯s mind was that between the group men was a bruised and beaten Hoss with a sad and downcast expression full of pain. Rune¡¯s hands started to turn into fists seeing her guard parter between so bady black and blue. Ren startled by the sudden confrontation, wielded his sword at the ready his voice stuttering clearly frustrated, ¡°Wha¡­ W-what do you want? W-we want no trouble here.¡± Greedy eyed, the man leading the pack of men laughed, ¡°Ha ha¡­ We want the Awakened! If you don¡¯t hand her over quitely this man here will be gutted!¡± The men drew their weapons and blocked the family¡¯s pathforward, as the Rune¡¯s family stood stunned how quickly the turn of the event was taking place. Rune mind was a mess over the whole problem what should she do, she should give up to these men and save her family''s life and Hoss¡¯s it was the best move but she couldn¡¯t move forward. Seeing Hoss hurt so made her heart ache out of everyone in the slums Hoss was one of the people except her family that treated her so nicely like a father. He even had a loving wife and daughter to feed he was a bright and honest man in this hellish city. To see him reduced to blood and tears made her start to choke holding back her tears, at this point she made the choice that her life wasn¡¯t worth it. If she was made a slave of some noble so be it if it protected her family and Hoss so be it. She would give up at that moment of weakness and took a step forward. Seeing this in his half closed eyes beaten black in blue Hoss yelled hoarsely, ¡°Runey remember the guardsmans code! Protect the civilians and punish evil! Do not give yourself up to evil and live. Live!¡± The leader of the group of men frowned smashing his fist in Hoss¡¯s face, ¡°Shut up old man who said you could talk!¡± Her eyes widen seeing Hoss in pain that he feet started to move on their own. Seeing this Hoss''s eyes flashed with warmth, ¡°You know Runey I thought of you as a second Daughter, and for that, I can¡¯t allow you to give yourself up therefore¡­ Promise to protect my family!¡± His eyes flashed with determination with the force of bear he charged the leader who was about to smash into his face once again opened his mouth wide sinking his teeth into his leader''s neck. Blood started to flow as the leader screamed to his minions to kill Hoss. In response daggers were drawn stabbing all over Hoss¡¯s back and sides the suck deep and quickly his clothes were drenched in blood, yet the dying man''s jaw was unmoving from the pain twisting and turning back and forth ripping out the leaders throat before crashing down into the ground in the pull of his own blood. Rune fell to her knees in shock seeing Hoss die after calling her his daughter tears she was holding back began to flow down her cheeks as her heart bled with sadness, "I promise father I''ll take care of them." Then within the shell-shocked group of men two of the men lunged forward not batting an eye to their former leader slashing their daggers at Ren. ¡°Come at me rats!¡± Ren growled his shaken mindset quickly recovering he started to clashed blades with both of the assailants, parrying their blows while forcing them backward. But the two attackers were a mere diversion as the rest of five odd men standing still suddenly lunged the sibling group... Rune awoke from their roars of blood and picked herself off wielding her spear in fury a voice whispered in her ear, ¡®Kill them¡­ Kill them all!¡¯ Chapter 1 - Scene 3 Scene 3 - Mortal Wound The family combatants Mother, Rune, Ren, Xue, and Len held the line against their attackers. The rest of the family ran back into the house to not get in the way of the fight. The young ones had never gotten into a brawl with exception of Saren, so he would hold the house in case slavers tried to sneak inside. Rune wielded her spear for combat while Ren used his sword. For their siblings with wild strength Xue wielded a massive piece of wood the size of her body. Despite the weight, she handled it well thanks to handling animals her body was quite hardy. While their sister Len''s hands flashed with great speed holding long needles in each hand. The only weapon she had on hand, thanks to being tailor sow clothing and blankets for the common people. Eyes moving in all direction watching her surroundings she dodged with ease. Ruthlessly stabbing metal needles into the soft points when chances came. Wielding a cast iron pan their mother used it as a shield and bashing instrument. The family fought in full force cutting, stabbing, slashing, and smashing into the group of men. Most of the men focused on Ren trying to bring down the most threatening of their group except their target. The people who fought her only stalled for time and made her get out of position. By the time she realized their ploy she was far from her brother''s side. A few of the men standing at the sidelines started to move over to Ren trying to overpower him. Quickly He felt the pressure on him as the fight became six vs. one. Pushing him to be defensive against the series of daggers stabbing at his vitals. Despite being at adisadvantage, Ren fought on without giving an inch. Thanks to his defensive sword arts learned from the guard instructor he held. Still, the battle wore him down making his breathing heavy. Sweat started to cake his body as Rune tried to reach him to assist. But the men she was fighting stopped her from assisting at the rate she was going she wouldn¡¯t make it in time! It was when Ren on his last legs after slaying two of the slavers in brilliant moves that he appeared. With messy hair stood a shirtless man showing off the countless scars along his body. He didn''t wear any footwear either only wearing shorts and some bandages on his arms. His face was just a little above average with a defining feature of a jagged scar under his left dark brown eye. Axe in hand the man¡¯s eyes flashed with coldness raising the axe to the sky before swinging it down. Aimed at the neck of an unsuspecting man attacking Ren hit true. The man''s eyes widen in shock as the axe cut into his collarbone sinking into half his chest before stopping. Before the man with the half-severed torso could scream the man with the axe moved fast. Putting his foot on the slavers back he kicked the half-dead person away freeing the axe head. As the man fell to the ground in a splat the man with the axe swinging at his next target. Gripping with both hands he swang upwards severing a mans arm holding a dagger. Blood flew from the arm stub in a squirt as the man screamed at the top of his lungs. That is until the man with the axe sent a downwards cut into the slaver brain.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Watching the brain, blood, and skull pieces flying Rune didn''t fear and instead smiled. She even yelled at the axeman'', ¡°What took you so long to get here you rogue!¡± Of course, this man with the axe was none other than Vince the eldest sibling of the nine. Strong like an ox standing almost two meters tall he had entered the fray. Rune started to relax with Vince now her and with how little of the slavers left it should be an easy cleanup. Until a woman''s blood-curdling scream shook Rune soul to the core. She knew that voice very well she only wished it wasn''t who she thought it was. Turning to face the scream her blood ran cold seeing a dagger jammed through her mother¡¯s lungs. Her thought process couldn''t keep up with what was happening. Watching as the man twisted the dagger pulling away with a smile on his face. Like a dam blown open fresh blood poured out quickly staining her clothes a deep crimson. ¡°Mother?¡± Rune muttered watching as their mother fell to the ground in a pool of her own blood not believing her eyes. Time seemed to slow down for Rune, ¡®This can¡¯t be happening right? It¡¯s a dream, right? Why was mother stabbed? Why? Why? Why? WHY?!¡¯ Rune didn¡¯t break down to despair right away instead all her emotions had turned to pure wrath. Hatred rose within her so strong that it started to eat at her mind. In that hatred a voice of a little demon could be heard whispering in her ear once again, ¡®Kill them, kill them all.¡¯ Guard spear in hand she ruthlessly charged at her mother''s assailant, ¡°I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL YOU All!¡± Her lunge caught the man off guard allowing the spear to impale right into his gut. With unknown strength, she lifted the man above her head before smashing him down into the ground. The impact splattered blood all over Runes face but she didn¡¯t stop them. She hovered over the man who was twitching and coughing out blood. Right now it was music to Rune¡¯s ears, yet her rage didn''t diminish it increased. ¡°More scream more you pig!¡± Removing the impaled spear in the man''s gut Rune started stabbing holes into the man. While the two sisters Len and Xue rushed over to their mother who was bleeding out on the ground. Ren wanted to rush over as well but had to focus on the battle on hand holding back his tears. With Vince at his side, the two were taking care of the rest of the aggressors allowing him breathing room. Using offensive sword arts Ren outclassed the rubbish and started to cut off limbs. Wherever Ren''s sword cut through the air streams of guts and blood flew. One of the men fell down screaming clutching his now stump of a hand. Ren didn''t let the man suffer, using both his hands to grip his broadsword he swung downwards. Slicing through the man''s neck all the way down into his rib-cage. He pulled the sword to the side and watched the guts spilled out onto the ground. By now Run''s clothes were soaked in blood but he didn''t stop his blade from moving. Although one must say the man was quite hearty. Even with such fatal wounds, he kept on screaming trying to put his guts back inside himself. Ren turned away from the man who was at death''s door and went to go help assist Vince in fighting the enemy. Only to see Vince split the last attacker skull open down the middle of his face. Eyes cold Vince placed his foot on the corpse and pushed away to get his axe unstuck. Brain matter and bone stuck to the blade as the man¡¯s body fell over leaking brain juices over the ground. The battle ended when the remaining slavers routed other the siblings give chase. Licking their minor wounds they huddled around their mother to try and stop the bleeding. Only Rune wasn¡¯t finished stabbing dead corpse with her spear. As if overtaken by a demon she couldn¡¯t stop stabbing her thoughts were listless. The one to come over to snap her back to her senses was Vince who tried shaking her awake. ¡°Rune get a hold of yourself we have to treat mother!¡± It was Vince''s voice that broke the hatred in her mind. She let go of her spear and quickly moved to mothers side. Although their mother''s breath was faint and coughing blood she still lived. ¡°Mother! Quick help me get her inside!¡± The siblings moved and carried her inside laying her on the best blankets in the house. Rune held her dying mother in her arms, dark thoughts came walking into her mind. She cried her eyes out feeling the blood of her mother soak into her clothes. Even if she was still alive the couldn¡¯t do anything to save her. As slum trash, they couldn¡¯t even afford to pay for a doctor. Rune cursed at the god''s twisted joke of calling this a life. Playing with humans lives like chess pieces watching them rot for their amusement. ¡®Why?¡¯ Rune asked herself. ¡®Why did I have to awaken? Why couldn¡¯t I remain normal guardsman? Then I wouldn¡¯t have to watch Hoss and now Mother die. I hate these cruel gods, I hate this world.¡¯ Chapter 1 - Scene 4 - A Mothers wish and a Daughter resolve Scene 4 - A mother¡¯s wish and a daughters resolve On a bloodstained blanket within a dark room lied a young woman on the brink of death. Despite being middle-aged her skin was quite leathery in appearance. Thanks to working in the fields from noon to sunset. Although she was normally tan her skin color was deathly pale from lack of blood. Her hair was black as night, and her blue eyes brimmed with tears as she stared at the nine figures surrounding her. On closer inspection, the figures were weeping too powerless to do anything to help her. They could only stay by her side in the little life that she had left. She showed them a gentle smile, knowing full well she was going to die. Staring at her beloved family, the woman called Mother didn''t know what to say. Sol and Luna were holding each other''s hands, sobbing in broken sentences, ¡°Mum¡­ you can¡¯t¡­ go you just can¡¯t you can¡¯t¡­ you can¡¯t!¡± Sol, ¡°You can¡¯t die, you can¡¯t! Who would make your special rye soup if you died?¡± Luna, ¡°Don¡¯t go, mum, we¡¯ll be good!¡± Len sat silently tears streaming down her cheeks. Although her hair covered her eyes, her mother they held great sadness. Their adoptive Mom wiped away Len¡¯s silent tears and smiled, ¡°Stay strong, my children.¡± Xue¡¯s face twisted in pain as she wept silent tears, uttering three words, ¡°Don¡¯t die¡­ Mother!¡± The minds of the nine youths were filled with a sea of sadness, only wishing for the heavens to save their mother. Yet the gods gave them no answer, watching on as the world rotted away until only sand and ash remained. Desperately the mother tried to push away the feeling of death. Although she kept a smile on her face the moment of being stabbed replayed in the back of her mind. She wouldn''t have chosen differently if she could do it over again she had to protect the life of her dear children! Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she chuckled knowing her end was nigh. Still, she didn¡¯t fear death in the slightest, only fearing what awaited her family when she left them. The thought terrified her so much that her life flashed before her eyes within a moment. Her breath turned shallow and blood flowed from her lips as she opened her mouth, facing her the ceiling, ¡°My children¡­ I don¡¯t have much time¡­ left in this world¡­ my wound¡­ is too deep to heal¡­ I can¡¯t even see you kids clearly anymore¡­ My time grows short...¡± A coughing fit hit her, and another mouthful of blood stained the dirty blanket. Some of it even splashed on the children that surrounded her in her final moments. But they paid no mind and moved closer to their dying mother. Weakly lifting her hand to wipe away the tears coming from Vince¡¯s sky blue eyes, ¡°Mother you can¡¯t leave! You can¡¯t! Soon, mother, we¡¯d have enough money to move out this godforsaken Kingdom. Then we could live on a little farm like we always talked about, right guys?¡± With trembling hands, Vince grabbed his mother''s hand, praying that things didn¡¯t have to be this way. He prayed but the gods did not answer. One by one the siblings placed their hands upon Vince¡¯s and smiled. None of them wanted their mother to leave them, but fate wasn¡¯t kind to those who were weak. ¡°My sons, my daughters listen by chance the other day I met a man while walking home. He wore a wearing a brilliant blue robe that someone of status would wear and said.¡± She pauses, gasping for air. ¡°He was looking for on any people that had awakened to take on disciples. This is your best chance my children with Rune awakened he''ll take you away from this place.¡± Sadness showed on the faces of her children, and some started to sob. With the last of her strength, she moved her free hand to silence them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me¡­ Take this card and head to the Tavern of dragons. Ask¡­ ask for Master Mo leave together with my children. Now go, or even in death I will not forgive you for forsaking your family!¡± Vince wiped the stained tears off his cheek and nodded to his mother''s words. Bowing his head towards her over and over again, ¡°I shall carry out your will mother or the heavens strike me down!¡± The young ones Nena, Sol, and Luna protested but were given a cold glare from Vince. Made all the more terrifying by the jagged scar underneath his eye shutting them up. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Everyone but Rune followed Vince¡¯s lead bowing to their mother. She watched on kept holding onto her Mother''s hand the entire time¡­. ¡®Rune must feel like it was her fault for this injury¡¯, Mother thought. But who can blame the heavens for being too weak? The mother could only blame herself for her powerlessness. Shaking these useless feelings away, she motioned Rune to come closer. Startled, Rune moved her ear above her mother''s lips, still wet with blood. With her dying breath, ¡°I don¡¯t blame you, my child, I lived my life for you kids so cherish your bonds and to take care of your brothers and sisters together with Vince...¡± Her thoughts drifted towards Vince, she knew he would keep her children in order after her death. He was the second child she had taken into her home and turned out to be the eldest of her children. Taking everything seriously, doing everything she told him to do with no backtalk. Of the nine he was the most mysterious, arriving before her door covered in countless wounds. Rune cared for the boy for weeks while she went to work in the fields. She felt that the wounds were too much for such a small child, but surprisingly he survived his ordeal. Eventually, the children that came after him looked to him for guidance. These kids had come one by one into her life. Out of all the years, she had lived, these last few had been the happiest few years in her life. With a smile lingering on her face, mother passed away falling into the darkness, ''Be fearless my children." Outside Hearing the mournful crying inside a group of men felt like it was music to their ears. The middle one in the group laughed, ¡°Keep watch of them I¡¯ll tell the boss we¡¯ve found an awakened!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Inside Rune watched the end of her mother as if the world was ending around her. Her face had become demonic clenching her balling her hands into fists. They tightened to the point that blood began to flow into droplets. The emotions of powerlessness and hatred washed over her in waves. Rune''s fingers twitched as the urge to go on a blood-soaked rampage started to consume her reason. Her mother didn¡¯t deserve such an end. If she was strong enough Mother wouldn¡¯t have died... If she was strong Hoss her father wouldn¡¯t have given his life¡­ If she was strong none of this would have happened¡­ If she was stronger... she could have killed those men without anyone dying. If only...she was stronger... But remembering the words her mother and father left her. How they both smiled at her while dying, Rune''s urge for slaughter fell away. Her heart had gone hollow pushing the thoughts of revenge away. Fear took it¡¯s placed focusing on how to keep her siblings safe. Be damned to let another of her family members die in front of her! Along with this thought, her eyes narrowed with an eerie light, ¡°We shall move on, as mother wanted. will live on as father wished¡­ I''ll focus all my energy to become stronger, to protect you all in her stead!¡± Standing up she announced her ambition to her surrounding brothers and sisters. With newfound determination, she and Vince took lead heading along the east path. Moving towards the Tavern of Dragons, their only sliver of hope. The sun slowly sank along the sky as the siblings walked along the road with a bundle of stuff held in ragged sheets. Before leaving home they also put Hoss inside covering him and their mother. Looking back one more time they saw the blood-soaked blankets covering them. Clenched her hands in fury her knuckles whitened, but no more tears would be shed. No more sadness, only pure hatred danced within her glowing green eyes. The siblings didn''t see except for Vince who kept quiet. But even he didn''t see a faint glow coming from underneath her clothes. On her left arm, a small silver bangle embedded with nine water lotuses shined. One thought rang inside her mind, a searing blade twisting her and her beliefs into pure madness. Rune walked forward vowing to get stronger, to never lose anyone she held dear ever again. Chapter 2 - Scene 1 Scene 1- Vince¡¯s Worries The world was nothing more than an amalgamated mess of stench. Of rot. Of disease. In the eyes of Vince, this place came off as a corpse waiting to be purged with the flames of revolution. A weak king, a corrupt noble court, and starving people spelled the end of the kingdom sooner than later. The slums were a place where crime ran unopposed, unchallenged, and unnoticed. To be slaughtered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time was no stranger to the folk in this den of scavengers. Yet, the kingdom inhabitants tried their hardest to get ahead in life. Even if it meant walking over the corpse of a foe, friend, or family alike. Hoss and Mother were rare people of character that went against the nature of slums. A kind and honest man who protected Rune by ending his life. He even thought of her as a daughter even though they weren''t blood-related. And their mother was a saint to take them in even if she didn''t have much. How much she sacrificed to raise them up to this point filled him with various emotions. Looking around Vince saw buildings made out of what people could hoard, swindle, and steal. Streets lined with shacks constructed out of shabby stone and scrap chunks of wood. The roads were in the same state, made up of nothing more than flattened muddy ruts of boot prints and bile. The canals leading to commerce and community was a deteriorated place of woe and misery. Local inhabitants dispose of their litter and refuse into crudely dug ditches. Perpetuating the air with anunbearable odor of decay and death. Vince often wondered why his mother took them in, ¡®Why did she take the chance to raise us? Maybe I¡¯ll never understand why she did, but she saved both me and Rune¡¯s life by doing so. For that, I swear that I will forever cherish the time we spent in that rundown shack!¡¯ On his order, the siblings wrapped themselves in rags at an attempt to hide their features. Although their disguise might work for a bit, it wouldn¡¯t take long before the abductors came for Rune. Vince had to keep his wits about as they walked down the road. People both dead and alive lay on the side of the mud and stone roads. They all wore expressions that made it difficult to distinguish the dead from the living. Despite such a scene, Vince knew informants for the slavers hid shadows trying to make an extra coin. They carefully moved along the main roads not taking a chance on the back roads. Even in the slums, the slavers wouldn¡¯t dare attack out in the open when light still burns brightly in the sky. He knew they couldn¡¯t count on the guards knowing that a fair amount was taking purse. Trying to contact an ¡®innocent¡¯ guardsmen would be risking the lives of his siblings. Although most of the righteous guards spoke of heroic ideals. They never helped in cleaning the crime off the streets. And the corrupted wagged their tails and curried favor from deceptive nobles. The only real reason this city wasn''t up in flames at this point was of one man. Head of the guard Yang Sei he alone kept the sinking ship afloat. Keeping his subordinates in check, training new guardsmen, and braking plots of assassination. Quelling the citizen''s anger if not for him the city streets would already run with rivers full of blood. He wondered how the king could be so lucky to have such a capable man. And why said a capable man hadn''t left the kingdom for greater pastures. Musing his thoughts Vince could hear cawing nearby. Looking over at the roadside crows with two heads pecking each other. But this just a few, in the sky and buildings they flew above in droves. The birds on the ground feasted on a fresh corpse. Giving a silent prayer Vince knew nothing would be left come tomorrow. These cackling beasts were voracious eaters leaving nothing of the body. These birds were quite odd usually they would fight against others for a meal. Unlike that behavior, these crows jumped from corpse to corpse gorging themselves. Some grew so fat that starving children were chasing them with hungry eyes. Vince watched on as those skinny children chased on struggling to survive. Trying their best to cling onto survival even if that meant eating birds that ate human flesh. It sickened him to see but he understood that humans would do had what they had to survive. In this hellish landscape, the gods didn''t have the right to judge. How could he look down on those using anything in their power to survive? He only wished those children could still hold onto their humanity. It was cold but he had his own problems of protecting his siblings. Moving along Vince stopped for a moment, but kept on going keeping his face neutral. They passed along a church where a boy rambled on fanatically about his great god Maou. His words were quite flowery for his age saying how ¡®caring¡¯ the church treated him. Listening close though he could pick up the insanity contained within his voice. Dispute the boys raving about the greatness of Maou no one tempted to move over. Vince noticed that the boy was missing an eye and an arm and turned his head away in revulsion. Anyone with half a brain knew that the church of Maou ate human flesh as a way to cleanse their body. Since three hundred years ago the church of Maou had spread far and wide. In its expansion suckering poor souls into its hellish jaws. Sinking its teeth in this corpse kingdom spreading its cancerous web in every crack. The greedy priests and nuns under the spell of Maou gave into a taboo desire for human flesh. Along with a weird fetish for gold, the followers of Maou were a fearful bunch. Which was the reason why no one went over to seek shelter they offered. After all who wanted to be slowly eaten alive piece by piece to be ''cleansed from sin''. Although cases of parents selling children for some money wasn''t an uncommon sight. That¡¯s why his mother once said that this place was the city of hell. Where demons devoured the souls lurking within both the shadows and light. The nobles, the church, the slave traders, and many people good and bad would die here all the same. Seeking help at the end of their life would only to be discarded by another''s gain. Such a fate was one Vince never wished for Rune¡­ Seeing a boy her age Nena walked up to Vince and squeezed his hand. Shifting him away from his useless thoughts that distracted him he smiled at her. Her cheeks were still stained with tears seeing her this way he pulled her close trying to assure her. He thought to himself, ¡®Mother was our light in the darkness, keeping us out of trouble. I don¡¯t know where we would¡¯ve been without you. I just hope the path you set before us is the right one¡­ What is this Tavern of Dragons anyway? Why haven¡¯t I ever heard of it before? I should have asked before¡­ Never mind I can only believe in my mother¡¯s words.¡¯ By heading east they were heading ever so closer to the city¡¯s center. If this didn''t work out and this Master Mo didn''t accept them they wouldn''t have time to run. Xue¡¯s blue eyes shone under the rags, ¡°Elder brother, why not have Ren and Rune take the Royal Guard exams?¡± Vince sighed, ¡°There are reasons: first, we can¡¯t wait for three days outside the exam¡¯s doors. Second, we can''t head back home and wait for them to finish slavers will be waiting. They''d try to capture us and use us as leverage for Rune, only to slaughter us after taking her.¡± Hearing his response Xue grew silent thinking about her big brother response. It didn''t take her long to realize that he was right and decided to ask any more questions. It would waste energy to talk she had to just hope that on their mother''s dying words proved correct. Chapter 2 - Scene 2,3,4 Scene 2 - Fatty and Slim Making good pace the siblings headed forward. They noticed that with each block they passed the buildings got better in quality. Dispute the change in scenery tensions were high as the group hoped that the journey would be safe. Luck must have been on their side as throughout their two hours walk was relatively peaceful. It surprised even Vince in how they didn''t run into any more slavers. Up ahead he could see into the distance a building with a Tavern of Dragons sign above. Despite the calm, Vince noticed that the streets had grown silent a sign that the slavers were coming. If this didn''t work out he knew that his siblings wouldn''t be long for this world. Inspecting the Tavern the first thing he noticed it wasn''t made from cheap stone and street trash. Towering over eight-stories, the building''s azure dragon design gave off a majestic air. The sight made Nena and Luna''s dull eyes light up. Looking at the building Vince thought it was impossible for the slums to have such a high-end place. And if his memory served him right, this building wasn''t here a few weeks ago. Then did it get here? In front of the building a statue of a black obsidian dragon fighting a fierce white jade tiger. Passed that two guards stood in place next to the door entrance, one tall and skinny, the other short and fat. Dressed in black robes carrying fierce expressions. The two glared at the group of slum children scaring the three little ones, Nene, Luna, and Sol. The older children were unmoved by such threatening gazes. Vince moved onward not worried in the slightest, but the two guards stopped him in his tracks. ¡°HALT!¡±, The fatty took the lead and spoke up, ¡°What business do you people have here? If you have nothing then be gone before we become impolite!¡± Nena gripped onto Xue¡¯s clothing; scared of these frightening men. In response, Xue stared coldly at the two men, trying to use her gaze to kill the two. Without a single word, everyone surrounded Nena ready to pull out their weapons. With a smile on his face, Vince spoke, ¡°I wish to speak to Master Mo, he gave this card to my late Mother. He told her if she found an awakened mage to get in contact with her. The mage is my sister Rune, so sirs is Master Mo in right now? The matter is very urgent.¡± He then grew shell-shocked staring at the card in Vince''s hand, his face and posture took a quick one-eighty. The fat man fierce face crumpled into humbleness. Who knew this fierce fat tiger would turn into a little fat kitten just by Vince calling the name of his boss! The skinny one bowed, ¡°Please follow me! I will take you all to the guest room. Brother fatty, go tell Master Mo that guests have arrived!¡± Without another word, skinny led them into the tavern allowing Vince a sigh of relief. When he got to the doors he noticed that hundreds of shadows were lurking in the surroundings. The slavers cold greedy eyes watching every movement he and his siblings made. Hopefully, Master Mo could help them, otherwise¡­ They wouldn''t be walking away alive. Scene 3 - The slave trading leader Off in a corner of the street, a small headed man spied the siblings enter the strange blue tavern. Throughout all his years of staying in this town, he had never seen this building here. Still, it didn''t matter much he had to report this to his boss! Turning around the small headed man told his underling to keep watch as he went to report to his boss. Then he made haste through the twisting streets all the way to a little shop where he entered inside. As soon as he entered the smell of the horrid outside was replaced with the smell of lavender. The warm wood walls and the bright lights were a treat for the beady-eyed men. The only thing that ruined the atmosphere was a dozen men standing around him with weapons drawn. Scared witless the spineless small headed man bowed deeply towards the ground. ¡°Boss the awakened girl just entered a blue building called Tavern of Dragons. What are your orders?¡± Sitting in a lavish seat a nicely dressed white robbed man picked up his goblet. His expression sinister as he cradled the goblet in his hand. On closer inspection, the goblet was made out of a man''s skull and the handle made with a well-crafted leg bone. Held together by hardened crimson wax stronger than copper. Tipping the skull to his lips the stench of blood overflowed as the man savored the blood like fine wine. He placed the goblet down on a buff slave¡¯s back when he finished drinking. Snapping his fingers another slave filled the goblet to the brim with a ruby stained bottle, ¡°Oh? Excellent work Number Five! I will reward you ten silver coins for finding the awakened little girl!¡± Number Five bowed to his boss, ¡°Big boss is too kind, and lowly one does not deserve such fortune.¡± The white-robed man chuckled while nodding inwardly to himself. He had groomed Number Five in the great art of boot licking and seeing his work borne fruit made him quite happy. ¡°Mhmm, you still did a good job Number Five. Nonetheless, I must reward you at least with a night of the finest women from the Purple Jade Palace.¡± Number Five kowtowed to his boss, ¡°Long live the Big Boss! What are your orders?¡± The white-robed man grabbed his skull goblet and took a gulp swallowing all the blood within. He smiled showing his bloodstained teeth before crushing the skill with his bare hand. ¡°Come on boys we¡¯re heading out to that tavern to kill all those little shits! Leave none alive except the awakened girl. Humph, they dare run away from me! They shall pay with their lives!¡± Scene 4 - A swordsman''s wish Ren didn¡¯t know what to think, his mind kept drawing blanks midst walking till know, ¡®Why? Why did mother have to die? Out of hatred, I killed every man who had come for his sister but what now? What is my goal now that there''s a hole in my chest.¡¯ Ren sat there with a torrent of thoughts as he and his eight siblings waited, ¡®What can I do? Can I protect my brothers and sisters? Ha! I couldn¡¯t even protect our mother, so how could I protect them with this pathetic strength? It didn¡¯t help that this Master Mo was a magician afterall I''m a swordsman.¡¯ He sighed, wishing this Mo guy turned out to be a master swordsman. Then he could learn sword arts and kill all those who dare hurt his family¡­ so he wouldn¡¯t be helpless once again. Full of seething in anger and self-loathing, despair engulfed Ren''s mind. He was put in charge of watching the little one, but they wouldn''t move they looked as if their souls were missing. The shock of their mother dying in front of them was still fresh in their minds. They wouldn¡¯t have even moved their feet if it wasn''t for Vince forcing them even he didn''t wish to leave. There wasn''t any time to grieve through with slavers nipping at their heels. Turning his head Ren gazed at the youngest, Nena knowing that seeing mother dead had hit her the hardest. Afterall, she was the most attached to their mother. The grief washed over him it was all his fault, if only he was strong if only he had been faster! Mum had kept them kept them safe, showed them how to read, fed them, and damn well tried to keep them dressed! Holding back his tears, Ren remained strong and showed little emotion. As the second oldest brother he had to show them that even when things go bad you must move forward! There would always be time later to mourn for their mum, but right now was not the time! They needed to get to this Master Mo to take them as apprentices, hell even servants would work! This was the only path for Rune¡¯s survival that they could think of, and Ren could only pray that it worked... That freak Slave Leader Cao wouldn''t let them get away scot free. Working as a guardsman Ren had grown to know his organization and knew how ruthless Cao was. As one of the top ten most dangerous men in the kingdom, he could be taken lightly. Cao led over five thousand thugs in the kingdom and was under the protection of a noble. With men and influence, the guard wouldn''t dare touch the man making him a powerful figure in the slums. The worst part Ren had heard about the man was what he liked to do to those that defied him. Bloodletting them by cutting their heads off and turning their blood into wine. He''d then take the skulls and boil off the flesh. The flesh of the person would be turned into a meal, drinking blood from their skulls as a form of sick pleasure. Getting away from his useless thoughts and he sat on a cushion provided by the skinny black-robed man. The siblings were served tea from some black-robed maidens that came into the room. After the time it takes to boil a kettle of tea, the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway was heard. The siblings tensed up at the sound; this person had their life and death within his hands. The first to see this ¡®Master Mo¡¯ turned out to be Ren, who was sitting closest to the door. Unexpectedly the first thing he noticed was the sword carried on Master Mo¡¯s waist. Seeing the weapon piqued his interest wondering if he knew how to use it. Then he gazed up at his face and felt his soul tremble violently. Master Mo had long thick black hair, with dancing purple crescents hanging in each eye. The color of the eyes was green, blue, and the shining crescents seemed to be tattooed over his pupils. His eyebrows were as sharp as swords and he walked forward aloof and proud. His expression was cold like a bitter winter that never ceased to snow. On the robe, he wore loosely various eye-catching patterns filled the fabric from head to toe. The robe seemed to tell a story of a war between a Winged Lion and Land Dragon, fighting to the bitter end. Hastily Ren cried to his siblings, ¡°Don¡¯t look at him in the eyes!¡± He feared that the little ones would be injured under Master Mo''s gaze. Luckily the siblings listened and turned away from his eyes avoiding serious injuries. Hearing his cry Master Mo noticed the problem and to Ren¡¯s relief Master Mo retracted his aura. And bowed his head slightly in apology. He lips parted and a deep voice that loomed over the room, suffocating the youths with a faint pressure. ¡°My apologies young ones, did I frighten you? I forgot myself, having just left my training room. My fat guard told me¡­ Ah yes, you are the newly awakened magician and also¡­ you correct?¡± He finger pointed towards Vince, the oldest of the siblings. The siblings turned to Elder brother in shock. Vince was a magician! Vince smiled warily, not moved in the slightest, ¡°How did you¡­¡± ¡°Notice?¡±, Master Mo smiled at him, ¡°You needn''t worry; most low-level mages wouldn¡¯t be able to detect you. Seeing how well you¡¯ve hidden, not unless they had my type of eyes that is.¡± With Master Mo explaining such the air turning awkward between the two groups. Seeing this Ren spoke up, ¡°Master Mo, the three of us have come looking to become your disciples. I hope that you don''t mind that we brought our siblings, as there was no one at home to look over them.¡± Master Mo was startled and glanced at Ren, sizing him up before speaking, ¡°You want to be my disciple? When you haven''t even awakened? Why should I bother considering you?¡± Ren''s eyes were blazing as he rose up and bowed to Master Mo, ¡°I wish to spar against you Master Mo! As one swordsman to another, to prove my worth!¡± Master Mo, as if suddenly understanding, gave a faint smile to this hot-blooded youth. ¡°You have no chance to win against me, but I will allow you to spar against Fatty. If you win, you can become my disciple.¡± Bowing his head once again, Ren felt he had to do his best to show his abilities, ¡°Thank you for this chance Master Mo!¡± ¡°Yes yes, Fatty, take him to the training room and test him.¡± Seeing how eager Ren was to test his skills, Fatty¡¯s blood began boiling as well. His small beady black eyes shined as he led Ren to another room. Chapter 2 - Scene 5,6 Scene 5 - A simple dream of a swordsman Walking down the hallway Fatty led Ren to one of the side rooms nearby. Ren expected the room wouldn''t be that big only to be blown away from the size. The training room was a hundred meters long and made out of a crisp redwood that smelled like apples. Various wooden weapons lined the weapon¡¯s rack, ranging from light to heavy weapons. Fatty grinned heading over to the sword part of the wall picking up two wooden swords, throwing one to Ren. On instinct Ren caught the sword and took his fighting stance, readying himself for a fight. With a stern expression, the black-robed Fatty pulled out a stick of incense and stuck it in the middle of the room. With a snap of his fingers, a black-robed maiden appeared from outside waiting on his command. Fatty moved to the other side of the room, holding onto his sword causally. ¡°You have until this stick of incense burns away to impress me! Understood?¡± Ren nodded vigorously, ¡°I understand Lord Fatty! Please be on guard, I wish not to injure you too much!¡± Fatty¡¯s face flushed with anger, ¡°What! You, little brat, think you''re stronger than me? Fine! Let''s see your ability. Begin!¡± With the snap of his fingers, the black-robed woman lit the stick of incense. Right off the bat, Ren charged forward placing his killing intent into the sword. Eyes gleaming he yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s FIGHT!¡± Fatty stood there unfazed, ready to receive Ren¡¯s sword. With his guard up and eyes shining, Fatty dodged backward with ease. Cut. Slash. Hack. Stab. No matter what he tried, Ren couldn¡¯t land a hit on Fatty despite the man¡¯s large size. Despite his large girth Fatty turned out to be agiler than a fish in water¡­ A fat fish at that. Yet Ren wouldn''t be discouraged in the slightest as he was still testing out the waters! He thought to himself, ¡®I need to move Faster. Even Faster than this. FASTER!!!¡¯¡¯ Banishing his sword all distracting thoughts faded away. Thoughts about his fate, the fate of his siblings, and even thoughts of his mother''s death. He let it all go in furry becoming one with the sword. Eyes streaking with enlightenment, Ren¡¯s sword became faster and more dominating. The new intensity of Ren''s sword pushed Fatty to actually start defending with his blade. Although Fatty''s face displayed a calm appearance he praised Ren¡¯s swordsmanship. ¡®He¡¯s just a mortal and yet his swordsmanship is so rhythmic and natural to the eye. Even I, who has trained in the sword for ten years, admire this youth¡¯s level of insight.¡¯ *Wack!* In the mists of Fatty¡¯s thoughts, Ren had found an opening and landed a hit on Fatty¡¯s arm! Fatty became angry at himself for his carelessness in being distracted in a fight. Raising his sword in embarrassment, he slashed towards Ren''s gut! Startled, Ren hurried to block, he didn¡¯t think the Fatty would attack back! Ren took a sword blast to the gut, pushing him back a few meters and taking the air out of his lungs for a moment. The two began to start fighting seriously, hitting each other with no regard to safety. Blocking blows when needed and dodging when things grew too hairy. The bruises and welts built upon their bodies, for the rest of the stick of incense the fight went on as such. That is until the black-robed maiden broke up the fight after they kept going when the stick burned out. The two kept standing not willing to admit defeat! Still, they were somewhat tired and wanted to sit on the ground. Both nodded at each other, as if a manly bond united them, and fell heavily on the floor. Sweat covered their bodies as the welts started swelling. They were both sore and didn¡¯t want to move as much as an inch from the pain. Fatty turned to the back robed and politely asked, whilst breathing heavily. ¡°Junior sister! Bring us some wine to ease the pain!¡± The black-robed women hesitated for a bit, making Fatty¡¯s face turn dark. Terrified, the women quickly left and in a few minutes had brought two jugs of wine. Fatty smiled as he took the jugs from her and gave one to Ren. Ren took it and weirdly asked, ¡°This is wine? Why do we need to drink it?¡± Fatty, who had the jug at his lips about to take a drink, looked at Ren shock as if he was a strange creature. ¡°You haven¡¯t drunk wine boy? Were you born under a rock?¡± Ren nodded, his family was poor and every penny was used to buy food, wine was a luxury good they couldn¡¯t afford. With such reasons, he had never tasted such a drink. When he told fatty this Fatty looked pained as if he thought of him as something pitiful. ¡°I¡¯m not that pitiful!¡±, said Ren. Fatty held his shoulder, ¡°Enough! A man who hasn¡¯t tasted wine is no man at all! Come, let us drink!¡± ... *Hiccup* Ren never knew wine was so good! And brother Fatty said to him that there is even better wine than this! He must try them! Face red and Ren waved back and forth clenching his fist to the sky he swore an oath. ¡°I will one day search for the greatest wine in the entire world and taste it!¡± Fatty laughed, ¡°If you do, I wish for a taste lad haha!¡± Embarrassed for saying that out loud Ren kept drinking the wine in silence... After Ren and Fatty left, Master Mo laughed and glanced at the other eight, ¡°Which of you also wish to become my disciple?¡± Without hesitation, Rune bowed, ¡°Disciple greets master! Only Disciple has a few requests!¡± Master Mo looked at Rune then the children around her, ¡°Let me guess you wish to take the rest of them as well? And what else?¡± Rune bowed even deeper than before, ¡°Please, they are my Family! And I must pay back someone''s kindness¡± Master Mo looked at her, his eyes suddenly turning sharp, ¡°Even if that means you have to work six times as hard or harder? Who is this other person that showed such kindness with you?¡± Rune bowed her head deeply to the floor, ¡°I know this is selfish to ask for you to take care of my family and others. But they have always been with me and my father used his life to save mine! I can¡¯t let his family suffer here in the evil city!" Vince didn¡¯t feel odd about what Master Mo had said and bowed deeply as well, ¡°I shall take half, no¡­ all the burden from my sister and for her father''s family! I wish to become your disciple!¡± Master Mo stared deeply into Vince¡¯s eyes, trying to see if he was serious. Vince saw this and rose to his feet, yelling to the heavens, ¡°If you let me become your disciple and take in my younger brothers and sisters in. I swear to the heavens to never betray you! And I and will become your most loyal disciple or may the heavens strike me down!¡± Master Mo looked at him with surprise, ¡®This brat knows how much a promise to heavens means¡­ good. Good! He is worthy of becoming my disciple. Even if that mysteries which is forcing me to take them in.¡¯ Master Mo nodded gently, ¡°Such resolution at such a young age. No need to swear to the heavens, you are too young and too weak to do so. I''ll take you nine in as my disciples. And I shall take care of those you spoke about beforehand. Now kowtow to me children, andwe will enter a bond between master and disciples.¡± Vince was happy that he made the right choice, nodding to his brothers and sisters, they began to kowtow. With a kowtow from both Master Mo and the eight, they became master and disciples. After a half hour, later Fatty and Ren walked in. Both of them were beaten black and blue. But they were smiling and laughing while drinking from bottles of wine. Master Mo, surprised at the scene questioned Fatty and his response was, ¡°A genius, an absolute genius! If I used my cultivation base in the fight I would have no doubt won, alas even then he would give me half a fight haha!¡± Ren chuckled with a red face, clearly drunk. Rune was not happy about that and neither was Master Mo. Veins popping from his head Master Mo yelled, ¡°WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO DRINK WHEN IT¡¯S NOT EVEN YOUR BREAK TIME!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Fatty turned pale from fright; they had such a great fight that he had forgotten he was still on guard duty! Despite his size, Fatty moved faster than a three-tailed cheetah and bowed his head, ¡°Master Mo, please forgive Fatty for drinking on the job. Ren is a genius swordsman and after a great battle, Fatty had forgotten he was on duty! Please spare Fatty from punishment!¡± Skinny snickered at the sight of Fatty getting a severe tongue lashing. Only he dare not utter a sound unless he wanted Master Mo¡¯s wrath centered on him. Master Mo calmed himself and sighed, ¡°Is that so¡­ Your name is Ren is that correct? Since you¡¯ve passed, kowtow and we shall become master and disciple.¡± Ren instantly sobered up with a slap across the back of the head from Rune and kowtowed to Master Mo. Fatty was sentenced to spend a week in the punishment room, with no food to eat for three days. The nine could only hear the Fatty¡¯s mournful cries as he was dragged away by some other black-clothed men. Master Mo sat there thoughtfully, eyes glinting fiercely, ¡°Now that I have taken you as my disciples, your master shall take care of the pests outside!¡± Chapter 3 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - Strength Master Mo led his disciples outside followed by a dozen black clothed men and women; his aura suppressed into a point. Every motion he made seemed to carry a bone-chilling purpose. As he exited the Tavern he seemed like a tiger in human skin, ready to tear his prey asunder. He turned back, facing the black robed outer disciples, the crescent tattoo in his eyes dancing like blades made for reaping, ¡°Protect them if anything should occur or I shall have your heads!¡± The black robed men bowed their heads, clasping a hand over their hearts in a single smooth fashion, ¡°May your will be done, Master Mo!¡± With the fading daylight, shadows played upon the buildings like demons ready to devour man and beast alike.Three hundred men stalked out from within the darkness with eyes bathed in greed, armed with swords and knifes made out of bone and steel. Their expressions reminded one of wolves and hyenas ready to jump on a fat lamb in the fading light. After the mob appeared, a man sitting on a throne made of bones and skulls appeared with an expression of ecstasy. Six men and women carried him forward on their bloodied backs and hands, their expressions dull and lifeless, devoid of all emotion.Master Mo had made preparations beforehand to conceal his aura, not wanting to startle them; he wanted to destroy the evil that ruined his good time. Yet despite his best efforts, his voice resounded in a domineering manner, making some in the mob shake with fear, ¡°So you are the people troubling my students?¡± Master Mo had made preparations beforehand to conceal his aura, not wanting to startle them; he wanted to destroy the evil that ruined his good time. Yet despite his best efforts, his voice resounded in a domineering manner, making some in the mob shake with fear, ¡°So you are the people troubling my students?¡± The man sat in his throne with arrogance, not the slightest bit scared. He even leisurely took a sip of the blood within his goblet. He smiled, lips and teeth stained bloody red and shining in the fading sunset. He stared at Master Mo, eyes filled with scorn and ridicule as if he found an annoying fly. The man stood up from his seat and laughed heavily, eyes changing from scorn to filled with coldness, staring directly at Master Mo, ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are and I don¡¯t give a shit! I rule these streets, but since I¡¯m a handsome and understanding leader. I¡¯ll give you to the count of three tails to hand over the little shits or you''ll regret pissing me off in the netherworld!¡± Cracking his knuckles, Master Mo¡¯s blood boiled, he turned his sideways towards the siblings, showing them a grin, ¡°Lesson one my students! Always remember your bottom line!¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! With his left-hand Master Mo slowly unsheathed his sword from his side, and as he did so the sword began to flicker in a frosty golden light. It wasn¡¯t a long blade, merely a one-handed sword that seemed simple to the eye. No furnishings were on the blade and hilt, but its glow gave off a majestic air that couldn¡¯t be called simple. With his free hand, he summoned a snowstorm across the street, making it a winter wonderland... Of Death! Wherever these snowflakes landed, various ice flowers a meter wide would bloom on the streets. The street started to fill with flowers that would bloom rapidly on top of each other, enclosing the space around the men. Soon, the street was filled with the sound of shouts and screams of three hundred men as the flowers squeezed and cut apart their body parts with ease. Blood and limbs started to fly around, staining the icy flowers red and causing them to appear like blood lilies. The luckily died without knowing why; while others were torn limb from limb by the razor sharp lilies. One person was extremely unlucky and ate a snowflake only to have his body directly explode into a mass of blood and gore, dying the flower bloody red. The massacre was both beautiful and terrifying, lasted for just a short minute. The only people left alive were the man on the throne who had clearly pissed himself, and the people carrying the large chair he sat on. Master Mo had intentionally left the man alive to allow the piss stained slaver to regret his actions before his death. Master Mo coldly snorted, ¡°All talk with no bite, eh? Now lesson two my students. Those who lack a backbone shall forever be weak, no matter how talented they are! Take this man for example; see how he bullies the weak for his own personal gain. This is not a true man! He is the scum of the earth and must be killed before he ruins more lives!¡± Sword in hand, Master Mo strengthened the veins and muscles within his arm, causing it to bulge three times its normal size. The sword''s size grew, quickly becoming a giant war blade and turning red as runes covered the face of the blade. He casually threw the war blade towards the white-robed piss stained man, the sword streaked through the air as fast as lightning! In an instant, the war blade cleaved the man in twain. Chapter 3 - Scene 2,3 Scene 2 - Weakness and Ideals Master Mo flicked his wrist and the sword instantly disappeared, reappearing in his hand while slowly returning to its normal frosty golden glow. Sheathing his sword Master Mo then turned to his students. The older kids had long since shielded the three younger siblings eyes; even if they had seen countless deaths before, it was nothing like this. Xue and Len were staring wide-eyed, their faces pale, clearly fearful of their new teacher. Saran was as stoic as ever, with a thoughtful expression dancing in his eyes, he surveyed the scene as if awakened by his teacher''s words. Rune stared at her teacher''s work and the field of corpses, her eyes alit with understanding and a craving for the power hidden within. Ren wasn¡¯t looking at the scene anymore but was replaying what his teacher had just done with his sword. He replayed the whole scene over and over in his head, branding his master''s sword strike into his memory. Vince was disinterested in the whole matter, caught up in the distant memory of his mother. The first thing he did was to walk forward with heavy steps, splashing through the blood soaked ground. Seeing this, Master Mo cleared a path for him with a wave of his hand. He walked through the field of red lilies and corpses unhindered. Sticking out of the ground in front of him stood a lone sword. Apparently, his teacher knew his intentions and agreed with them. Step by step, the siblings watched on as he moved ever closer to the piss stained body. Eyes cold, Vince held the blunt blade within his hand as he grabbed the top half of the corpse and threw it on the ground to laying it out before he began to cut. Chop¡­ Chop... Over and over again, he brought the blade down. It didn¡¯t have a sharp edge so the blood kept splattering on him and the surroundings, but eventually, the head came off the white robe man''s bisected body. He reached down, picked the head off the ground and then turned back to his siblings. Holding the head by the hair, he raised it in front of him and said with gratitude, ¡°Thank you Master Mo! You¡¯ve given us peace of mind and obtained our vengeance!¡± Without another word, Vince stuck the useless sword in the ground and thrust the head down on the blade''s handle, making sure there was no chance it would fall off. Master Mo had a profound look in his eyes, he knew what Vince was going to say next and approved. Master Mo knew that this needed to be done for his students or they would never move on from the death of their mother. They needed to extinguish the demons that festered inside them. They needed an outlet for their rage, despair, and hatred, and the head of the man responsible made the perfect vessel.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Finished with his work, Vince called out to his brothers and sisters, "Come release your anger!" Out of all the siblings, the one that walked out first was actually the youngest of them, Nena! She picked up a knife on the ground, walking slowly towards her brother. She held her head down, whilst tears streamed down her cheeks. When she reached the head, Vince could see the determination that shined in her eyes. Raising the knife above her head she yelled full of anger and wrath, ¡°This is for Mamma!¡± She stabbed and stabbed at the head¡¯s left eye until it was a gooey paste of blood, brain and eye matter. The twins came forward next; they cried and stabbed the head calling it vulgar names, permanently scarring it up to be unrecognizable. Saran came up and simply cut out his tongue. Xue punched and punched with her bare hands until the head broke all its teeth. Len scalped the head. Ren stabbed the other eye out. Rune, seemingly in a trance, moved her hand above the disfigured face and melted away all the flesh until only a skull was left. Vince finished it off by moving his hand over the skull; making a grasping motion, he completely crushed the head into dust. After they let had let out all their anger, everyone but Rune and Vince passed out. Clearly, they were exhausted both physically and mentally from everything that happened today. With a nod, Master Mo made a gesture towards the black robed men behind him with his hand, ¡°Move them to their new room, my disciples have had a rough day.¡± The group moved inside the tavern and the men moved the siblings to a large room on the fourth floor. Master Mo, before he left with the men in black, gave one last remark, ¡°I¡¯ll let you guys have a three-day rest here. If you need anything, use this bell and a servant will come right away.¡± Scene 3 - Lost The only two people awake in the large and spacious room were Rune and Vince. They laid in bed together, a habit they had since they were young, the two held each other''s hand, feeling no hint of embarrassment. For as long as they could remember, they had slept close together in order to keep warm in the harsh winter seasons. Neither of them spoke, feeling too numb to talk. They had gotten their revenge, but so what? Their dear Mother was gone, and nothing would bring her back from the dead. Rune suddenly grabbed Vince¡¯s holey shirt and buried her face in his chest. Surprised, Vince didn¡¯t know what to do to comfort her. On impulse, he slowly wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear, ¡°It¡¯s alright now... you can cry now, Sister. All our siblings are sleeping¡­ You can let it out now.¡± For the entire night, Rune cried her eyes out into Vince¡¯s shirt until she fell asleep. For the next three days, the nine siblings rested their minds. During this time, Vince requested white mourning clothes for their Mother. Once their master knew of their mother¡¯s death, he had the black cloth men head to their house and carry their mother back in white sheets. Master Mo then made a concoction to stop her body from rotting and closed the corpse off in an empty room. Chapter 3 - Scene 4,5 Scene 4 - I pray to the Sky Len sat on the fourth floor, gazing out at the endless streets of the slums, ¡®Master Mo said that when we into a move to the Sectless Sect we¡¯ll be able to give you a proper burial Mum. I think that¡¯s what you would have wanted, to finally get out of this hellhole of a Kingdom and see the whole wide world.¡¯ Len thought long and hard about what she and her siblings¡¯ fate would be now that they would be following Master Mo. It was a habit she picked up because of her silent demeanor and because no one ever noticed her with the exception being her family, allowing to have her too much time on her hands. As she sat on the ledge, provoking thoughts flew through her mind in an endless stream, making her head spin until she shook herself to get rid of the useless thoughts and began to pray. She prayed to the sky, not to a god that never helped those in need, but to the sky that so that the wind would take her mother¡¯s soul to new and unusual places. She prayed to the earth that her mother¡¯s soul would find happiness in the vast world called Volkin. Finally, she prayed to the oceans so that her mother could drift calmly and without difficulties. She kowtowed to the forces of nature for an entire day in the hope that her mother could find happiness in the next life. She didn¡¯t eat, drink, or rest during it at all. When her brothers and sisters found her and asked what she was doing, she merely smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m praying for mother to live happily.¡± They didn¡¯t drag her away, instead opting to join her in her prayer. Scene 5 - Drinking in your Memory On their second day of mourning, the siblings had a great feast provided by Master Mo. They cried, they laughed, they sang high and low to the rhythm of the music played by the black robed apprentices. The oldest drank fine wine with their Master while telling him stories about their mother, while the youngest drank fruit juice with a hint of wine in it. The siblings were enjoying themselves in the entertainment surrounding them. Ren was grinning from ear to ear with a red face as he talked to Master Mo, ¡°I remember this one time that mother and I went to the market street. We saw the strangest thing, a man was using a frozen fish like a sword; fighting against someone using a broom handle! A crowd quickly formed around the two foes locked in combat.¡± Master Mo laughed heartily, ¡°Oh? Then what happened Apprentice, who won the fight?¡± Ren gulped down another glass of wine and placed his empty cup down on the table; a thoughtful expression crossed his eyes as he lied back in his chair, ¡°Well master, my mother didn¡¯t like them fighting so she told me to go stop them. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Naturally, I agreed since I was part of the city guard and was told to uphold the law. I stepped in and quickly, subduing both men and giving them a stern warning not to fight in the city. They were traveling foreigners from another country; turned out they were friends just having some fun. As luck would have it they didn¡¯t give me any trouble and they went on their merry way. The crowd then dispersed from the area much to my relief. I returned to my mother¡¯s side and she gave me a hug, smiling and saying she was so proud of me. I¡¯ll never forget that smile...¡± Ren grew silent for a time, lost in thought. Vince noticed him moping and gave him a brotherly pat on the back, only to find out that Ren had passed out from drinking too much. With a laugh Vince excused himself and picked up Ren, carrying his drunken brother to bed with the help of a black robed man. Master Mo got up from his and said, ¡°I think that¡¯s enough for today, it¡¯s getting late. Disciples, go follow your brothers to bed and get a good night¡¯s sleep. Tomorrow is the last day of mourning.¡± All seven in union spoke, ¡°Yes master Mo!¡± He watched as the seven youths exited the feast room, reminiscing about their late mother with happy expressions. Master Mo smiled as he noticed that the shadows within the sibling''s hearts were noticeably weaker than before. He then turned around and spoke to the black-robed men and women, ¡°Leave... I wish to be alone.¡± Everyone quickly left the room, leaving Master Mo alone, ¡°So what do you think of them, Marley? Even if we were threatened by that witch to take care of them, those kids will make fine disciples. I wonder why she put on such a complex act to fool them all... No matter, what''s done is done. I know their manners need work, and that we haven¡¯t yet tested their talents. But I feel they will go far on the path of martial dao as long as they can overcome their inner demons.¡± As his words faded away, a woman wearing silver Taoist robes walked out of the shadows. An aura of grace-filled every movement she made, and the scent of morning dew hung around her. A dragon bone mask covered most of her face, revealing only her charming lips and chin. The woman smiled and nodded her head as she spoke in a melodious voice, ¡°Indeed father, even though we were manipulated, I feel the same way. They have strong spirits, yet I think that Xue girl will have some problems... more than the rest. She fears her own beauty. If this isn''t taken care of soon, it will affect her soul''s foundation and she¡¯ll quickly fall into a bottomless pit of no return.¡± Master Mo sighed. With his cultivation, of course, he knew of this matter. He could see that of the nine, Xue had the most psychological trauma. He knew of only one item that could heal such a heavy wound was the mask his daughter currently wore. Marley surprised Master Mo by taking off her mask without a second thought, ¡°I¡¯ll gift this mask to my junior sister when the time is right. I have long since healed the ¡®problem¡¯ from that year, father. I am sure I¡¯m ready to face the world with my own power from now on.¡± Master Mo suddenly moved with tears in his eyes, hugging his daughter tightly. Marley returned her father''s hug and allowed him to silently weep on her shoulder; they remained like this for quite some time. Chapter 3 - Scene 6,7 Scene 6 - Night of tears It was night time, and couldn''t sleep with Ren''s snoring rattling the windows. Wide awake, he had the urge to take his pillow and shut his dear elder up once and for all. But it was merely a fleeting thought he pushed aside as he rolled out of bed and walked towards the balcony for some fresh air. Opening the door, he found Xue hugging a bottle of wine while looking at the stars; her yellow hair dancing rhythmically in the moonlight. Saren wondered why his big sister was standing out on the balcony. Getting a closer look Saren noticed the distant gaze in her eyes, a huge contrast from her usual cheery demeanor. He closed the door and walked to her side, ¡°Hey big sis, you couldn¡¯t sleep too?¡± Xue moved the bottle to her supple lips and took a large mouthful of wine, chugging it down like water and causing some of the scarlet red wine to drip down her neck. Saren tilted his head, having never seen Xue act this way. Putting the now mostly empty bottle down, Xue took in a breath of fresh air before turning to Saren, ¡°Little brother¡­ Do you think beauty is a curse? I envy you, little brother. You have an average face that no one would pick out from a crowd¡­ I hate to be made a prize of men, just because of how I look and not for how I am inside. Mother thought the same way and maimed her features by working in the fields. I once tried to follow her example by carving up my face up with a knife when I started to work at the jade palace where I become a sun goddess in the eyes of greedy men, only for mother to stop me. Even with our poor status, Mother didn''t hesitate to buy expensive ink to hide me away. She made me promise that I would never think of harming myself in such a way again; she didn¡¯t want me to turn into her. Now she¡¯s gone, she never had a man court her, she never fell in love. The only thing she left in this world is us. And it scares-¡± With tears in his eyes, Saren hugged Xue. He never knew his sister felt this way; it made him feel like a failure as a younger brother to not notice the pain his sister was going through. He whispered into her ear, warming his sister¡¯s chaotic heart, ¡°Don¡¯t worry sis¡­ You have us, and we are not going anywhere anytime soon. Relax; I¡¯ll stay with you for as long as you need me to be here.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. They stayed in each other¡¯s embrace for a long time... Scene 7 - Memories Finally, on the last day of mourning, the nine siblings entered the room where lay their late mother. They each moved forward, one by one, and placed a flower on top of the sheet covering their dear mother. They each said something meaningful their mother had given them. For Xue it was Love. For Sol, it was a Home. For Nena, it was a Family. For Vince it was Peace. For Rune it was Trust. For Saren it was Self. For Ren it was Honesty. For Luna it was Happiness. For Len it was Understanding. On that day not a tear was shed by any of the nine. Only a faint smile spread across their faces as they thought about everything their mother had given them. They sang a song mother had taught them, ¡°The Storm of Lilies¡± and finally, they bowed and bid their farewells. Only then did the three days of mourning end. On the fourth day they weren¡¯t dressed in rags or white robes; instead, they wore blue robes with patterns of white dragons coiling around the robe. They sat in the lotus position, awaiting their Master''s teachings. Master Mo sat in front of all of them, ¡°Do you all know how to read?¡± Sol proudly responded, ¡°Mother and Big brother Vince taught us how to read!¡± Master Mo nodded in response, ¡°Good, that saves time. Now! Each one of you will step forward one by one and I shall test your aptitude!¡± Chapter 4 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - A Master¡¯s Shock Master Mo looked her over, ¡°Don¡¯t resist; I¡¯m going to explore your channels so sit down with your back facing me.¡± Sitting down in the lotus position, Xue readied herself. Master Mo stood behind her, placing a forefinger on the top of her head and one on her back before sending a strand of energy though both points. The energy felt cool, like drinking winter mint tea on a blazing day. Xue¡¯s Soul affinity appeared to him in only a few moments, ¡°Hmm, interesting... No, shocking would be more like it. You¡¯re a dual soul elementest! Alignment Genius Level Beast soul, Genius Level Metal, Average level fire and Low-Level wood affinity. I have a few books in these fields, so I¡¯ll give them to you to cultivate under.¡± A dual soul elementest doesn¡¯t sound that special until you consider that only one in a million could produce a dual-type soul! It was a mutation of the soul! Normally a person would only train in one element unless one of three things an occurred. If the soul goes through great stress, achieves enlightenment, or has a lucky encounter, it could mutate to train in other elements. Being born with a dual-type soul means you were blessed by the heavens! Even though Xue couldn¡¯t use magic, with her soul affinity she could train to become a Spirit beast master and a Spirit Tool Master. Possessing such a powerful soul would also grant her a higher chance to awaken the magic hidden within her blood. Excited, Xue bowed to Master Mo and received the books from him before sitting back with her brothers and sisters. After she sat down, Sol and Luna both excitedly ran up to Master Mo. Smiling at the two little ones, Master Mo started with Sol, ¡°Haha your name is Sol, correct?¡± Sol nodded up and down, his green eyes shining. Master Mo continued, ¡°Haha! Let me check both of your affinities, then I¡¯ll tell you what your element affinities are simultaneously.¡± Luna waited dejectedly until master Mo was done checking Sol. Master Mo started laughing as if he found it amusing, ¡°As expected of twins, holding a Genius level affinity according to your namesakes. Sol, you¡¯re a Genius level True Solar and have Great level talent in Space magic affinity. And as for Luna, you¡¯re a Genius level of True Moon energy and the same level for Space magic as your brother.¡± The Master thought to himself for a bit, ¡®It was as if your parents already knew your elements before they named you. Could it be? No way, the Sun Moon clan was wiped out 11 years ago¡­ wait.¡¯, the thought stuck Master Mo suddenly, shaking him to a possibly he couldn¡¯t believe. Suddenly with a wave of his hand, he created a wind barrier to cut off all sound coming from this room. Master Mo asked the two, ¡°How old are both of you¡­¡± Luna said with pride, ¡°11 years old!¡± Master Mo grasped, ¡®Survivors of the bloody eclipse, how is that possible!?¡± Once he thought about that nightmare of an event, he grew fearful not for himself but for these little kids. Giving them a deep look, he spoke with in care, ¡°Do you truly wish to become strong? If you do, people might hunt you down.¡± Sol and Luna looked at each other startled, then as if knowing what the other was thinking they nodded towards their master, ¡°We wish to become strong enough to protect our family and become a burden to them!¡± Master Mo stared at the two of them for a long time, and could only see the determination in their eyes. Sighing, he made up his mind. He had already taken them as disciples, and he¡¯ll be damned if he would go back on his word! He handed them each two books; by chance, he had managed to get the cultivation technique from both sides of the Sun Moon Clan by killing one of the men responsible when they came knocking at his door. The other book was about space magic. Even if they had not yet awakened, if they read this book they might suddenly become enlightened and awaken their magic. The twins sat down in joy and waited to see what their brothers and sisters would receive. Len move forward gracefully, thinking about what element she would get ¡®Perhaps it¡¯ll be water! Then I''ll never have to fear going thirsty again. Or maybe it''ll be fire, so I could stay warm and roast anything I desire. Oh wait, I forgot I don¡¯t have magic...¡¯ Len thought of a lot of things but in the end, she was a simple and modest girl. Even if she was simple, even if she was a shadow of others; her arrogance never faltered never under any pressure a strange combination for her aura, but it suited her.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Mater Mo began to read her affinity a short while later he murmured, ¡°Hmm, how rare. Genius Dark affinity and Genius Light affinity...how can this be another dual affinity? All four in a row Geniuses, how can this be!?¡± Master Mo was utterly shocked, ¡®OK one talent can happen, three is cutting it, but then again the heaven¡¯s will is profound. But four?!?!? And two of them are dual souls at that? The heavens must be either mocking me or blessing me. What could that witch be thinking to give me these talents? What¡¯s more, the matter is¡­ How did they all end up in the slums with these affinities? These children would have been fought over by all the various large powers. More to the fact how did she acquire these monster talent children.¡¯ Master Mo tried to control himself as he gave Len her books. Alas, that control was shattered by Ren. ¡°A sword soul? How is this possible, another dual soul?!? You¡¯ve barely trained at all in the sword, how can this be?! And you have a Genius level affinity with wind?!¡± A sword soul was considered a pure offensive soul, in the way of a Beast soul was a transformation type. If a pure offensive type soul mixed with a pure speed soul what destructive properties could he accomplish in the future¡­ Master Mo could see this youth alone shock the world with his power, not counting the other monstrous youths. What could the others hold? Master Mo was excited to see! He handed Ren many books about swordsmanship and one book about wind qi, with Ren going back and randomly reading a book from his stack as he sat next to his siblings. Master Mo watched Saren move forward with a thoughtful expression. ¡®There¡¯s no way he can be¡­ Another genius!¡¯ Master Mo stared in disbelief as his mind reeled, ¡°The heavens are truly profound, another Genius! A Puzzle soul and Genius affinity with lightning! How can this be, it¡¯s been a thousand years since one has appeared!¡± If Master Mo¡¯s mind was reeling before now it was exploding. Terrifying. A monster. A true monster. Master Mo had traveled far and wide and once heard about the legend of a cultivator that was born with a Puzzle soul. If he was given sufficient materials he could kill any top tier expert. He was known as a cunning master of assassination at the time. If he claimed number two no one would dare claim number one. Master Mo shook his head, ¡°Even I don¡¯t know how a Puzzle soul cultivates. You will have to rely on yourself. Although master will try his best to find you suitable materials to read, take this book on the Cultivation of Lightning until then.¡± Saren bowed with an expressionless face, taking the book and sitting back down next to Ren. Saren was about to say something, but Ren cuffed him on the head and told him to keep his mouth shut. Rune then went up. By now Master Mo had been shocked to the limits already. So he wasn¡¯t surprised when he saw Rune¡¯s dual affinity of Fire and Poison, and merely handed her the few books he had on cultivating Fire and Poison magic. Vince went up, and as expected he was another Genius, with a dual affinity of Earth and Gravity. Vince also was given his books before rejoining his siblings. Master Mo wondered what kind of child this Nena was going to be with all her brothers and sisters having Genius level talents. Nena wore a bright smile that could light up the sky as if she were the sun. She walked without a care in the world, her eyes twinkling like stars. When Master Mo¡¯s energy entered her, he thought nothing more could shock him until he saw Nena¡¯s monster-like potential that dwarfed her brother¡¯s and sister¡¯s, making him breath in a cold breath of air forgetting himself, ¡°A quad level soul, this should be impossible how can such a thing exist at your age?¡± His mind reeled over this as if stricken by thunder in a mass storm. Nena tilted her head asking innocently, ¡°Master, what¡¯s a quad soul?¡± Master Mo suddenly came to his senses and added another wind barrier just to be double sure. Master Mo suddenly asked all his students for fear someone would hear him, ¡°All of you come over here now.¡± Everyone obeyed his orders, wondering why their master looked so fearful. When everyone got seated down next to their master he spoke in a low voice for fear that someone could hear what he was going to say. "You must never tell a single soul what you are about to hear¡±, he waited for all of them to nod before continuing, ¡°Your youngest sister is an extremely rare divine Tiger quad soul having the greatest affinity with Water, Earth, Fire, and Wind.Even I don''t know what will happen if she awakens. She''ll have a fifth, maybe even six Genius affinities! If the Cultivation world caught hold of this information most likely she¡¯ll be fought over by the largest of sects and killed for her soul! You must never ever tell anyone this if you wish to stay together!¡± Each of his words cut like hot knives through each of their minds! Master Mo shook his head, ¡°I was hoping to teach you the basics for a while before we entered the Sectless Sect, but with all of your monstrous talents the more time we stay in the outside world, the longer you kids will be endangered, therefore we¡¯re moving out tomorrow! Go back to your rooms and read your books. If you have questions come directly to me. Do not ask the black robed men or women for help. Even if I trust the lot I can never be sure if there¡¯s a spy in their ranks.¡± The Nine nodded. Of course, they would never sell out their sister, they would rather die than bring her harm! With the testing done, Master Mo taught his students the most basic of cultivation techniques the 1 by 3 breathing technique. He even sent his daughter Marley with them to instruct them in their room before he left saying he needed time to think of their training regiments. The four youngest excitedly ran down the hallway while the five oldest were deep in thought over what their master had just said. Meanwhile, Master Mo began to think to himself as well, ¡®How could all these shocking youths be gathered in one spot? Was it Heaven''s fate or was it¡­ that witch? Gathering all these Genius level talents together, who did she provoke to acquire these youths¡­what would be the reason? To what end is she trying to accomplish?'' Master Mo didn¡¯t need to sleep for months at a time with his current level of power, but right now he wished to stop thinking about these troublesome matters and sleep. There had been too many surprises in one day for him to keep his thoughts steady. He was split between what the witch said, the monster talents he acquired, and what their training regiments should be. Chapter 4 - Scene 2 Scene 2 - The twins As night time came around, the twins and Len sat out on the balcony gazing out over the city, watching moonlight cascading over the slum district and making it seem like ruins of some forgotten city. Torches flickered in the silent night like little beacons guiding the souls onwards to the afterlife. Covered by a large blanket, Len sat between the twins with her arms wrapped around them as they gazed at the stars above and below, ¡°How are you feeling¡­? The twins couldn¡¯t sleep from all the recent events, so Len went out with them and watched the stars till the little ones grew tired. She didn¡¯t speak much, usually preferring to let her actions do the talking, so the twins were surprised to see their big sister start a conversation. Luna moved closer to her sister, ¡°I just can¡¯t believe mom is gone you know¡­ I miss her and how she would make us potato stew. She would comb our hair, tell us stories...¡± Holding his head down, Sol¡¯s wild golden hair kept his pained expression hidden, ¡°I miss her so much¡­ Sis¡­ What do I do with this heartache within me?¡± Tilting her head a tad, Len gazed at Sol¡¯s lonely demeanor for a bit before pulling him in close ruffling his hair, ¡°Time¡­ Heals all wounds¡­ Little brother¡­ Don¡¯t worry¡­ I don¡¯t plan on going anywhere¡­ If you need to cry anymore... I¡¯ll be here¡­¡± The three sat there in silence, gazing at the stars and the torches in the night, the three moons passing by ever so closely, the air around them smelling apple sweet. They couldn¡¯t tell where it came from until one of the black robed men told them it originated from the formations embedded inside the tavern that blocked out the rotting stench from the city. It made the siblings confused as they had never heard the term ¡®Formation¡¯ before, though they enjoyed the change after smelling trash for years on end. Not able to take the silence anymore Luna gazed up at her big sister, ¡°Can you tell us a story, big sister? Like mom told us when we went to bed?¡± Len fidgeted, her eyes wandering up towards the stars. She had never told a story before, so she was unsure what to say. She grew quiet as she started piecing ideas together from Saren''s usual storytelling. Slowly, she began with the words, ¡°Once upon a time¡­¡± She fumbled along the story, taking long pauses as she desperately tried to come up with something interesting. The story started off with a Fairy Queen and a Demon King meeting in the underworld. The two crossed paths along a road of spirits and ghosts as they searched for a purpose of existing after living for so long. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. At first, they distrusted each other, not knowing what the other¡¯s thoughts where. That is until the Demon King saved the Fairy Queen from the ghost princess who wanted the Queen¡¯s body for her own. The story went on for an hour, and the longer she spoke, the more rhythmical Len''s words became. From the shadows, Saren began smiling as he watched the scene unfold, having appeared at an unknown point in time. He saw many plot holes in her story, such as: why wouldn''t the ghosts attack the Demon King because of his aura, and how the spirits would never attack a being such as the Fairy Queen. Nonetheless, his grin widened as he leaned on a corner, enjoying the story and watching his siblings under the starlight. Eventually, Len finished the tale and found out that the twins had unknowingly fallen asleep. While she was distressed how to take both of them to bed, a familiar voice appeared. ¡°That was a good story sis. Though I¡¯ll give you some lessons on how to tell a better one later haha~. It had too many plot holes for full marks; I think 59 points seems good for your first time.¡± Len¡¯s eyes opened wide under her shaggy brown hair, ¡°How long¡­ were you¡­¡± Saren moved a finger over his lips, motioning her to be silent, ¡°Let''s get them to bed before we talk anymore.¡± He moved over without making a sound and picked up Sol, carrying him to bed. Len followed, taking Luna to hers. After covering them up, Saren motioned Len back outside. Closing the door behind them, Saren sat down on the bench and began to talk, ¡°I was listening since the beginning. You truly need to work on your speech skill Len, I almost laughed at the part where the Fairy Queen and Demon King embraced each other in a hug when they found what they were searching for. You were blushing up a storm with that, haha~. How are you going to find a good husband if you act like that!¡± Len pouted and pushed Saren with enough force to make him fall, ¡°How dare you¡­ Little brother make fun of¡­ Your Elder sister¡­ Do you want to play¡­ The punishment game¡­ again?¡± Saren¡¯s smiling face instantly turned pale, ¡°Elder sister I jest! I was trying to lighten the mood, that''s all!¡± Clearing his throat he changed the subject, ¡°The main reason I came to find you was to talk about Xue. We need to watch out for her. She¡¯s taken mother¡¯s death far worse than imaginable, you know that she is already unstable after what happened to her before¡­ with¡­ if Vince wasn¡¯t there¡­ You know what I mean, the point is we need to be there for each other alright?¡± Len nodded, the pain of her mother''s passing was still there, like a knife stabbing into her heart. But she knew her brother Saren well enough to know that he could easily see the bigger picture of their family¡¯s current status and thus trusted his words. ¡°I will... Keep an eye on her¡­¡± Saren smiled, happy that Len was going to help look out for Xue, he had already asked Vince, Ren, and Rune as well to make sure their sister didn¡¯t do something crazy, ¡°Great! Thank you, sis! I¡¯m going to head to bed now, and you should as well. We have a long day ahead of us!¡± Without another word Saren headed back to the room, while Len lingered there for a bit longer, staring at the slums before turning around and following him back to their room. Laying in bed, her last thoughts before drifting to sleep were, ¡®I wonder what tomorrow will bring?¡¯ Chapter 5 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - Rude awakening Within the fairly large room where the siblings resided, the warm wooden walls excluded a sweet cherry fragrance A young woman stood at the doorway, her wild long black hair made her silver eyes stand out. The woman clothed in violet scanned the room, nodding when she saw the still sleeping siblings. A small smirk appeared on her face before she let out a deafening roar, ¡°Get dressed! You have five minutes before big sister Marley starts getting mad!¡± The nine scrambled out of their beds, stumbling around in a daze as they tried to quickly get dressed and stand before the woman in a line. Marley nodded when she saw their actions, ¡°Humph! Took your time didn¡¯t you, my cute little juniors. The ones called Rune and Vince, step forward!¡± As requested, the two stepped forward and awaited instructions, ¡°Open your hands!¡± Marley walked over to them and placed a ring into each of their hands. The two examined them in haste; the rings were made of Blue Iron, a material that would glow with a pale sapphire shine. Seeing as how Rune and Vince were not stunned to receive the rings she continued, ¡°My father, your master, is gifting these two rings. Within them is 100 meters of space you can use freely. Bind them with your magic by allowing your energy to flow into it. Before you can leave this room, you must both be able to bind these rings with your magic. As for the rest of you, I shall be giving you pointers on starting cultivation. Let''s begin!¡± Rune and Vince sat over on the side, attempting to bind their rings, while Marley stood in front of the seven siblings, getting them ready to cultivate. Naturally, Rune had trouble understanding the concept of binding until Vince and Marley went and explained it to her. It took five hours before Rune could use the ring efficiently. She noticed that majority of the space inside the ring was taken up by mostly food and water, and started to drool. Marley was shocked by how fast Rune had bound her ring, as even the greatest of talents took at least a day or two for their first attempt at binding.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. It had even taken her herself two days to bind her first ring, and her father had greatly praised her insight. This was a simple rite of passage that every great wizard passed onto his disciples; her father watched the scene excitedly from a mirror in his room; his face had glee written all over it. A natural thing all wizards knew was that the faster someone bound their first ring, the faster that person would be able to condense and recover their magic! While it took only five hours for Rune to bind her ring, Vince took seven hours. Clearly, Vice turned out weaker than his sister, thought Master Mo, making him sigh softly. Though how could Master Mo know that this actually was Vince¡¯s second ring and that it only took him four hours to bind the first! Alas, Vince had lost his first ring long ago¡­ Vince was no fool, though, he didn¡¯t want to expose this matter even if he was grateful for Master Mo¡¯s kindness. He would not let him know about his past, as that is what it was. The past. Nothing more. Even though it was surprising to Master Mo for Vince and Rune to finish so early, he didn¡¯t question it much. After all, all the siblings had monster-like talent. Marley didn¡¯t watch the two work on such a boring subject. Instead, she started teaching the other seven about cultivating, laying out a strong foundation. The siblings worked hard trying to comprehend their soul elements in that period of time. Sol threw his arms up in displeasure, ¡°Ugh! This is too hard, how am I supposed to sense the qi in the air? Sister Marley, am I even doing it right?¡± Chiming alongside her twin Luna agreed, ¡°Sister Marley I agree as well! I can¡¯t for the life of me feel this so called ¡®qi¡¯ in the air!¡± Marley took out a harmless paper fan and slapped both of them on the head. ¡°Ow!¡± ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Humph!¡± Marley snorted with anger at the twins, ¡°How could cultivation be so easy? Even if you are geniuses that don''t mean that you can defy the heavens without any effort! Continue cultivating so that you gain battle qi from your respective elements!¡± That''s the reason why Master Mo had given them more books on cultivation than magic. Marley¡¯s words rang high and clear, the only way for the siblings to grow stronger was to learn everything regarding the theory of cultivation inside those very books! When Rune and Vince had both bound their rings, Master Mo called out to his daughter just as she finished her harsh lecture, ¡°Marley, bring my disciples to the field room.¡± Marley nodded gracefully and rounded the nine, ¡°Come, my junior brothers and sisters, my father is calling for you.¡± Chapter 5 - Scene 2 Scene 2 - The Garden Before leaving, Marley gave each sibling a leather bag from her ring. Besides Saren, the rest could put their books inside, making it easier to carry them. With the books stored inside their bags, the group made haste towards what Marley called the ¡®field room¡¯. Saren walked alongside Marley and asked, ¡°Why is it called the field room? Is it a training center?¡± Marley gave a faint smile, ¡°Heh. A training center? It¡¯s more shocking than something like that!¡± Nena walked along Marley¡¯s other side and tilted her head, ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out soon enough! I don¡¯t want to spoil the surprise~!¡± The group spoke about various things they learned from their books, sharing their thoughts on cultivation while making their way to the field room. Soon they could smell a faint medical scent, and Marley gave them a heads up that they were close. The closer they got to the field room, the stronger the medical aroma became. Placing both her tender hands upon the door handles, Marley gave a faint tug before declaring, ¡°This! Is the ¡®field room!¡± The medical aroma increased tenfold, with a green light shining outwards as Marley opened the door. Marley led the way as they entered the room. The siblings were agape with awe, shockingly the whole room was three stories of a garden, filled to the brim with thousands of medical plants! Very few were alike in demeanor; some had razor sharp teeth lining the whole body, some were dull in color and gave off a dull luster, others were dazzling like the sun. The list went on and on, with every shape and color shown boastfully as big and small plants alike moved in a harmonic way. Master Mo currently sat cross-legged in midair, holding an angel turtle shell flute and playing a beautiful melody that changed the pressure in the air to the manner of the tone. Minds reeling, the siblings were shocked once again by their master for when they looked closely they could see¡­ That the plants were dancing to the tune! Flowers bloomed across the color spectrum in rhythm with one another as the vines shook in enjoyment. Wordlessly they stood at the entrance, watching the room full of green be charmed by their master¡¯s song that became happy at times, sorrowful at certain segments, full of rage at the crescendo then next became a calming hum. The sound played a melody of emotions as if Master Mo was trying to paint a picture purely with sound. Master Mo finished playing his flute after a few more minutes, making the plants slowly come to a stop one by one. In a flash Master, Mo¡¯s eyes opened and turned towards his disciples. Slowly Master Mo smiled, ¡°Thank you daughter, for bringing my disciples. I¡¯ll take it from here.¡± Marley bowed and stepped back behind the siblings, pushing the nine forward. Master Mo stared at them solemnly, ¡°How goes the reading?¡± Saren stepped up helplessly sighing, ¡°The books are too hard to comprehend, I¡¯ve only gotten to what felt like the first step Master Mo, it¡¯s so hard!¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The six nodded in response, saying similar things as well... except for Nena, as she had somehow comprehended a step into the 1st stage! When Master Mo heard this, he was amazed to the point of almost coughing blood yet kept a solemn appearance like that of a stone statue, ¡®These brats have already begun comprehending the first stage in only six hours? It should¡¯ve take them at least a month to merely get a hint of meaning from the first section! My word, the little one has already comprehended the first step! Should I say as expected of a quad soul...¡¯ Master Mo didn¡¯t praise them and instead rebuked them, ¡°Did you think comprehending cultivation would be easy!? Humph! Your progress is good, but your understanding is not strong enough to fully grasp the first stage! All of you are to meditate here to start grasping the method of cultivating World Qi, and to form and stabilize your first rank of twelve stages! Now spread out and sit cross legged while I condense the World Qi around you so you can get a clearer sense of it. But Rune and Vince, it¡¯s not the best for you to learn how to absorb world qi right now, instead setting a solid foundation for your mana is better. Therefore Marley will escort you to the west wing so that you can cultivate your mana.¡± Marley nodded her head faintly and waited outside, ready to lead the two away. Marley, of course, knew about the seven siblings reaching an understanding about the first rank. They had told her in excited expressions that they started understanding it faintly while Rune and Vince were binding their rings. It¡¯s just that her dad paid too much attention to Rune and Vince to notice the shocking things the rest of the siblings were doing. Marley took a quick glance at the group of siblings, ¡°Come junior brother Vince and junior sister Rune, I shall show you the way.¡± Vince and Rune were reluctant to leave their brothers and sisters but chose to follow Marley as they understood that they had to become stronger and that their siblings were safe here. The three moved quickly through the west wing until they came across a four-meter tall door, which they unhesitantly entered. Marley led them inside the large room that seemed to be much bigger than the building that held it. Inside the room was full of masterfully crafted statues, displaying huge monstrous creatures surrounded by waves of colorful elemental energy. If a normal person saw these statues they wouldn¡¯t see any energy coming out, only an awakened would feel the intense pressure of mana emulating from them. With a flick of her wrist, Marley produced a jade seal from her ring and began to pour energy into it. Suddenly the numerous statues began to sink into the walls until only four remained. The four statues made their way to the center of the room in pairs, stopping forty meters away from one another. With a wave of her hand, two giant domes appeared and covered the statues, sealing them away. Finally, two massive doors expanded from the front of the domes, allowing access to the inside. Putting away the jade slip, Marley pointed at the left dome made out of hardened black stone and turned to Vince, ¡°That is your cultivating area Vince and the other is your Rune. Ring the bell inside when you¡¯re done with your training.¡± Vince opened his mouth, ¡°I thought we were traveling straight to the Sectless Sect. Why are we training here now; shouldn¡¯t we be moving?¡± Marley smiled warily, clearly, she didn¡¯t want to talk about it, ¡°Who said we aren¡¯t moving already? Ever wondered why the majestic place such as the Tavern of Dragons would be located on the inner edges of the slums? That¡¯s because¡­ Tavern of Dragons is a sky ship!¡± Marley smile as she dropped a bombshell of information upon Rune and Vince, whose minds reeled after hearing that they were flying through the sky. Terrified, both their legs started shaking as they both think similar thoughts, ¡®Heavens, we¡¯re in the sky!¡¯ Marley gave laugh seeing the fearful gazes of the two, ¡°Don¡¯t worry you two, this ship was designed to take a serious beating. You¡¯ve got nothing to worry about! Heck, I¡¯ll even show you guys the bow of the ship later, so don¡¯t worry about it and go cultivate.¡± Taking a few deep breaths the two started to calm down. Even if they¡¯re in the sky so what? What could they do? It¡¯s not like they could stop the moving fortress. The two walked shoulder to shoulder towards the entrance of the dorms. Marley wished them the best of luck then sat back in a comfy chair. She pulled out of her ring and gazed at it curiously, ¡®I wonder how those seven are doing with father?¡¯ Chapter 5 - Scene 3 Scene 3 - Monstrous talent Sitting in a semi-circle around their master, the seven youths sat in the same manner as he did as they closed their eyes to attune themselves to the world qi. Nena slowly fell into a trance enabling her to feel the energy, ¡®The air suddenly got easier to breathe. What is this sensation?¡¯ The world qi of her elements surrounded her, covering her in a warm blanket and making her feel like she was floating in the air as light as a feather. As she was instructed by Master Mo, Nena used the one by three breathing method to build up world qi inside her body. The world qi entered her in small waves, building up within her dantian in her bottom half. A steady stream of energy filled every nook and cranny within her dantain. Soon enough five hours had passed in a blink of an eye before she felt as if she hit a bottleneck of some sort. If she wanted to she could break through with ease, but for now, she resisted the urge to break into the first realm. Their master had warned them that if they had a feeling of breaking, though, they must suppress the urge and create the stablest foundation they could. The twelve stages of Heavenly Body Refinement was extremely important and had to be gone through with care since it would decide your future cultivation progress. Nena sat there, begrudgingly absorbing vast amounts of world qi like a mini vortex, consuming everything around her with only matter remaining unchanged. Master Mo watched on as he controlled the levels of World Qi in the room and had disbelief show on his face when he sensed that Nena had reached her bottleneck and achieved the peak of energy before entering the first rank.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®As expected of a heaven-defying quad soul, she didn¡¯t even need to search for World qi before it surrounded her. It swims around her eagerly, as if it would be more than happy to follow her commands. Heaven knows what would happen if she ever awakens. Although the others have only just started reaching the mid-half stage, their improvement is also shocking to the extent that if Nena wasn¡¯t here, any one of them would be classified as the highest talent of their generation! Although they are a little bit inferior to their sister, the rest are monsters in their own right. After all, if they awaken they will most likely¡­ Within my eyes their souls would have a 90% chance to mutate, gaining a third element if they awaken. Even the oldest has a great chance of awakening a third element. My intuition never lies to me!¡¯ After ten hours had passed the seven exited the room feeling as if their bodies were filled with the vigor of dragons and the ferocity of tigers! Master Mo nodded with praise, ¡°Mhmm very good, you have all reached the bottleneck of the first rank. Now refine the energy you have gained into the purest form you can, then gather world qi again and repeat the process until you fully fill your dantain with the purest of energy. I will not allow you to break though otherwise.¡± Master Mo called Skinny over and told him to bring them all to the dining room. With a bow, the skinny robed man led the seven siblings away from their master. Master Mo then mused to himself, ¡®I wonder what surprises the other two will bring me? With such thoughts going through his mind, Master Mo began walking to the west wing. What he saw when he entered made him start panting, his eyes open widely and caused his mind to reel. His daughter Marley was just as stunned as he, but she had been watching for a while now so naturally, she was the first to speak, ¡°Father you picked up some true monsters. Just look at that. The domes are leaking magical energy, I wonder what sort of spell they will learn from the old gods?¡± Master Mo shook himself out of his daze and replied, ¡°Who knows. Only the God and the person receiving truly knows what gift they will get. Heck, their souls might mutate because of the blessing. All we can do is wait.¡± Chapter 5 - Scene 4 Scene 4 - Dinner Time The seven siblings followed Skinny to the second floor and entered the dining room. The room was brightly lit by lao stones embedded inside the walls that gave off a light pleasing to the eyes. The tables and chairs were made out of fine Olin metal that came from a metal tree that grew within the Five Elemental Forest. Despite being made out of metal, their colors were a warm brown embedded with saint blue gems. Fine apple wooden boards made up tavern style walls, giving the place a homey aura. The seven siblings took their seats in unimaginably comfortable chairs around a long table in the center of the room. When everyone was settled in, black-robed maidens came out with lavish dishes that made their mouths water at the sight of them. Without much table manners, the kids began stuffing their faces with food, like black holes devouring the sweetest nectar the world had to offer. Xue¡¯s cheeks burned red as she held her hand to her cheek, ¡°Ohuuuu! This food is the best! Don¡¯t you think Len?!¡± Len furiously nodded her head up and down in pure enjoyment as she made fast and methodical movements with her fork. Eyes narrowing, she was determined to eat until she became stuffed to the brim. All the while, Sol, and Luna were trying to out do each other in an eating contest but were currently going neck and neck in a deadlock. The two were stuffing chicken, mash potatoes, and gravy into their mouths and not giving the other an inch. Ren began drinking wine along with his food while chatting with Saren about matters in cultivation, shamelessly asking for pointers from their little sister Nena. ¡°Nena, how did you reach the bottleneck so fast? With the way things are going this big brother is going to lose face haha!¡± ¡°Big brother Ren don¡¯t jest with our younger sister! If you don¡¯t want to lose then train harder, or I shall finally surpass you!¡± ¡°Oh? Getting cocky their little bro. Remember who whipped you into the shape in the first place! But I''ll welcome a spar anytime!¡± Nena looked back and forth between her brothers, not knowing what to say and feeling at a loss on what to do. Until that is he appeared¡­The man in the scarlet coat. ¡°My, my. Youths are always so hot blooded haha!¡± Everyone at the table quickly turned their attention towards the newcomer. He wore a black eye patch with a complex goldenseal that flickered with a faint glow over his right eye. His left eye color, on the other hand, was almost pure white with a gray tint to it. The man''s face gave off a youthful vibe with a hint of old mixed into it. He wouldn''t be called outright handsome but would grab the attention of those walking down the street. His white hair came down his shoulders in a spiky manner, giving him a messy mannerism. He held a slim, average sized body that managed to give off a sense of power to those that gazed upon him. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Saren stood up in a defensive manner, sensing profound danger, with the rest following his lead. Holding the knives and forks as weapons, the seven siblings were ready to pounce onto the mysterious man. Saren growled, ¡°Who are you¡­¡± The man glanced around at their faces with shock then laughed, ¡°Hu hu hu¡­ HA HA Ha ha ha¡­ you guys are too funny, relax! I don¡¯t mean any harm, so please sit down and I shall introduce myself.¡± He waited for a few seconds but saw no change in the sibling¡¯s demeanor. Clearly, they felt threatened by him, which made him a tad bit angry, ¡°Your uncle said SIT!¡± With an angry glint in his eye, the man glared around the room, causing the siblings to lose control of their bodies and fall into their chairs. Sweat began to pour down their faces from the pressure, and they realized that if this man wanted to kill them, he could do it easily and without batting an eye. Soon enough the siblings stopped struggling, the man waited a bit before opening his mouth, ¡°Say sorry to Uncle and I¡¯ll release you.¡± Begrudgingly, one after another each sibling said sorry, with Saren being the last. Now satisfied, the man in the scarlet coat released the pressure. Smirking a tad, the man sat back with a cup of wine in hand, leisurely taking a sip. Placing the glass on the table in an elegant manner, the strange man opened his mouth, ¡°My name is Raxis V. Borsin, the head engineer, and pioneer of metal maniacs. The ship we¡¯re currently inside was designed and made by me. I just came for a bite to eat and to see what you kiddies were like, you truly didn¡¯t disappoint Haha!¡± Saren couldn¡¯t quite believe this man''s words, there must be something more to his visit, ¡°If that¡¯s all you didn¡¯t need to make such a sudden entrance. You could''ve made a grand entrance or better yet just a normal one so that we wouldn''t be on guard. Instead, you did it to test our reactions, isn¡¯t that right Mr.Rax.¡± Raxis¡¯s eye opened slightly, appraising this youth in front of him and keeping silent as he thought to himself, ¡®Hmmmm~ what a good thinker¡­ As expected of a Puzzle soul, to guess my intentions right from the get-go, he¡¯ll do fine as an apprentice hu hu hu!¡¯ Laughing up a storm, Raxis held his head back before staring at Saren seriously, ¡°Hu hu hu~. You''re an interesting kiddie, Saren. How about becoming this old man''s personal apprentice?¡± Unflinching Saren gave a flat response, ¡°No. ¡°But what I have to offer is¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± Anger started to show on Raxis¡¯s face, ¡°Listen here you brat! I¡­¡± Holding up one of his hands, Saren cut off Raxis, ¡°I wish to become stronger with my own power, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to join you at this time since this is our first meeting. Also, I would have to talk to my Master, Master Mo before I could even consider it. Finally, it is not that don¡¯t respect your power just that it¡¯s too sudden for me to swear to a master I don¡¯t know. Raxis took a quick glance at Saren before silently approving of him with a faint smile, ¡°I see... if at anytime you wish to learn from me, use this command token to contact me. I shall accept you anytime. If you come to the Engineering Mountain and show them that, they¡¯ll know what it means.¡± Without another word Raxis disappeared with blinding speed, leaving the youths, especially Saren, in confusion. Playing over Raxis¡¯s words in his mind, Saren somehow felt that Raxis almost knew he would come find him sooner or later, making him question what made the man so confident. Making him question what made the man so confident he would come. He would have to ask his Master about him but before that... ¡°Enough worrying about that strange man, let¡¯s dig in!¡± The siblings howled in union, ¡°OHHHHH!!!¡± Chapter 6 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - Fate Vince stood in front of the huge dome, studying its appearance. It came across as plain, with the only defining feature being the pitch black exterior and golden door handles. When he reached out for the golden knob a shock came out from the door, making him pull his hand back. He glanced over at Rune, who seemed to have a similar thing happen to her. She braced herself and entered inside with her iconic glaring eyes flashing with a dangerous light. Vince knew he had worried too much about her, but they were connected to each other by more than just a simple sibling bond. She was the key for his repentance for all the evil he had sown. She would be fine, right? Right, she would be fine! Shaking his head, Vince gave a sigh before bracing himself to enter the dome. Once inside, the handles and door sealed shut, disappearing into thin air and making a solid wall that none could pass. It didn¡¯t frighten him in the slightest, as Marley had already told him what they would experience up to this point. Taking a step forward, he persisted on with the determination to finally become stronger for Rune. Instead he became more mystified by the statues of the old gods in front of him that gave off a powerful aura of earth and gravity. The twelve-foot statue on the left had six explosive chiseled arms, each holding Francisca axes. Its back was ramrod straight, and its gaze was warlike in an all inspiring demeanor, looking down at everything beneath him in arrogance. An earthen yellow glow mixed with the statue''s natural aura, the aura of a warrior that had been through countless chaotic and bloody battles. The other statue stood nine feet tall and depicted a devilish woman with two curved horns protruding from the sides of her head, and two demonic wings folded over her slender body. Her enchanting smile added an intoxicating aura to the gray glow that softly flowed off of her. No matter how he gazed at the statues, Vince couldn¡¯t find a hint of imperfection on them. He even felt that they were almost living, breathing creatures. Vince Subconsciously sat cross-legged between the two, attuning himself within the laws of gravity and earth. The natural elements descended upon him, connecting his mind to the statues.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. A sudden tremor of power ran through his body, with the explosive sensation of every fiber of muscle twitching with energy, making his mind reel from the huge shock. Then a burst of warm energy surrounded his soul, making it rise out of his body. Like a beam it shot through a blinding corridor at lightning speeds, only stopping when it eventually reached two majestic doors. On the left was a door made of earthen jade and layered with various sized brown gems, giving off a profound earthly vibe. The door on the right gave off a beautiful golden shine and was layered with brands and formations connected together by chaotic gray diamonds.They were simple in their design, yet the two doors gave off a profound aura, causing Vince¡¯s soul to feel like he was stuck in quicksand. Vince was absolutely stunned, having never imagined this. He stared at the doors, floating in a dazeuntil two voices that shook him to the very core called out. One came thundering out harsh and cold, yet filled with an unshakable arrogance, ¡°COME IN FOOL!¡± The other felt enchanting, painting the most peaceful picture in his mind, ¡°Come in boy fufufu~.¡± The doors opened at the same time, allowing powerful energy to surged forth from within.Then the two voices started bickering in a high-speed babble that Vince couldn¡¯t understand when they noticed the other¡¯s presence. The voices coldly snorted at each other, and soon a blinding light came forth, making him unable to see what was going on. When the light finally dulled, he could see that both the doors were locked together. Both the voices seemed at their wits end as they said, ¡°Come in mortal.¡± Then the doors blew open once more. Vince¡¯s mind went blank. What was happening? Without his control, his soul was pulled inside by an unknown force, with the doors closing behind him. Slowly opening his eyes, Vince came to see figures sitting on black thrones christened with precious earth, and chaotic gems respectably. The twelve foot giant with glowing brown eyes held a deep gaze as steady as steel, ¡°I am Rashaka, a Spirit God of Earth. Why have you come to the ground of exiled gods, Mortal?¡± The Demoness spoke gently, in a tone full of weight that pressed down upon Vince, ¡°I am the Spirit God of Gravity, Reveera. Do tell me why you have come?¡± Vince thought to himself, ¡®Wait it can¡¯t be?!? The old gods!!¡¯ His mind reeled in shock with the forces of a thousand suns, and his thoughts raced wildly until he came to the impossible conclusion that he had somehow come to the land of the old gods! Chapter 6 - Scene 2 Scene 2 - A man never goes back on his word! Collecting his thoughts, Vince stood steady and spoke out forcefully under the immense pressure, ¡°I came to increase my magic capability, or at least that¡¯s what my teacher told me. I never thought I¡¯d meet the old Gods, please excuse my intrusion.¡± Vince bowed slowly and kept his head down; his first master told him that the old Gods were powerful Creatures born from chaotic space! The glorious new gods had driven out the old gods for their evil crimes, or so said the Church of Heavenly Light. Although Vince¡¯s master knew the truth, that the old gods weren¡¯t evil, crazy yes but not evil, and that the new gods, in their endless greed, seized power from the old gods in a cunning plan! Vince¡¯s old Master was one of the few who knew of this information and passed it on to his disciples, long before their separation these ideals had been planted deeply in Vince¡¯s mind so he wasn¡¯t afraid. Reveera stood there with an enchanting smile pointed at Vince, ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s been a thousand years since I last saw a mortal with such talent.¡± Reveera scanned Vince''s body and could feel his attunement with gravity, the highest level she had ever seen in a human. He was the perfect apostle for her to use, only there was one problem that came to mind. She saw a shadow of death over his soul that seemed to tie his destiny together with an omen of death. With a simple movement of her hands, sporadic lines of memory flickered into reality, all streaming from Vince''s soul. She carefully picked through his river of memories, trying to figure out what made him tick and what tied him to death. After a few moments of searching, she frowned, ¡°Why protect a girl who will kill you eventually? Even to go so far as to place a one-way soul bond between her and you?¡± Vince¡¯s face turned dark. Filled with bitterness, he cursed inwardly, ¡®Damn god why must she pick though my memories!¡¯ He looked her straight in the eyes, speaking in a calm voice and smirking with a fierce expression, ¡°That is none of your concern!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I shall shatter your magic and make you a cripple!¡± Vince was overcome by shock. He knew the gods were crazy, but not this crazy! It seemed the rumors were rather undersold to the actual reality... Seething in anger he shouted, ¡°If you can read my memories why must I tell you!¡± Reveera¡¯s enchanting voice filled the air with a demonic aura, ¡°I can only see parts and hints of your memory, the deeper meaning of it is shrouded in self-hatred that I can¡¯t see, though. If you don¡¯t give me a satisfying response I shall shatter your magic!¡± Vince¡¯s body shuddered all over as he glanced over at Rashaka in the hopes he would interfere. Rashaka stayed silent as a rock, clearly keeping out of Reveera¡¯s way. In the back of his mind, he also wanted to know why this mortal had this ¡®shadow¡¯. With no choice, Vince grit his teeth and roared, ¡°It was my own and my father''s wish! I shall carry it out until the day I die, or may my soul be shattered by the heavens!¡± Chuckling coldly, Reveera became intoxicated with how stupid this mortal was, ¡°Even when it was your father and clansmen that killed her entire clan!¡± Vince nodded in determination, ¡°Even if it takes ten thousand years, I shall repay the debt that I owe her! Even if it kills me and shatters my soul, I shall not stray away from my path!¡±Stolen novel; please report. Reveera shook her head, filled with misgivings, ¡°The path you are following will lead to your own death. It¡¯s such a pity for your talent to be wasted, won¡¯t you reconsider?¡± Vince stared daggers at the goddess and shook his head, ¡°A man should never go back on his word even if it will lead to his death, or he is no man at all!¡± Reveera outright laughed in Vince¡¯s face, ¡°Haha¡­ Mortals are such fools to tread the path of destruction knowingly. Fine! I shall bestow upon you a unique magic! I brand you with <=One Thousand Eyes of Locking=>!¡± With a flick of her wrist, Reveera sent out a Gray orb of energy that in a flash directly entered Vince¡¯s mind. A roaring flood of information accompanied by intense pain that turned his skin pale and caused his black eyes to glow and gray hair to turn steel silver filled his mind. Roaring with pain, Vince fell to his knees as the information was branded into his very soul. His body convulsed for a good half hour before he shakily stood up in a cold sweat with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes. Rashaka nodded slowly and sent a ball of yellow energy into the terrified Vince, ¡°I, the God of Earth, shall bestow upon you¡­ <=The world of Gaia=>!¡± The tearing pain wracked his body again as the new information branded to his soul. After two hours passed, Vince stood up with his face covered in both joy and fear. It seemed a change was occurring to his soul like another gateway had opened upon him. A cool essence filled every inch of his body, turning his hair ocean blue and his eyes the color of the sky. It seemed as if he had gained another element, that of water. Reveera¡¯s eyes gleamed, ¡°Oh? Gaining another element? What a freak of nature you are becoming, Mortal! Haha! But now that our Magic has been branded into your soul, we have one favor to ask of you.¡± Vince instantly went on guard, he didn¡¯t want to fall into some trap laid by these crafty old gods, ¡°What is it you need? If it¡¯s within my ability, I shall see what I can do.¡± Rakshka¡¯s expression grew solemn as she spoke in a grim tone, ¡°We used to be the gods of this world before the humans became too strong and overthrew us. They killed many of our brothers and sisters and killed most of our worshippers. Now we can only exist in this accursed sub-plane. We only ask that if you grow powerful enough, you will help us out and fight with us against the humans that proclaimed themselves gods.¡± Vince was about to speak up, yet Reveera cut in, ¡°We are not demanding your help just because we branded you with magic, it was just a favor we hoped you could do for us.¡± He thought for a while and wearily shook his head, ¡°I thank the wise old gods for the gifts you have given me and if my power grows strong enough I shall try to aid you in your fight. After all, where were the new gods while the people were suffering so much? Where were they when my mother died? Stuck in the heavens mocking us mortals, no doubt.¡± Rakshka let out a small smile while Raveera grinned and bowed her head a tad, ¡°Thank you mortal. We can only give you these two magical gifts otherwise your soul, at its current level, would explode. We shall leave. Don¡¯t waste a moment being idle and begin training by gathering the elemental energy in this space. Time runs faster here than the outside world and you only have three days here at your current level before the laws here would consume your body. The good news is twelve hours here is equal to an hour in your world, meaning you have a total of 864 hours. Use them well.¡± With a wave of their hands, the old gods disappeared from Vince''s sight. Surrounded by the dense elemental energy he was most suited to absorb, Vince didn''t waste a moment. Sitting cross-legged, he began to gather the energy into his body, purifying it in the process. Half of his body was filling with Earth Magic and simultaneously the other half filled with Gravity. It didn¡¯t take much effort to gather and refine elemental energy with Vince¡¯s level of affinity. Eventually, his mind began to wander and he thought about Rune, ¡®Rune¡­ I know what my family did was wrong. Even if we were feed misinformation, we handled it poorly. My father even expressed how we got the information reports from our scouts was weird. Almost like we were duped ¡­ Even if you should find out what my family did, I don¡¯t mind giving you my life to atone for the sins we have committed. We may have locked away your memory to protect you from all the scars, but I shall always remember the day I saw you smiling in the field of water lotuses. If the day shall come and you remember me¡­ I shall be ready.¡± Vince closed his eyes and smiled as he thought about the memories of the past, wishing to change what happened. Chapter 6 - Scene 3 Scene 3 - Destiny After a shock, Rune entered the dome with a glare, already displeased by the pain. Despite that she pushed opened the door with a grin and rushed inside headfirst, confident that she would crush this trial since Marley had already given them the rundown on what to do. When she entered the dome, the door behind her sealed shut but Rune didn¡¯t notice at all. A wave of heat and the smell of rotting roses filled her senses. It came in waves, one after another, making her sweat with a sense of nausea. For a few agonizing moments, her thought process was overpowered until her senses distorted and the horrible sensation was replaced by the feeling of a warm blanket melding into her body. Rune calmed down and subconsciously sat in a lotus position before two statues. The fiery heat and evil green energy danced excitedly around Rune in waves with a tempo, raising high and low to form a tornado of scarlet red and evil green. The statues seemed to stir with Rune¡¯s provocation of the surrounding energy; and began to flash a faint pulse of light, growing brighter at every pulse. Pressure began to emanate off of them, which seemed to calm the chaotic magical power and caused Rune, in her trance-like state, to gaze at the two. One was a thirty-foot tall statue depicting an enormously huge serpent with scaled wings stretched outwards. It''s two jade green eyes shined with ancientness as they stared into her soul. Strangely, the poisonous aura the statue gave off began to condense and bloom around her, becoming decayed roses. The other statue was that of a five-foot statue of a skinny boy. A long red jade horn protruded from his forehead, and his pupils came to be strangely square. Flames condensed around her in the images of lotuses dancing around the wind burning brightly. Sitting between the two, Rune slowly connected to the energy being emitted from them and her mind eventually fell into the same realm Vince did. Two doors appeared, one covered in various carvings of majestic pure jade green snakes; the other made of fire opal and other various precious stones filled with heat. Bickering could be heard as soon as the doors opened, a showdown of fierce high-speed arguing that lasted for a good five minutes before settling down. A beast-like voice resounded in Rune¡¯s ears, ¡°Come in child,I, Imoogi, the god of Poison shall bestow upon you mortal my magic.¡± A cold snort could be heard from behind the fire opal door, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that old fart of a snake! Come hither and receive my blessings from me! Enya, the God of Fire!¡± Imoogi growled out in a beastal roar, ¡°How dare you, flame midget! This apostle is mine! I haven¡¯t seen a Poison Genius in three thousand years!¡± They rattled back and forth until Rune grew sick of it and said, ¡°Can¡¯t I just accept both of your magics?¡± The two grew silent for a while until Imoogi spoke up, ¡°As long as the midget agrees to it then I shall.¡± Enya snorted, ¡°Humph, you don¡¯t think I dare to agree? Humph, I agree! I grow tired of this argument!¡± Rune¡¯s mind spun. Were the old god''s children? How were they evil if this is the way they acted? Soon the doors entwined together, half jade green and half fire opal. Rune slowly floated inside the doors to see a giant snake three hundred meters long and a flaming youth having a staring contest to the death, with flame and poison flying like sparks.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Rune fell to her knees from the crushing pressure of the two unconsciously gave off. Seeing this, they retracted their auras, allowing her to stand. She fumbled the words inside her head before finally speaking, ¡°I came here to absorb elemental magical energy, so why did I come to this strange place?¡± Imoogi spoke, his speech thick with the beast tongue, ¡°Normally, if anyone cultivated under our statutes they would gain the energy surrounding them. Unless they were at the Genius level of talent, they would never see us.¡± Enya and Imoogi tried to scan over Rune¡¯s memories to no avail, a thick steel wall covered her mind making them unable to penetrate it. A weird expression covered Enya¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Do you remember your past?¡± Rune shook her head side to side, ¡°I only remember as far as wandering outside my mother¡¯s house, nothing else.¡± Enya sighed. How could he not know? Someone had created a spell to seal away her memories, but this only made him slightly more interested in the puny mortal. He wanted to see what was so important to seal her memories away. Just as he was about to undo the spell with ease, a mental message was sent to him by Reveera through a network of mental manipulation, ¡®Do not remove that block.¡¯ Enya, in shock, replied, ¡®Why?¡¯ Reveera quickly replied with a slight hint of sarcasm, ¡®If you do she will kill her older brother and I¡¯ll cut off your little member. Again. I wouldn¡¯t normally be wasting the favor you owe me on such a simple matter, yet the boy over here has a great shadow of death over his head tied to her. He¡¯s a dual Genius as well, making this just too good to pass up; just consider this the favor that you owed me now repaid in full, also tell that old fart of a snake to stand down or I¡¯ll clip his wings. Again.¡¯ Enya¡¯s face paled and he readily agreed, telling Imoogi to follow her orders. It took a bit of time to describe, but this conversation only lasted for an instant between the three gods. With a smile, Enya gathered a red ball of energy above his finger and sent it straight towards the scared witless Rune¡¯s head, ¡°I shall grant you with my cultivation magic <=Nine Heavenly Flames of the Void=>!¡± Even if the wall could seal away the memories of old; it would not infringe on new memories coming inside. Rune¡¯s mind reeled and she fell to the ground as information flooded within. She clenched her teeth, trying her best to withstand the impact. She convulsed for twenty minutes before she stood up with much difficulty, paled faced and glaring at Enya. After the branding was complete she opened her mouth, about to say some frightful things to the old god when suddenly a ball of purple energy shot inside of her head as Imoogi roared, ¡°My magic brings only death so use it wisely! This magic allows you to cultivate your own poison within your body; I call it <=Hell''s Poison transformations=>!¡± Rune trembled nonstop as information once again filled her mind. Suddenly she felt a crack inside her mind, a crack that let her peer upon the memory of a garden filled to the brim with water lotuses. It was so beautiful that tears began to flow down her tender cheeks as her body continued to convulse. Suddenly four adult figures walked towards her within the memory with a small boy in the middle of their group. She couldn''t see their faces but she saw him shyly raise his hand out towards her. As she reached out to grab his hand the image suddenly cut into black. She slowly opened her eyes to the see the gods looking at her strangely, for she was gasping for air as tears stained her cheeks. Rune frowned, thinking deeply, ¡®What was that? A memory? A dream? No, what was it? Why can¡¯t I shake this feeling that¡­ I want to kill that boy. Why? What did he do?¡¯ Wiping her cheeks, Rune bowed to the gods while biting her underlip, her mind in a haze she only heard the gods rambling something about her helping them in their time of need. She nodded absentmindedly to the gods and thanked them, after which the two gods left, leaving her with the same words that Vince had received. Her soul shot back into her body and she lied on her back, staring into an infinity of Green and Red, ¡°Who is that boy I¡¯m meant to kill? I wonder¡­ If elder brother would help me track him down for answers?¡± Chapter 6 - Scene 4A, 4B, 5 Scene 4A - Entwined Destiny Returning back to his body, Vince sat emotionlessly between the two statues. He was staring at the sky where earthen energy and gray energy mixed together in a soothing pace. He didn¡¯t immediately start cultivating, and instead thought about Rune. He swore at Reveera inside his heart, ¡®What''s wrong with wishing for that the girl I love to live and in doing so condemn me to die?¡¯ He punched the ground in helpless anger, knowing that one day after traveling far enough along her path, she would break the shackles on placed on her memories and slaughter him in body and soul. Would he truly be ready to die to set her free and let her live as she wished? Anger kept bubbling up within him, filling every inch of his skin as the magic around him began to tremble and distort under his wrath. Raising his head towards the sky he yelled with all his might towards the heavens, ¡°You die, I die! I die, You Live!¡± He would follow this path to the very end, even when he knew that death would ensue! The Gravity mana shuddered and the Earth mana trembled with the force of an earthquake, approving of his resolve. In the wake of his wrath the energy of Earth and Gravity entered inside of his body like a vortex, invading every pore of his body and throwing him into a trace that caused shocking transformations. Scene 4B - Entwined Destiny Rune had a question on her mind while the tornado of scarlet red and evil green filled with the powers of destruction and devouring spun faster around her as her thoughts quickened around a single complex thought. If she should ever meet this ¡®boy¡¯ would she kill him? Spare him? Or could she perhaps forget about that single thought and live on together with her family? The violent tornado came to a standstill for a moment as hesitation appeared in her mind, yet an unrelenting anger consumed her thoughts, her very being swallowed within fragmented words appearing distorted in her mind, ¡°Kill¡­ Revenge¡­ Father¡­ Mother¡­ Grandpa¡­¡± The scarlet and evil energy darkened to a deeper shade, becoming more profound as it tightened, coiling around her body in a slow twister.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then all hell broke loose as the unknown bottled up rage inside her exploded, making all the energy lash out in all directions as her nails bit into her palms until blood flowed. ¡°I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE! I SHALL FIND MY DEMONS. MY MEMORIES. AND SLAUGHTER EVERYTHING IN MY PATH FOR VENGEANCE!¡± Rune¡¯s green eyes flashed with sparks of evil energy as her natural glare turned demonic. The energy that had blown out in all directions instantly rushed back in worship over their overlord queen, pouring into her pores from all directions. Standing ramrod straight, Rune began her cultivation of fire and poison. Scene 5 - Path The four gods watched on as the two mortals suddenly caused the magical energy to lash out, one in a torrent of anger and the other rumbling with true selflessness, before falling into a deep trance. One followed the path of death, and the other traveled the path of wrath. Rashaka sighed, ¡°As expected, these would be their ¡®paths¡¯. Alas, no matter what I foresee, that mortal will die by her hands. What a pity¡­¡± Imoogi evil eyes flickered with coldness, ¡°Humph. If he dies, he dies! That Rune girl will advance much faster than him; her path is filled with the destruction of an asura! Countless souls will fall to her on her journey to becoming stronger!¡± For once, the child-like Enya agreed with the old fart of a snake, ¡°Although I hate to admit it, someone, that travels the path of the asura will always become strong. The mortal that travels the path of sacrifice shall most certainly die!¡± Holding her chin, Reveera smiled demonically, ¡°I wonder about that¡­ Remember Demon Prince Yao? He also traveled the path of sacrifice and became a legend. Perhaps this youth might overcome his ordeal of certain death.¡± Shock registered over the faces of the other three gods. After being together with Reveera for so long, they knew she always went straight to the worst-case scenario. That was how she lived in that great war all those years ago! For her to have a hopeful feeling about a mere mortal that wanted the woman he loved to kill him made them gasp in disbelief! Turning to Reveera, Rashaka looked her in the eye, ¡°Elder Sister, the chances of him becoming another Demon Prince Yao is extremely rare; among all the races it hasn''t happened since. It''s hopeless!¡± Reveera smiled mysteriously at her younger brother before walked forward to overlook Vince, ¡°We shall see¡­ I saw his future before and it resembled a single speck of light traversing a black sea. I¡¯d like to see how far he goes¡­¡± Chapter 7 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - Fleeting Glimpse Darkness that consumed all light... Nena weightlessly drifted through the void. Coldness burrowed inside her bones as her sense of touch seemed to be the only feeling that assured her that she was alive. She huddled into a tight ball, clutching her legs to her stomach. The small girl cried out in the echoing space, ¡°Elder Brothers¡­ Elder Sisters¡­ Mother¡­ Why am I here again? I don¡¯t like the dark place. Is anyone here? I don¡¯t want to be in the dark place again¡­ Someone save me¡­¡± As if answering her pleas, a door made of stardust and green jade appeared in front of her. Without much thought, Nena floated towards the door with her left hand reaching out for the handle. She slowly opened the door only to be blinded by a light that blasted away the frigid darkness. Using her other hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light, Nena let go of the door handle and fell back on her bum. ¡®Ground? But I was just floating? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Nena slowly opened her crystal blue eyes, allowing them to adjust to the brightened world around her. She sat on top of a fractured mountain peak full of ravines and fractures that seemed to stretch endlessly, deep into the earth. The sun hung high in the sky with the clouds slowly being pushed by the gentle breeze around her. Wild plants and magical herbs grew around her on the peak, where hundreds of Earth Shark corpses lay impaled, cut to shreds, frozen solid, burning brightly, rotting to mere bones, or just crushed into blood pools. Nena stood in a daze and wondered who could have caused such destruction in such magnitude. In front of her, two dark indistinguishable figures stood, one starring with murderous intent as high as the heavens while the other stood with bitterness, smiling at its misfortune. The figure raised its arms, apparently ready to receive the other shadow¡¯s resentment and anger without a hint of trying to defend itself.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Nena watched on as the furious figure moved forward and blasted the bitter figure¡¯s guts apart, making a hole straight through the other¡¯s stomach before the figure, on its own accord, fell off the cliff behind it. Her heart, for some unknown reason, felt like it was tearing itself apart. She tried to move without avail and could only howl in unspeakable pain, ¡°NOOOOOOOOO!!!¡± Off in the distance, Nana could hear a voice, ¡°...wake up... Nena.... wake up. WAKE UP, NENA!¡± Shaken awake, Nena jolted out of her nightmare and sat up on her bed, hugging the person closest to her, Xue, while the rest of her siblings surrounded her. Burying her head into Xue¡¯s clothes, Nena started crying her eyes out. She hugged Xue with all her strength as she tried to forget the nightmare and make sure that what she felt was really real. Petting her sister¡¯s back, Xue placed her chin on Nena¡¯s head and allowed her to get everything out, ¡°It¡¯s all right Nena, it was just a nightmare. Your big brothers and sisters are here for you, so will you tell us what happened?¡± Nena froze, still as stone. She couldn''t¡­ She couldn¡¯t remember what the dream pertained to, she tried her hardest to remember, but the memories floated away despite her best efforts. Still attached to Xue¡¯s robe, Nena stared up towards her big sister and tried to voice her words, ¡°I don¡¯t remember it¡­ I can¡¯t remember the nightmare, big sis¡­¡± The siblings stood there, unsure what to do until Luna started moving her bed next to Nena¡¯s and declared, ¡°If you¡¯re scared then I¡¯ll sleep with you, little sis! Xue! Len! Get your beds over here!¡± Sighing, Saren and Sol moved along and grabbed Xue¡¯s bed, connecting it together with Nena¡¯s, while Ren and Len grabbed Len¡¯s bed and moved it over as well. Now that the beds were connected, Luna gave a thumbs up and asked the puzzled Nena, ¡°If you''re scared, then when you dream I¡¯ll fight off your nightmares like a big sister should!¡± Moving forward, Len grabbed Nena¡¯s hand and nodded furiously, ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ Go to sleep together¡­¡± Using her sleeve to wipe away Nena¡¯s tears, Xue smiled at her sister, ¡°We¡¯re here for you little sis, so let¡¯s go back to sleep ok?¡± Nena held back her tears and nodded, putting up a strong front, and let go of Xue¡¯s robe before huddling into her blankets. Len, Xue, Luna talked together for quite a bit before falling asleep. As Nena drifted off to sleep, she quietly whispered, ¡±Thank you elder brothers and sisters¡­I¡¯m so lucky to have all of you...¡± Chapter 7 - Scene 2 Scene 2 - Splitting up In the morning, Marley came walking through the halls, leading an entourage of black-robed men and women towards the sibling¡¯s room. Loudly opening the door, Marley gazed around at the still snoring siblings. Despite them sleeping all the way till noon, their bodies were actually getting refined by the energy they absorbed the other day. Before they left, Master Mo told them that tomorrow would be their rest day since their bodies needed to slowly attune with the world qi in order to have a stronger base. After breaking through the Heavenly body refinement stage, one would not have to worry about any damages in training for long periods of time until hunger and thirst set in. Today the siblings could explore the ship to their heart''s content, which is why a dozen or so black-robed men and women were following behind Marley: to be their guides as they walked around. Slightly tilting her head, Marley wondered why all the girls were sleeping together, but she didn¡¯t ask any questions and awoke the siblings from their slumber, ¡°Wake up my cute juniors! Your escorts have arrived and you¡¯ve five minutes to get dressed or your elder sister is going to beat your bottoms black and blue!¡± Saren was the first one to get dressed and exit the room, his eyes borderline cold, ¡°Where are Elder brother Vince and Elder sister Rune? Why didn¡¯t they return last night?¡± Marley gave a chuckle as she petted Saren''s head, ¡°Oh what a worry wart my dear junior brother is. Don''t worry, they are cultivating inside the west wing and if you wish to see them you can. Although it¡¯ll take two days for them to exit, so you''ll have to wait outside or waste time in the library in the meantime.¡± Saren thought for a moment, tempted to go straight to the library, but choose to first see how his elder brother and sister were doing, ¡°I wish to see where they are before I head off to the Library.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Marley nodded gently and gestured to her side, ¡°These two will be your guides, use them how you see fit but be warned that their cultivation bases are higher than yours. They can easily beat some sense into you, so treat them well!¡± Saren gave a few words of warning to his siblings, asking them to not get into trouble, then he turned around and quickly left, led by the black robed man and woman. Marley watched him fade into the distance before facing the remaining siblings and gave them a big smile, Marley placed her hand under her chin, ¡°Now¡­ Where do my other cute juniors wish to go?¡± Ren showed a serious glint in his eye, making Marley tense up slightly, ¡®What could be so serious? It¡¯s as if he¡¯s putting his life on the line!¡¯ Bowing deeply, Ren asked in a loud and serious manner that made the room grow heavy, ¡°I wish to visit the wine distillery that brother Fatty mentioned when we were drinking fine wine, senior-apprentice sister!¡± Marley listened seriously to her junior, only to cuff him upside the head and laugh it off, ¡°That¡¯s it? Why are you so serious in asking to visit the winery? These two will be your guides, so go on. I¡¯m sure you and Elder Absinthe will be kindred spirits.¡± Rubbing his head, Ren gave a boyish grin and chuckled as he walked together with the two escorts. Despite being hit by his senior apprentice sister, his thirst wouldn¡¯t be extinguished easily, after all¡­ There was fine wine to be had, just waiting to be tasted by him! Len and Nena walked forward, and Len shyly beat around the bush so Nena had to say that they wanted to go up to the bridge, wishing to see the sky sea. The two walked away led by four escorts, with Nena excitedly skipping along while pulling on Len''s hand. The twins had a mischievous glint in their eyes that went unnoticed by Marley, ¡°We¡¯re heading to the kitchen for a snack!¡± With their departure, Xue and Marley were left in the hallway with two silent escorts. An awkward silence filled the air between the two as Xue fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to say to her senior apprentice sister. Marley moved forward, grabbing Xue¡¯s hands and staring directly into her eyes, ¡°Whatcha thinking about, my cute junior? Come on, I¡¯ll show you something that will make you happy!¡± Ignoring the small protest Xue made, Marley dismissed the two escorts and dragged Xue down the hallway. Chapter 7 - Scene 3A Scene 3A - 3rd Stage Core Formation Twelve days passed in a blink of an eye. The energy surrounding the cross-legged Vince had settled down, swirling around his body and forming various complex shapes of mixed bands of brown and gray. Shockingly, Vince hadn¡¯t moved even an inch from this position, totally immersed in his path of sacrifice.But a twitch came from his hand that dispersed the mana around him, and he slowly opened his dark brown eyes that flashed a warm brown and a heavy gray respectively. Placing one hand on his knee, Vince got to his feet and clenched both of his hands, stretching to the sky, before rotating his magical energy through his body. A wave of shock washed over him, causing him to fall to the floor. His mind simply couldn¡¯t register his current realm, ¡®3rd Stage Core Formation?!? How long have I been meditating, months?!¡¯This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Usually, to reach 3rd Stage Core Formation, it would take months without medical pills, treasured rooms or external assistance. As expected this room is indeed a great place for training! ¡®With this type of environment, I should make the best of my time to gather and refine mana! Then I can become strong enough to take on all my sibling''s burdens!¡¯ Sitting up again, he sent some mana into his ring and pulled out the earth and gravity magic books his master had given him, beginning to read in earnest. With the amount of mana he had, it would be easy to use a simple spell formation¡­ He started with the Gravity book firstand started reading the chapters while absorbing vasts amounts of mana into his daintain. His first master told him that even if his body grows stronger, his mind needed to grow as well in order to progress farther down the chosen path of enlightenment! With these thoughts filling his mind, Vince hoped to be able to cast some complex spells before leaving in order to better arm himself for the future. He wouldn¡¯t allow himself a single break from now till then, he would strive for enlightenment! Chapter 7 - Scene 3B Scene 3b - 3rd Stage Core formation Rune floated a few inches above the ground with her eyes closed, hiding the demonic gaze that distracted from her angelic face. You would never have guessed that just hours ago she was still screaming to the heavens in anger as the mana of fire and poison surrounding her exploded with a rage that could never be erased, only sated by revenge. Suddenly, Rune''s hands twitched open and closed, creating ominous cracking sounds. Her eyes slowly opened as she floated gracefully to the floor, staring at the mix of fire and poison mana around her. Shifting her left hand, she pointed to the sky and started drawing lilies with the mana around her, trying hard to remember the memory she had seen. The memory came as a vague shroud filled with clutter that covered all the details except for the water lilies that matched her bangle. Her thoughts wandered as she remembered that distant night. The silver moonlight had caused Vince to shine like a prince as he leaned close to her, his black hair covering his eyes whispering, "Keep it safe." In the next moment, he had run away like a rogue, leaving her stunned her face lit up bright red. She always wondered why he had given it to her. Though it didn¡¯t matter, as it came from the boy who had snuck straight into her heart inch by inch and firmly planted himself within.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With a scowl, she erased the water lilies in front of her and pulled out a huge pillow from her ring. As she hugged it, her mood soured from the fact that no matter what she did Vince never made a move on her, even though she knew he was interested in her. He would always pull back at the last second, the last moment when they were about to cross the line. It annoyed her that he always became distant when things became too heated, quickly leaving the scene by fleeing to the slums for days on end without telling her where he went. It made her worry so much that she stopped trying to advance and stay as what they were now. Siblings in name but not by blood, was it because he thought of her just a younger sister and not a woman that he acted in this way? She was too afraid to ask for the answers she sought. For hours she thought about Vince, the elusive memory, and everything that had happened in such a short span of time. Growing exhausted from over thinking things, she sat up while holding the pillow and pulled out her books about fire and poison. The point that seemed to make the most sense in solving these problems was to become stronger. Following her gut, Rune started rotating her mana around to find three orbs mixed in a haze of red and green orbiting inside her upper dantian, with the rest of the space filled with red and green gas. ¡®It¡¯s a start¡­ but I can do better!¡¯, Rune didn¡¯t think this was enough, with only three cores she had a long way to go before she considered herself strong. In the same way as Vince with the exception of the pillow, Rune began to absorb vasts amounts of mana from the air as she read. She threw herself into the path of an asura, leaving all distracting thoughts in the back of her mind and only thinking of becoming stronger. Side Story 001 + Update on things GOOD THINGS Side story 001 - Twin Misadventures The twins walked along the various hallways to the third floor with a mischievous glint in their eyes. The guards silently led the way to the kitchen, unaware of the terror the twins were about to unleash upon it. As the twins closed in upon the kitchen like wolves nearing a chicken den, mouth-watering scents wafted through the air towards them, causing the guards to unknowingly quicken their pace. When the door with a large bronze sign reading ''Kitchen'' upon it appeared, they rushed inside with their stomachs growling fiercely. A loud feminine voice resounded around the four hungry people, locking them in place, ¡°Hon, I''m almost done making the Captain''s lunch, so go entertain our guests for a bit.¡± Hon gazed at the four who had lost all reason and only wished to devour the source of the delicious scent, ¡°As you wish, Milady! Air expel!¡± A youth entered their line of sight and threw a talisman in the center of the twin¡¯s group. As soon as it touched the floor, the talisman broke in half, causing a large air bubble to form around them, blocking the delicious scent that caused them to lose their sanity. The boy moved gracefully and quickly hit various pressure points on the four, removing the senseless madness that ruled their minds. After clearing up the greedy look in their eyes, Hon turned around and yelled at another teen in the room, ¡°Lao Shin, it was your turn to renew the formation, how dare you slack off! I shall punish you later!¡± A smaller boy dressed in kitchen robes stood with a pale face, shaking furiously. Getting on his knees, Lao Shin began to beg Hon for leniency, but Hon only gave him a cold stare then went back to working on dispelling the food¡¯s scent from the four. Pink steam rolled off the twins and their guides, filling the bubble around them, as Hon pulled out a small bottle from his sleeves and mouthed a single word, "Consume!"This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The pink mist surged towards the small bottle, vanishing inside and clearing the air within the bubble. With their minds cleared and the pink mist was gone, the twins could clearly see Hon''s features as he snapped his fingers to close the bottle and pop the bubble. His gold cat-like eyes screamed predator as his wild short orange hair hung messily around his face, his fluffy tiger striped ears and tail twitched freely through the air. Returning to their senses the twins were shocked, they had never seen a demi-human before! Hon stood there expressionlessly opening his mouth, ¡°Why are you in the Mistress¡¯s kitchen? Explain before I call the discipline squad.¡± Shocking the two twins, the two black-robed men suddenly got on one knee and clasped their hands, ¡°We pay respects to the Mistress! Sorry to intrude, but two of the promising youths Master Mo found came to visit the kitchen! Please pardon our intrusion and forgive us for losing ourselves!¡± Standing there, the boy called Hon gazed coldly at the two black-robed men before moving his death glare over to the twins, making their spines shiver. ¡°Oh, two of the brats that old fart Mo brought in? What do you want? To eat? Wait until lunch you gluttons! You little brats eat more than a team of veteran warriors that starved for a week! Whatever, Lao Shin! You take this meal to Elder brother Sky Wind and if you screw up I¡¯ll chop off your member!¡± A woman walked forward and gave Lao Shin a large tray of food, making sure he scurried off before facing the twins. The woman wore what seemed like a hybrid of cooking and Taoist robes, and her sunshine colored hair hung over her shoulder in a braid. Bright blue flowers were woven into her bangs, and her emerald green eyes gleamed with a pleasant shine. She was an absolutely stunning beauty that made even the hardened black-robed man and woman blush, with the cross scar on her cheek only adding a wild charm to her haughty demeanor. Her sleeves were rolled up as she stood proudly, facing the twins in an awe-inspiring stance, ¡°State your business you brats, before I have Hon here boot you out! I already have my hands full, so I have no time to babysit the two of you!" The two wiped the drool from their mouths and clasped their hands, bowing as they discarded all evil intentions of raiding the kitchen for snacks, ¡°We wish to learn how to cook!¡± Side Story 002 Side Story 002 - Fine Wine Maker Ren was surprised to find out that the people leading him were Fatty and Skinny! Showing a surprised expression Ren slightly raised his voice, ¡°Didn¡¯t you have three more days in the hold until you could leave, Fatty?!¡± Slightly coughing, Fatty¡¯s face was red with embarrassment, ¡°Wine Elder Absinthe came and spoke on my behalf. My sentence got shortened by half and I was allowed to eat, meaning I didn¡¯t lose a pound!¡± Fatty¡¯s embarrassment over the matter soon turned to pride. Skinny smacked his forehead and thought to himself, ¡®Only this idiot would be proud of his fatness.¡¯ Ren''s lips twitched as he resisted the urge to laugh, following his two guides as they proceeded towards a tightly sealed doorway. An organic red eye appeared on the door''s surface and moved about eerily before staring at the three. Creeped out, Ren stepped back and went on guard as Skinny laughed and took out a small yellow card and held it up to the eye. Fatty glanced back at freaked out Ren and laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry your head boy! Though you better be able to hold your booze!¡± The eye focused on the card and shot out of the door with a sickening pop. Skinny hurriedly yanked his hand away as a line quickly split the eye in half and revealed razor sharp teeth that immediately sank into the yellow card and the place where Skinny''s hand once was. The card vanished into the eye''s slobbering mouth and crunching sounds were heard as the eye''s iris changed from red to green. Moments later the card shot out of the eye''s mouth and towards Skinny, who luckily caught it before it slammed into him. The eye gave an unsatisfied growl but sank back into the door, quickly vanishing. As the eye faded into the door, a click sounded and the door slid into the walls, releasing a mostly green gas that covered the three before they could react. The intoxicating smell of licorice with a rich assortment of herbs and spices swarmed Ren¡¯s senses, making his mind turn sluggish as an instant buzz hit. Various tools and strange objects littered the room, and colorful flames lit up ten large metal barrels branded with formations that lined the sides of the room, each with twelve orange-robed youths sitting crossed legged and eyes closed before them. The orange clothed youths let off streams of Qi from their bodies, feeding the flames that spanned the colors of a rainbow underneath the barrels. At the other end of the large room was a massive barrel five times the size of the others. A prayer mat floated silently before the massive barrel, and the man upon the mat channeled a steady stream of green flames shaped like fairies towards the large barrel in the effort to create a masterpiece. Fatty pulled an amber leaf out of his bag and handed it to Ren, ¡°Place this upon your forehead or else you might die from the high amounts of alcohol content in the air.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ren didn¡¯t hesitate to place the leaf on his forehead, instantly removing the buzz that made him smile like a fool and made his vision a slight blur. Now clear-headed, Ren turned towards Fatty, ¡°Is that Elder Absinthe?¡± Fatty nodded deeply, ¡°Yes, that is my master! Don¡¯t speak loudly and wait for him to finish brewing, or master will beat all of us senseless!¡± The man seemed middle aged, wore a black and green Taoist robe, and his long, slender black hair came over his shoulder. His face was a pale color of devilish white, and he was handsome to the extreme. Elder Absinthe''s figure could only be called sickly, and if not of the large amounts of life force pouring out of him with every movement he made, he might''ve given off the feeling that he could drop dead at any moment. As if hearing Fatty''s words, Elder Absinthe opened his right eye, revealing a crystal blue iris lined with gold, and stared straight at Ren. A shadow seemed to appear over the man before reaching out and pulling itself free without much difficulty. It quickly gained the Elder''s features, and soon the only difference between the two were the switched colors upon the clone''s robe. With a smile on his face, the clone drifted down in a seemingly slow manner and landed before the startled Ren. Ren found himself locked in a space filled with a dense alcohol mist, unable to move any part of his body. The smiling clone before him placed its hand upon its chin, not making a sound as it observed him. Somewhat frightened and with no clue what the Elder wanted, Ren watched in fear as the clone pulled a long and wide stick from its bag of holding and began poking his body in various places with it for around the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. The clone smiled, seemingly satisfied, and released Ren, allowing him to move once more. He then turned around and made a motion with his hand, encouraging the three to follow him. Ren, who had a slightly pale expression, turned to Fatty, ¡°What was that about? What did the Elder do to me?¡± Fatty placed a hand on Ren¡¯s back and laughed, ¡°It seems Master took a liking to you, haha! This is good fortune for you, little Apprentice brother. Come! Let us make haste, we can¡¯t keep my master waiting!¡± Skinny nodded his head and agreed, following behind his master. Ren hesitated for only a moment before firmly planting his foot forward and walking towards the side room that the other three entered. The room came off as plain, simple, and refreshing to Ren. Elder Absinthe¡¯s clone sat at the head of the table with Fatty and Skinny flanking his sides, sitting on prayer mats in the lotus position. The clone motioned for Ren to sit at the other end of the table, and Ren sat down, silently waiting for some form of explanation. Yet the clone didn''t say a word and instead stared intently at Ren, making the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He took so long that Ren couldn¡¯t take it anymore and bowed his head, almost slamming it into the table, ¡°Great Elder Absinthe, after hearing that you make the best wine in the entire sect from Elder Apprentice Brother Fatty, I couldn''t resist coming over in the hopes of tasting some!¡± Apparently awoken from his thoughts, Elder Absinthe¡¯s clone gazed blankly at Ren for a moment before he held his side and laughed like a roaring dragon, shaking the room slightly, ¡°GAHAHAHA! I expected nothing less from a sword soul! Actually, I was thinking of what alcohol to give you as a gift, my new disciple!¡± Ren stared in shock at Elder Absinthe, ¡°Disciple?!¡± Backdrop information: "A good absinthe will have a licorice flavor from green anise, and if that''s not your thing, well, I understand. But a really good absinthe will carry other herbal flavors as well, balanced with the anise, resulting in a bittersweet spirit tasting of licorice and herbs." info from Jay-Senpai (A stupid duck that thinks it¡¯s a platypus and inhabits the RRL Chatroom) Side Story 003 Side Story 003A - The Endless Sky Nena ran up to a futuristic door with not a spec of dust on it, ¡°So this is the door to the helm? It sure took us awhile to get here.¡± The black robed man nodded with a wry smile, ¡°This ship is built with a large space formation. Would you believe it if I tell you that this ship is actually forty kilometers long?¡± ¡®That¡¯s huge!¡¯, thought Len as she studied the strange door in front of her in awe, ¡®I¡¯ve never seen this type of metal. I wonder what it is.¡¯ Although she wanted to ask, her thoughts kept swimming around her head so instead of asking, Len idly stood there, waiting to see inside the helm. Nena wasn¡¯t stunned as she didn¡¯t really know what a kilometer was, but it must be something amazing if this black robed man was so proud of that statement. Seeing that the two girls weren''t impressed, the black-robed man was slightly embarrassed and turned to the black robed woman for help. The black robed woman covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled, ¡°Ku ku ku. Enough small talk, let¡¯s enter the helm!¡± The woman took out a jade pendent and placed it within the slot of the door, causing the door to slide open. Without another word, the four entered inside. Side Story 003B - The Endless Sky The Tavern of Dragons sailed on an endless sea of vast clouds with only a lone man standing at the helm, watching the skies for any unknown threats. It was his job to make sure that the ship avoided or destroyed anything and everything that could make it fall from the skies, and over years of service he had gained the honorary title within the Sectless Sect. Yet even now he felt he had much to learn about the never ending sky sea, and made it his goal to one day find its limits. The Sky Captain brushed his hand against his beard and walked away from the wheel for a moment, only to catch sight of a group of four entering. His hawk-like gaze watched the two girls lead the group, walking among his crew with their eyes glowing in awe over the computers that were foreign concepts to them. He smiled when he saw how they timidly touched the screens and watched them light up, but that timid touch had accidentally doubled the ship''s speed, and he watched as his disciples froze in disbelief before rushing to get the ship''s speed back to normal. After order was restored on the helm, the two sister were harshly scolded by the black robed people, making them afraid to touch anything. Nena and Len listened to them and walked towards the captain. He watched them walk up to him, ¡®Oh? What do the brats want? Did they come to say sorry?¡¯ Nena stood there, eyes glittering without a hint of guilt, ¡°Can we try flying?¡± Elder Sky almost spit out his pipe, how shameless!, ¡°You want to pilot the ship? You¡¯re one hundred years too early, shimp!¡± Nena¡¯s cheeks puffed up in displeasure and Len quickly placed her hand on her little sister¡¯s head to calm her down. Len glared at the captain who was still sneering at them. A man in dressed in a heavy jumpsuit with pockets filled with various tools walked up and coughed in order to defuse the situation, ¡°Um... Elder Sky Wind, how about I take them through a flying simulation?¡± Out of habit the Elder puffed a smoke ring from his pipe before nodding, ¡°Alright Norlen. Lead them to the training ground and get them ready!¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Norlen nodded, ¡°Yes Elder Sky Wind! Come on junior apprentice sisters, follow me.¡± Nena eyes lit up again as she dragged Len with her, following the man named Norlen to a table where some strange helmets lay. ¡°You two each put on a helmet. We¡¯ll take care of everything else.¡± Norlen watched them sit in the chairs next to the helmets and place the masks over their faces. Norlen put a mask as well and then Elder Sky Wind shouted at one of his disciples, ¡°Viio, begin the simulation!¡± ¡°Yes, Elder Sky Wind!¡± Before Nena and Len¡¯s minds faded to black, they heard Elder Sky Wind chuckle, ¡°Enjoy your ride in the sky¡­.¡± Side Story 003C - The Endless Sky Len awoke to the feeling of wind rushing past her face. She was standing on top of a mountain next to a sword that was hovering in the air. Its design was simple, pure white, two feet wide and eight feet long. Nena stood not too far away, next to a similar blade. Curious, Len reached over to the blade and touched it in wonder, ¡®So this is what they were talking about when they said flying simulation? Does he mean for us to jump onto a blade and ride it? What a crazy man! Can¡¯t we learn on something more sane?¡¯ Len kept thinking it over, but still thought the whole thing was stupid. Even if the blade was flying above the ground, how the heck would you stand on it? How could you move the blade? The more Len thought the more she didn¡¯t think it was possible That is... until a jaw-dropping sight flew past her. Nena was currently surfing the wind with ease atop her blade, flying around the peak, touching the clouds with her hands and laughing as she yelled below, ¡°Hurry up Elder Sister! This is Fun!¡± Snapping her mouth shut, Len gazed at the blade with complicated emotions, ¡®How the hell am I going to ride this? How did little sister do it? Did she just put her feet on it and go? Is it that simple? I want to ask her, but I think it wouldn¡¯t be big sister like to ask for help.¡¯ Timidly placing a foot on top of the blade, Len felt a light suction force exerted upon her foot, firmly planting her foot on the blade. She placed her other foot on the sword, balancing upon it. ¡®OK. On the blade? Check. Next is to move? How do I move? Just say go--- S$%^! S@#)! S@!$! Too fast!¡¯ As soon as Len voiced ¡®go¡¯ in her mind, the blade underneath her zoomed forward, shooting into the clouds at high speeds. Her face paled as Len saw a mountain peak rapidly growing bigger before her. She shouted out, her scream trailing behind her, ¡°Left!¡± Turning at last possible moment, a mere foot from crashing into the mountain, Len glided atop the mountain side, zigzagging across the face of the mountain as her fear slowly turned into excitement. With a thought she shot to the sky, flying through the clouds and feeling the cold mist stick to her body. The fluffy whiteness was soon left behind, and Lena could clearly see the golden crow hanging in the sky above. She slowed down and floated on top of the clouds, sitting cross-legged atop of the blade as she enjoyed the scenery of mountain peaks floating with a sea of clouds. Unknowingly to her, Nena had pulled up next to her sister and was basking in the sunlight, ¡°Pretty fun right, big sister?¡± Len turned her head and nodded to her sister, this was the most fun she had ever had. When they lived in the slums life had felt so gray with every day being a fight to get a scrap of food in her empty stomach. Fun had been a rare commodity akin to phoenix feathers and unicorns horns. She doubted that she would''ve had the will to go on if it hadn''t been for her siblings. A shadow loomed over the two sisters, causing them to look up in displeasure that morphed into surprise when they noticed it was Norlen, ¡°Oh, you two picked up flying quite fast. But I have much to show you. Come on, follow me.¡± Norlen turned and tilted his blade down, beginning a free fall that slashed through the clouds. There was a grin on his face as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Anyone could tell that the youth named Norlen loved the sky, seeing his actions compelled the sisters to follow his lead and fall in a similar manner. They could feel the air resistance fighting against them, but could still talk normally thanks to the formations placed upon the blade. Three streaking blurs fell to the ground, the mist rolling off their bodies as they descended. Norlen opened his eyes when they broke through the bottom of the sky sea and tilted his blade up slightly, heading in a straight line towards a particular mountain that had a crimson number one carved out of its golden exterior. Soon after the mountain came into sight, the three landed on the peak of a nearby mountain and Norlen turned around to face the two sisters, ¡°This is the first of seventy-two flying trial mountains. When you formally join the sect, you will be tested here as well. This is just a little bit of good fortune that Elder Sky Wind decided to bestow upon you, so don¡¯t waste this opportunity! Do your best to pass as many trails as you can and don¡¯t worry about injuries. This is merely a virtual realm, so you¡¯re completely safe here!!¡± With a wave of his hand, the mountain began to shudder and lift up into the sky. The mountain tumbled and began to make cracking sounds, fragmenting into millions of pieces. The pieces moved around and formed a huge 100km maze-like ball in the sky . Spreading his hands wide, Nolen posed before his wide-eyed junior apprentice Sisters and shouted, ¡°This is the golden-eye trial!¡± Side Story 004 Side Story 004 - The War Pen Two youthful women walked through a large room filled with mountains, rivers and forests. The ''sun'' within the room shone down brilliantly, creating many breathtaking views that only became more stunning when one of the various exotic magical creatures roamed through them. The two women were never attacked on their stroll, and some of the magical creatures would even come up and nuzzle their hands, asking to be petted. While they walked along a stone path one of the women, Marley, would point out the types of magical creatures they came across to Xue, ¡°Look over there junior apprentice sister! That¡¯s a Jade-Fire Bear, a descendant of the Jade-Sun Bear who was rumored to eat stars. And that up there floating in the sky is a Sky Sea Mummy Fish, father found that one wounded on one of his travels and nursed it back to health. Apparently it came from the reverse element plane located connected by a Sky Sea door.¡± Xue gazed at the creatures in awe, having never seen or heard of any of these majestic beasts. She pointed off in the distance towards two fighting birds, ¡°What are those birds senior apprentice sister Marley?¡± Marley moved her gaze towards the direction Xue was pointing in, and a strange expression appeared on her face, ¡°Oh those trouble makers. That''s a Porcupine Sparrow at the Galu 13th stage facing off against a Two Tailed Green Jay of the same stage. The Galu stage is the magical creature''s equivalent of the human¡¯s 13 stages of Qi or Mana, meaning that these two birds could kill you without much effort. As I see it, it¡¯s a mating fight to show that the Porcupine Sparrow is worthy of the Two tailed Green Jay. The two are close to breaking through into the foundation realm, which would give them a chance to evolve or awaken their bloodlines. The reason why the Porcupine Sparrow is challenging the Green Jay now is that it knows that this is the only time that the two will be evenly matched as the Green Jay cultivates at a much faster pace than the Porcupine Sparrow. Come on, let¡¯s watch the fight. It¡¯ll show you how dangerous these creatures really are.¡± The two women found a nice rock that overlooked the small meadow the two birds were fighting in to sit on. Xue stared at the birds, hoping not to miss a single exchange between the two. The first attack actually came from the Green Jay as it arrogantly chirped, ¡°You want to marry me, Ti Su? Not even in your dreams!¡± A beam of green energy came shooting out of its beak, heading towards the Porcupine Sparrow with a blinding speed!If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The Porcupine Sparrow gracefully dove from the air, its wings filling with an earthen energy that added weight to increase its diving speed, making the beam completely miss Ti Su.The little bird then changed directions and flew forward, skimming across the ground, its gaze filled with pride, ¡°I will make you acknowledge my love Shai Xu, or my name is not Ti Su!¡± Chirping in rage when its attacked missed, the Green Jay gathered energy into its two tails and shot out a giant wave of jade green energy, ¡°You and I will never be together, give up already!¡± Ti Su grit his beak as a stream of wind mana flew out of his body and mixed together with the earthen mana in his wings, sending himself into a spiral heading straight towards the green wave. It was do or die, he would either break through the wave and gain a mate or die trying! Xue¡¯s mouth opened wide in awe. This battle came off as dazzling to the eyes and the passion she heard from Ti Su moved her heart, causing her to root for the small bird! Ti Su condensed into a green and brown spear that flew flying straight and true, crashing directly into the center of the giant wave and causing it to warp around him. It seemed all was over as the wave slowly enclosed him within until Ti Su loudly chirped, ¡°BREAK!¡± A sudden gust of energy burst out of the little guy and broke through Shai Xu¡¯s attack. Ti Su closed the distance in an instant and tackled Shai Xu, pinning her under his strong wings and bringing them beak to beak, ¡°I¡¯ve come to make good on my promise to marry you!¡± Shai Xu fruitlessly struggled within Ti Si¡¯s grasp, yet it seemed half hearted. Eventually she closed her eyes and chirped lowly, ¡°Why can¡¯t you forget about me? I¡¯m not worth it.¡± Ti Si¡¯s feathers fluffed up in displeasure, ¡°You have always been worth it! I will show your parents that I am worthy of you, then no one can complain about us being together!¡± Shai Xu stared in shock, ¡°Don¡¯t do it Ti Su, they will kill you!¡± Ti Si didn¡¯t listen, he got up and in the heat of the moment took off in a direction Xue assumed to be Shai Xu¡¯s parent¡¯s home. A heart clenching pain filled Shai Xu¡¯s small body as she rushed madly after Ti Si. Xue didn¡¯t think before she started moving in the direction Ti Si vanished in, only to be stopped by Marley, who had a weird expression on her face, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Junior Apprentice Sister? Why are you going after them?¡± Xue gave her a funny look, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear Ti Si and Shai Xu? He¡¯s going to get killed by Shai Xu¡¯s parents for asking to wed their daughter!¡± Marley was dumbstruck and then seemed to remember something, ¡°Oh yes, I forgot you can understand the language of beasts because of your soul affinity. How could I forget? Sigh... I wanted to show you the three precious eggs my father acquired, but oh well. Your Senior sister will help them out.¡± A slightly pouting Marley wrapped Xue up in her energy and sped off after the two birds. Chapter 7 - Scene 4A Scene 4A - Spells Vince stood tall, his back firm his hands itching to go. He had already finished reading the earth and gravity spell books, and now it was time to test the theories and craft his own spells. His first master had told him that to be a true mage one must create their own spells from scratch. All beginner spell books said the same thing on the very first page, and contained only theories, a few basic spell models, and basic spell building runes to help out the budding mage. The mage had to rely upon themselves to use what was given to them to make the most effective spells they could. For example,if two practitioners with the same level of talent learn from the same earth spell book, one could come up with an earth spear spell while the other could create an earth wall. But if both practitioners came up with an earth wall, one of the walls could be stronger, last longer, and use less mana than the other. It all depended on how well the mage could attune themselves to the laws of the world and their creative comprehension. Even if a mage wanted to teach their spell models to another, based upon their student''s comprehension, it''s possible that the spells couldn''t be effectively be passed down. The main reason was that the strength of the spell wouldn¡¯t be at the same level as it was originally, since the spell model had a high chance of being incompatible with the new user, which would cause it to be much weaker in various areas than it should be. Although the heavens allow a few exceptions to the rule, those were rare and almost impossible to find. ¡®Let''s start with a simple spell, <=Earth Wall=>¡¯, Vince closed his eyes and concentrated, beginning to shape the mana around him. He straightened out his chosen runes within his mind and reached out with his right hand, slowly lifting it up. Nothing happened at first, but soon a rumbling sound could be heard in front of him. A one inch long, two feet wide, and six inch tall wall rose from the ground, appearing before him.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®It¡¯s pretty small, cast time sucked, and I doubt it could even pass into the range of a 1st rank Core formation spell, the lowest ranked spell for a mage, but let¡¯s test its defense.¡¯ Channeling the mana in his right hand, Vince created an hammer made out earth and swung downwards with all his power. The wall crumbled into dust at the lightest touch. ¡®So crap defense, the cast time sucks, and the size isn¡¯t even nipping at my knees... I have a lot of work to do before it¡¯s even presentable. Let¡¯s try it again!¡¯ With the amount of mana in the air, the time he needed to gather it was nearly negligible. Vince went through theories in his mind, crafted runes, casted the spell, studied the effects of the remodeled spell, and made notes in a board of earth to track his progress. As a result, his <=Earth Wall=> spell steadily grew stronger. But sometimes problems would arise, causing his spell model to fail, and Vince couldn''t figure out why. When the problems persisted, Vince would switch gears and make use of gravity magic to train his his body doing sit-ups, push ups, and squats, use earth magic as weights, spending the rest of his time in a body training frenzy or mess around with gravity magic to relieve the stress caused by the problems with his earth magic. ¡®From the theory I learned from that gravity spell book, I can lift, move, expand, crush, accelerate, and decelerate objects with simple runes, making extremely fast spell models. I wonder how fast can I make an object go?¡¯ Layering a quickly created earthen ball with his own accelerate spell model, he pointed it in one direction and watched it slowly and steadily travel at a snail''s pace. Not what he had expected. He then created a bigger ball of earth the size of his head and used Gravity magic to crush it down, condensing it to the size of a fist. Vince tested the strength of the new fist sized ball of rock by smashing it with his trusty hammer to see if it would break. It didn¡¯t. Vince smiled to himself and decided to use this new method to strengthen his <=Earth Wall=>. Chapter 7 - Scene 4B Scene 4B - Spells A few days had passed since Rune had awaken from her trance, and she was currently busy learning how to cast magic. Moving rhythmically, she kicked and punched the air to release torrents of flame and poison. Unlike Vince, who had slowly studied to build up elegant spell models, Rune just used the cruder way of infusing each of her physical attacks with magic. By the standards of mages that like to fight from a distance, Rune''s current style was extremely savage. Rune made a claw with her hand and slashed downward, creating a massive fire claw that she named <=Flaming Tiger''s Claw=>. Immediately after, she followed up by crooking two of the fingers on her other hand to create two fangs coated with poison, which she named <=Spider Fang=>. The attacks were both lightning fast and powerful, and when used against Vince''s current <=Earth Wall=> would break through his technique like it was merely wet toilet paper. But Rune wasn''t done yet. She stepped forward, turning on her heel and jabbed out with an elbow coated in both flames and poison. Borrowing momentum from the movement, she quickly stepped back and swung out with a powerful roundhouse kick that consumed the built up flames and poison to create a massive web-like explosion. Rune stopped testing out moves with a grin on her face and took out a towel to wipe off her sweat before sitting down next to a gourd full of water. After wiping herself off, she took a drink to hydrate her parched throat only to have drops of water escape and fall down her neck. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. After a long drink, she placed the gourd back into her ring, and wiped the water off of herself before doing the same with the towel, ¡°What to name that attack¡­ <=Eater=>? Nah, that doesn''t sound cute or cool enough... how about <=Violent Rose=>? Yeah, let¡¯s go with that! Then Saren won¡¯t call me unlady like...¡± Satisfied with the name, Rune got into the lotus position and quickly began to refill her mana. Unlike Vince, who found ways to cut down on mana loss and use less than what he regained naturally, Rune expanded mana freely and wastefully while casting her magic, causing her to be able to only use a few attacks before running out of steam. After a while she was fully charged once more and ready to keep experimenting with her magic. She had the power down, so next came the efficiency of her attacks. At the most she could last only five minutes before completely exhausting her mana reserves. In a short fight five minutes might be all she needed, but her master had given her advice stating that a mage should be as efficient as possible. Not using too much mana or too little to deal with a problem. It embarrassed her as she was lacking in this element, so she had first trained by moving her body in the ways shown in the few fighting books her master had given her. Having learned enough moves, Rune decided that it was time to refine what she had learned and reduce the massive cost her abilities needed. Chapter 7 - Scene 5 Scene 5 - A drop in an Ocean The library''s scent came off as old and musty with a hint of freshly ground rose buds. Even the people passing by the library would feel at ease, and Saren was no exception. Surrounded by a sea of books, Saren struggled to take in the vast knowledge contained within the small book he currently held compared to the monsters-like books around him. The book was called ''Records of the Warring Kingdoms'', and covered a thousand year war where all of the world''s kingdoms, empires and countries fought to unify the planet until only one power remained: the Black Snow Empire. For twenty thousand years, the Black Snow Empire held their position of the unmatched ruler of the world until finally fragmenting in the God Wards, when the old gods were removed from power. New countries rose from the empire''s ashes, and the book went into great detail about the the long ago Warring Kingdoms, the Era of Peace under the Black Snow Empire, the horrifying God Wars, and the current era of Rebuilding. When Saren finished the book he immediately picked up another and began to read, carving the newly gained knowledge into his soul. Books on history, science, computers, tales of great epics, legends, tactics, plants, poison, medicines, weather, maps and the currently countries entered his hands only to leave just as soon. Anything and everything he could get his hands on would be memorized, deconstructed, and reconstructed with his own thoughts and ideas. Saren had fallen into a trance, reading one book after another as his thirst for knowledge was stimulated. A drunken grin was plastered on his face as he went from one world of written word to the next. Saren didn''t notice time pass and continued deeper into the library, going further into the wonderful folds of ink and paper that held the knowledge he desired. What was the next concept to learn? He was excited to see!Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°...Junior¡­¡± ¡®What was that?¡¯, thought Saren before casting the thought away. He had no time, he needed to learn more¡­ More¡­ More!!! Smack. Knocked out of his trance, Saren¡¯s eyes were hazy as he tried to collect his thoughts, ¡®What was I doing? I was reading. Yes, reading about all the wonderful subjects. Why did I stop? It was the most blissful feeling I¡¯ve ever had. I must go back!¡¯ Saren reached out for the book he dropped. Smack. Someone hit him on top of the head again, making Saren furious. Taking his eyes away from the books, he gave his assailant a hateful look. Master Mo returned Saren¡¯s gaze with an intimidating glare of his own before smacking the boy on the head once more. Holding his head with a faint trace of tears in his eyes, Saren shouted fiercely, ¡°What was that for, Master!¡± Standing firm with his hands behind his back Master Mo firmly spoke, ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯ve been reading? I was wondering why you didn''t show up for dinner, but it turns out you lost yourself while reading! Don¡¯t make your siblings, senior apprentice sister and master worry, fool!¡± A confused look crossed Saren''s eyes before they drifted to the small mountain of books to the right of him. Then a fierce beast in his stomach he knew all too well that shook the heavens and earth with its roar and made his cheeks flush red in embarrassment. Bowing his head, Saren loudly and clearly apologized to his Master, saying that he wouldn¡¯t do it again. Master Mo nodded his head in approval and motioned for Saren to follow him back to the dining room where his siblings were waiting. Chapter 7 - Scene 6 Scene 6 - A Secret to death In a flash, three days had passed and both Vince and Rune made major improvements by increasing the purity of the elements contained within their magic cores. They each learned a total of six spell of their respective elements and were even able to form a fourth core. In those three days both attempted to use the branded magic gifted to them by the old gods, only to find out that their level of power was simply too low to invoke even the slightest bit of their acquired magic. The siblings exited the domes they had been in around the same time, and were greeted with the sight of their teacher Master Mo and senior apprentice sister Marley. Master Mo¡¯s eyes gleamed with a profound light, causing his tattooed lunar eyes to seem more enchanting. With a small smile Master Mo gave them a little nod, ¡°Humph, good job my disciples. You did well for your first closed door training session. To even reach fourth stage core formation.... how do you two feel?¡± Vince stepped forward and clasped his hands as he bowed towards his master, ¡°I feel much stronger master, but still feel that I have a long way to go! But how are our siblings? We''ve been gone for three days so they must have worried.¡± Rune nodded, having wondered about the same thing. Master Mo chuckled softly before responding, ¡°Haha, as expected of my disciples! Remember that feeling, the road of enlightenment is long and full of hardships. You never know when you''ll come across someone stronger than you so never get arrogant! Now go and rest, your brothers and sisters are waiting for you. Marley will lead the way, and we''ll resume training tomorrow so don''t even think about slacking off!¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The two reunited with their siblings in time to eat dinner, and were able to relax until it was time to sleep. Rune and Vince slept side by side in a single bed, as they normally do. The rest of their siblings were asleep, but Rune suddenly whispered, " Hey Vince, you awake?" There was no response. It seemed Vince had already fallen asleep. But Rune didn''t seem to care if he was awake or not. All she wanted was to get her thoughts out, ¡°I think I remember some of my past Vince... I saw an endless field of absolutely breathtaking water lotuses! And a boy surrounded by four adults. I couldn''t see his face, but something told me that I need to kill him, even if I die in the process. Weird, right? Do you think... that as we grow stronger, I''ll be able to find out who I am? ...Never mind. It''s a silly thought and anyways I''m the happiest when I''m with all of you. Goodnight, Brother.¡± Vince on the other hand, was wide awake with a pained expression plastered across his face. He didn''t care that she wanted him to die, as it was something that he himself wanted. What pained him the most was that for all these years, he''s been lying to her. She called her greatest enemy, the one that took everything from her, brother and even held his hand while sleeping so peacefully. Just the thought of her reaction when she finally found out the truth tore him up inside. It was a long time before he could get any sleep that night. ?Chapter 8 - Scene 1 Scene 1 - Enter the stage, Jao Striker! In a distant grassy field, two armies stood across from one another, staring at each other with gazes full of killing intent. Each army had around one hundred thousand units, but strangely no move was made as the morning rolled away and the golden crow inched towards the highest point of its flight. Within the grass field, a youth with spiky red hair gazed lazily towards the horizon as the wind tried its best to mess up his seemingly unmovable locks. An unadorned spear was gripped tightly within his left hand as he pondered about the up coming fight. ¡®How many souls will be lost today? A thousand? Ten thousand? How many will die by my hands?¡¯ A hand came from out of nowhere and landed on the young man''s shoulder, startling him, ¡°What are you thinking about, Specialist Striker? Getting chills? That¡¯s not like you at all, Young hero!¡± The youth closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, ¡°You smell that Sergeant? Smells like a lush grassy field, morning dew, and wildflowers. It¡¯s a shame this beautiful place will be ruined by rivers of blood. Ah. I¡¯m sorry, my thoughts linger Jayce¡­ Wait, what''s this thing about a young hero? And Striker? Didn¡¯t we say we wouldn¡¯t call each other by ranks or last names, Jayce? Just call me Jao! And don¡¯t start bullshit about me being a young hero!¡± Sergeant Jayce held his head high, laughing to the heavens, ¡°Indeed Jao! And I wanted to say it once in my life, so don''t get your chainmail in a pinch. And why are you saddened? I know you love the bloodshed of the battlefield just as much as I do! It¡¯s the only place people like us can exist! We only have one purpose in this life, Jao. And that''s to cut off the heads of our enemies, all for the glory of Wolf country!¡± Towards the end, Jayce was screaming to the heavens with his spear raised high above his head, drawing eyes from both sides. Someone on the opposite side of the field even screamed back, "Shut the fuck up, you dogs!" Jayce, with his head raised high, snorted and flicked a rude jester towards the enemies. He even dropped his pants and mooned them! Jao immediately turned his head away, shaking wildly in the attempts to keep his laughter back as Jayce continued with his relentless insults, ¡°The only dog is your mom, bitch! In fact, all your moms are dogs, you shitty pussy cat country!¡± Jao returned to gazing lazily out into the distance, unworried about his foul mouthed friend that somehow always managed to keep his head on his shoulders despite the numerous attempts on his life. The battle will begin when the sun reaches it''s highest point, so Jao decided to let his friend have his fun while he could.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Jao couldn''t help but think of all the battles he''s fought in, all the men he''s killed. ¡®What number is this? 38? 40? ¡®I can''t remember... How many people have I killed? 72? It will probably rise again today... Hopefully, this will be the last one. After this, I''ll be able to buy my freedom back and be able to live with my sister in that small village she found. It will be nice not having to live in a world with all this bloodshed. But I think I can only live in this world of tainted green where red consumes all...¡¯ It was almost noon. Jao checked his equipment one last time before staring intently at the field where he might lose his life. No one knows what might happen in battle. You could only depend on yourself and sometimes the warriors next to you. All he could do is kill all who stand before him and do his best to survive. Jao poked Jayce in the bum with the butt of his spear, ¡°How long do we have to wait, Jayce? Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Jayce begrudgingly stopped berating the enemy, but not before mooning them once more. Jao arched his brow, ¡®Is this is how a sergeant is supposed to act?¡¯ Jayce finally pulled up his pants and turned around to face Jao, ¡°Not long, actually. I just got a mental message from the mage unit to round up the men in five minutes. We move to battle in twenty, and the prince will be leading the charge.¡± ¡°Oh? The prince is leading yet again? I can never understand why he always insists on being on the front lines. With his status he could lie back and give orders without ever having to see gruesome sights like this.¡± Jayce put on his helmet on and ruffled Jao¡¯s hair like a big brother before roaring with a boom, ¡°Alright men, get into formation Delta, we move out in twenty minutes! Those not in place within five minutes will get their ass beat by me after the fight!¡± Two thousand men, women, and beasts quickly got up and in formation. Three layers of paladins stood at the front as heavy units covering the two mixed layers of warriors and magic spearmen, while the battle mages stood in the center, protected by all. All the units cursed and mumbled under their breath, knowing that formation Delta meant that their unit would be one of five battalions to act as the vanguard, which would throw them right into the heat of the battle. Jao and Jayce could understand their displeasure but.. Jayce jumped on a nearby crate and shouted shouting for all to hear, ¡°Soldiers listen up! We fight for our country, our freedom, and so that these shit for brain cat mongrels will not step upon our land and defile it! Every woman and child is counting on us to repel these swine and return home once more! So fight so that you can return to a peaceful life! Your brothers and sisters will cover you, so do not fear and kill those bastards on the other side! Kill their soldiers, their sergeants, their generals, their horses, and kill the bastard that called us dogs!!¡± The soldiers under Jayce''s command yelled out with vigor, their moral as high as could be. They were ready to fight, ready to kill. Jao chuckled, ¡®That''s better.¡¯ Chapter 8 - Scene 2A, 2B Scene 2A - Prince Dai The prince sat atop his thirty foot was lizard, clad in black and gold with his cape flickering in the wind. A black pony tail came out of the helmet on his head, and was trying its best to cover his face and hide his earthen brown eyes. The heavy sword in his hand trembled as if awaiting the coming slaughter. The air was stifling, filled with a growing killing intent that made the soldier sweat just by standing there. They dreaded the first clash, but he did not. There was no fear in his eyes as he stared death in the face. The prince''s stead moved to the forefront of the army as he lined his voice with qi and yelled, ¡°This is your last chance to get off my people''s land, Duke Kavor! Leave now or my forces shall slaughter your people without remorse!¡± An old man riding atop a three tailed Wind Lion snorted loudly, ¡°There is no use in discussion, Prince Dai! The enmity between our two kingdom is too deep, and your sitty father double crossing us in the trade agreement is the last straw! I shall have your head!¡± ¡°Then you leave me no choice Duke Kavor¡­. Prepare to die!¡± Prince Dai, his eyes cold, rose his earth mana covered blade, ¡°The enemy is in front of us, brothers and sisters! Go forth for family, for honor, for our country, and smite the fools that dare provoke us upon our lands. CHARGE!!¡± Battle cries filled the air as the prince dashed forward atop his war lizard, his loyal soldiers right behind him, ¡°KILL! KILL! KILL!¡± The Duke yelled back at his own army, ¡°Get ya asses movin, ya bastards! Release the fiend elves to wipe these swine out!¡± Scene 2B - Jayce The stench of blood filled the heated air as bodies of friend and foe clashed. Jayce and Jao were in the thick of it, desperately fighting tooth and nail against the twisted fiend elves. The elves stood with a hunched back with claws two meters long, their eyes a demonic red by nature, their bodies a sort of pale that made it seem as if they had never seen the light of day, and complex runes the color of blood were branded upon their sickly flesh. No intelligence shone in their eyes, only an endless blood lust that came from every fiber of their being. It was no wonder that there was an ongoing argument to change their names to cavern demons. ¡°Fucking elves, go back to hell from whence you came!¡± Jayce screamed at the top of his lungs as his spear stabbed through an elf''s head, causing it to explode. The newly headless corpse dropped down into a puddle of black and red blood, but Jayce had no time to care for it. A sense of crisis appeared within his mind, and Jayce immediately dodged back as the claws of two screaming elves passed just inches away from his face. Two paladin shields instantly covered his front, and Jayce was allowed to breathe a little. With each fiend elf having a cultivation ranging from the third or fourth level of Heavenly Body Refinement, it had been an uphill battle even since the vine creatures had rushed out from behind enemy lines. Blood curdling screams mixed in with horrible crunching sounds appeared constantly as his men were battered by enemies that didn''t fear death, only to be dragged away by a swarm once they finally fell. Each scream he heard infuriated Jayce to no end. His men were being devoured, and he could do nothing to help. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Despite fighting nonstop for one hour, the elves didn''t seem to decrease at all. If anything, the fiend elves were only growing stronger while Jayce''s side grew weaker by the moment. Half an hour ago, he had even received a mental message from the mage division saying that they had fallen into a devious trap and were unable to help better the current situation. The accursed fiend elves were only being controlled by a few dozen tamers, but those tamers reformed the mangled bodies of each fallen elf by using the blood on the battlefield, allowing the elves to return to the fray. The fact that the fiend elves absorbed the power of each soldier they ate, making their flesh and qi stronger, didn''t help either. When Jayce had heard that the tamers were on the other side of the elven swarm, he immediately sent Jao out with an attachment of mountain wolf riders to assassinate them. Until the tamers were killed, Jayce and his troops did their best to hold the elves back. But defending wasn''t easy. The damned elves would try their hardest to drag away every man, woman, and beast they could, not caring how many were lost in the process. Everyone had their limits and Jayce came as no exemption. He could handle his comrades dying in battle. He could deal with being pushed back at every step. But each time he heard the scream of a soldier being eaten alive, he had to bite his lip, clench his fist, and try his hardest not to rush in and murder every elf in sight. Jayce was in the middle of recovering his qi when one of the paladins protecting him was dragged off by the elves. He opened his eyes just in time to see the woman''s face twist in horror. Then the elves tore into her, and Jayce''s restraint vanished like the wind. He had had enough of these shitty elves. His mind clouded with anger, Jayce jumped into the fray with his sword and short spear in hand, "Damned mindless demon spawn, face your death!" The remaining paladins were stunned with disbelief when Jayce jumped over them, forgetting to drag their commander back in their shock. As soon as Jayce had left the ground he had unleashed his skill <=Wind Armament=>, cladding his weapons in wind qi. His short spear made a humming screech as it pierced forward, killing a dozen elves while a slash of wind was released from his sword, bisecting seventeen more. Suddenly Jayce felt as if all the power had left his body and realized with horror that he had overextended his qi reserves. Having lost the power to stand, he fell to his knees, ¡®Shit, what did I just do?! Is this how I¡¯m going to die?¡¯ The fiend elves readily filled the gap, racing towards the unprotected Jayce. Holding a faint hope in his heart, Jayce yelled out with all his remaining power, ¡°Brother Jao, to me!¡± His jump had put him almost in the middle of the elven swarm, leaving the paladins within the defense line no way to reach him before the elves did. Jayce felt that last small hope fade away, and closed his eyes, waiting for his death... A thunderous boom blew him back, sending him up into the air over the defense line, right behind the frantic paladins ¡®Eh?¡¯ Jayce couldn''t understand what had happened. he stared blankly for a moment before sitting up and looking with shock at Jao, who was covered in filthy elven blood as he sat upon a wolf that was busy treating a fiend elf as a chew toy. Holding his spear in hand, Jao and his strike force had cut a bloody path straight into the back lines and came back just in time to see Jayce foolishly risking his life. Finding some source of hidden strength, Jayce ordered at the top of his lungs,¡°Open a path, quickly let them in!¡± The wall of paladins parted, opening a path just long enough to allow the forty three mountain wolf riders that remained of the hundred man force inside before quickly closing the gap, ¡°Mission accomplished! Eighteen confirmed tamers killed! Requesting the order for a full assault, Sargent Jayce!!¡± Jayce stared dumbly at Jao before laughing crazily and infusing his voice with what little qi he had recovered, ¡°Request granted, Young Hero Jao! All forces, full assault the bastards! The time to strike is now!¡± Chapter 8 - Scene 3A, 3B, 3C Scene 3A - Duke Kavor Sitting atop his prized war cat, Duke Kavor sat in the back lines smiling and drinking from his spirit wine while watching his undying cursed elves slaughter the prince''s forces. He knew that by the time the prince¡¯s forces figured out that the cursed elves had been turned into undying army it would be too late to change the outcome of the battle. With his summoners taking power from the malice of the dead, giving them an endless supply of mana, they would whittle down the prince''s forces without any of his main army dying. The Prince would die with the rest of his men, and he would march forth to Green Ruby, Wolf country''s capital city, with the Prince''s head in hand! Just thinking about how the battle was already his sent shivers of glee down Duke Kavor''s spine. A man dressed in black robes smelling of rotting blood sat in front of the Duke, his eyes cold and devoid of life, his voice hoarse and demonic, ¡°Well it seems you won''t be needing my services, Duke. But even so, your money will not be returned. Our organization has standards, you see.¡± Duke Kavor''s expression instantly soured. He gritted his teeth as he thought that the moment would have been perfect if not for this damned assassin. His King should have trusted him to carry out this task, but had hired this useless freak ''in case things went wrong''! If he had a choice, he would gladly banish these assassins and their vile organization from his lands, beheading all who resisted in the process and mounting their severed heads on the walls! Alas, these warring states kept him from doing so, with battles both large and small rampaging across the world more frequently as the years passed. In fact, every country had an almost crippling need for raw strength in order to fuel the endless wars. It had reached the point that no matter what one''s background was, be it a prince, noble or commoner, they were all thrown into the front lines in order to die for their country, for honor, for glory! With those thoughts in mind, the Duke could only reel in his anger and give the robed man reeking of rot a slight nod. Even trash has its uses, and this man in front of him would merely be yet another pawn Li Shen, the Country of Fiends, used to become the greatest kingdom in the world! ¡°Report! Report! Urgent news from the front lines, Master Duke Kavor!¡± Scene 3B - Counter Attack! On the other side of the field, the prince¡¯s forces were feeling the dread over the events unfolding upon them and trying their best to counteract against the legion of undying fiendish elves. The prince¡¯s second in command, Boren, was left to manage the battle formations in his stead. Boren felt the pressure as message after message came to him via magic, ¡°The flanks are crumbling under the endless waves of elves! We can¡¯t hold the formation much longer unless we deal with the summoners!¡± Boren let out a deafening roar, ¡°Yal, Ken! Take three thousand men each and reinforce the flanks! Hold out as long as you can! Voira! Order the mages to use a massive tracking formation and have them mark all the summoners! Dalous, how is the vanguard holding out?¡± Dalous instantly replied, ¡°They are holding out with minimal losses, but the elves on their side seem to be as time passes!¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Boren arched his eyebrows into a v, making him look like a villain. This was the only good news that he had received ever since the battle against the duke started, ¡°How long will it take for the elite strike force to reach the summoners hiding behind the elves?!¡± ¡°The elite strike team won¡¯t make it to the back fields before the flanks collapse! Unless the Vanguard breaks through into the back ranks, all is lost!¡± Boren crushed his armchair into dust when he heard that the strike force wouldn¡¯t make it in time. If things kept going this way even retreating would be impossible! If need be, he would have to call for a forced retreat, risking heavy losses in the process, ¡°How is the prince?¡± ¡°The prince and his forces are in a battle against three elven experts in the 5th realm of Heavenly body refinement. Neither side can either advance or retreat!¡± Boren cursed, the veins popping out from his neck, ¡°Fucking hell! Countering all our plans! There must be a spy somewhere within our ranks, leaking all our plans!¡± ¡°Give the order to have the vanguard forces create strike forces to break through and kill the summoners! If none of them reach the heart of the enemy''s formation, our army is done for!¡± ¡­ Minutes ticked by, eventually turning into a long nail-biting hour as the Prince''s forces were slowly grinded into the ground by the endless waves of fiendish elves. Boren felt he was fighting a losing battle as his only strand of hope grew smaller and smaller, ¡®Is this how the battle is going to end? What of the kingdom¡­.¡¯ A messenger mage sent a mental report to Boren, interrupting his thoughts, ¡°Emergency report sir! Eighty percent of the enemy summoners are dead! The strike forces have accomplished their missions and the force led by Sergeant Jayce is sweeping to the left in a counter attack!¡± Boren immediately felt the weight lift off his shoulders, his falling willpower recovering with a burst of joy, ¡®The heavens haven¡¯t forsaken me!¡¯ Boren waved his hand forward, ¡°By the order of the Prince¡¯s second in command, follow their lead and trap the elven forces within!¡± The messaging mage units sent his command all over the battlefield, combining four of the five vanguard units to attack from the sides and slaughter the fiendish elves and remaining summoners into a pen of death! Scene 3C - Figure of Dark The man that smelled of rot smiled faintly under his cloth mask, ¡°It seems my services are in need, after all, Duke Kavor. War is a strange mistress, don¡¯t you think?¡± Gnashing his teeth, Duke Kavor didn¡¯t try to hide the disdain and contempt he held for the robed man. But the robbed man didn¡¯t really care what his employer thought of him, he was here by command of the organization too if the battle reached a critical juncture carry out the trump card that they so handsomely paid for. Duke Kavor waved him off, ¡°Hurry up and summon the beast that my kingdom paid an arm and a leg for, thief! Keep in mind that if you summon some useless creature... I''ll drag you behind a horse and hang you off the city walls! It better be worth it or you will be hanging on the city walls after I drag your body back by a rope. The robed man stands up and giving a ¡®respectful¡¯ bow, ¡°As you wish Duke Kavor. I shall summon our lord''s minion and you will see that your kingdom''s money was not wasted.¡± Turning around with a faint smile that quickly grew into a full grin, the black-robed man left the frustrated Duke and walked into a sixty-foot tall tent nearby. Inside the tent, eight people sat around a pattern of a circle with a nine-pointed star in the middle. ¡°Start the summoning! The world shall know the terror of the lord''s minion, Elbirret!" Chapter 8 - Scene 4A, 4B Scene 4A - Path of blood Two wolves coated in black blood raced through the fiend elf army, their riders cutting down the elves in their paths by the dozen. An army of black coated soldiers followed behind them like a spear of darkness cutting through the light. Wherever they passed, only a trail of trampled corpses flowing with black blood would be left behind. Naturally, the two figures upon the wolves were Jao and Jayce. Their eyes had long since turned bloodshot from their unparalleled focus, and their current demeanor overshadowed even the vicious looks of the fiend elves by far. They led a path of slaughter, bringing a group of combined forces to regroup with their prince in order to stage an even greater assault upon their enemies! Although their eyes were bloodshot and the two were covered in filthy black blood, Jao and Jayce were talking casually as if this were merely a light walk in the park. As Jayce¡¯s men cut an open path of blood and the mages cast various spells of death. Jayce smiled lightly as he split an elf''s head in half with his sword, ¡°Ah¡­. Isn¡¯t this great, Young Hero? Killing together with you like this is the greatest joy this brother has felt in a while. We should do this more often, haha!¡± Jao frowned as he bisected three elves and then cut off their heads with a lighting fast swing of his spear, ¡°I¡¯m not like you, You battle fanatic! And stop calling me a young hero, it¡¯s Jao you fool! If you keep it up I''ll give you a thrashing when this war is over!¡± Jayce blocked an arrow then pulled one of his short spears from his pouch and threw it into the archer''s forehead, causing it to explode, ¡°Young hero? When did I say that? You must be mistaken, Brother Jao! I would never!¡± Jao was dumbstruck by his friend''s shameless attitude as he looked at Jayce''s ''shocked'' expression. But even while distracted, Jao cleaved the heads of the incoming elves off with ease as Jayce sent out a blade of wind to his left, decimating the elven foes there. Watching them from behind, their soldiers marched on fearlessly while thinking, ¡®As long as our leaders Jao and Jayce guide us into battle, we cannot lose!¡¯ At long last, Jao and Jayce led their men and broke out of the large sea of fiend elves only to see a circle of elves and men from their army fighting a bitter battle a mere three hundred meters away. A streak of light flashed through Jao¡¯s eyes, ¡°It appears we¡¯ve almost reached the prince, Brother Jayce. I can see the shockwaves from his battle even over here.¡± Jayce gave a slight nod smiling wolfishly, ¡°Good, good! My blade is still unsatisfied; it screams for slaughter! Increase our speed and mow down all in our path! The Prince is waiting for us, men!¡± ¡°OOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!¡± The men and women under his command screamed in unison as they raised their swords, staffs, and shields, ready to keep fighting. Scene 4B - Revealed! Prince Dai held his sword steady even though he was heavily wounded with blood leaking from the various cuts on his body. His eyes radiated coldness as he swung his heavy sword at one of the three undying elves that pestered him. The two elves next to it blocked his attack and the three counterattacked together. He had been knocked off his lizard a while ago and been tied down here fighting these elven experts ever since. Despite trying to slay them for the longest time, Prince Dai had only come off worse for wear as the three elves, though weaker than him separately, could bring out a strength that surpassed his when attacking together.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Prince Dai felt his rage building the longer the fight went on. Despite trying his hardest to finish the fight so he could lead his men to slaughter the enemy forces, he could only land shallow cuts upon the three elves tasked with hindering his path. To make things worse, the elves were constantly healing the injures given to them while his piled up over time. When Prince Dai received yet another deep cut and felt the blood trickle down his leg, his anger reached the boiling point. His red-streaked black armor glinted in the sunlight as he pulled his heavy sword into position and waited for the enemy to attack. The three elven experts moved in rhythm of utter fury as they surrounded Prince Dai. The largest of the three elves was a large and stocky being that would put even an orc to shame and wielded a large club as thick as a tree with ease as it smashed towards the injured prince. Sensing their companion''s intentions, the two smaller elves moved to either side of the prince and the three attacked in unison. Licking his lips, Prince Dai smiled coldly at the incoming onslaught. He had been waiting for this chance! Lining his feet with wind Qi and strengthening his body with Earth Qi, Prince Dai moved faster than a twin tailed cheetah as he dropped his heavy sword low to the ground and rushed forward with no regard for his own defense. Streaks of qi flicked within his eyes as he let out a powerful roar, ¡°Cleave the sea and cut through the heavens! Clear my path, <>!¡± Qi of two colors twisted atop Prince Dai''s heavy sword, covering the blade in a chaotic wave that moved with a rhythm of madness. The elven experts hadn''t expected the prince to suddenly launch a suicidal attack and unwittingly showed an opening. With a roar full of killing intent Prince Dai went headed straight towards the bulky elf, slashing upwards faster than the elf could react and chopping off one of its massive arms. Bathed in black blood tinted with green, the prince slid on the ground, slapping it with his hand and flipping around to point his sword at the furious elves with murder in their eyes. The prince let out a quiet curse, regretting that he''d missed his chance to get rid of one of the elven experts. The wounds on his side and leg, unable to handle his movements, flared up with pain and bled even faster. The three elves moved towards him, filled with anger and attacking without restraint in his moment of weakness! Despite losing an arm the large elf wasn¡¯t fazed; working together with its brothers the elves pushed Prince Dai back. Despite still having the will to fight, the prince was slowly losing strength in his legs and becoming lightheaded as he faced the onslaught. The prince inwardly cursed the elven expert''s cowardly tactics as he desperately searched for any weakness he could use to get out of the situation. Thankfully the Earth Qi within his body had helped him shrug off most of the damage he had gained, but the energy within his body was fading quickly. If this kept up, Prince Dai was sure he would die. Even if he wanted to counterattack like before, the elven experts had completely changed their tactics, making him unable to use such a high-risk move! Dai howled in rage, unwilling to accept this outcome, ¡°I cannot die in such a dogshit manner! I still have to travel further upon my path of war! I refuse to die here!¡± While caught in his feelings of regret and rage, Prince Dai almost didn''t notice the cold blade rapidly approaching him, aiming for his eyes! Prince Dai moved out of the way at the last second, but his helmet was knocked off by the force of the blade, revealing the face of¡­. A young woman! The girl had no time to care about her face being revealed as another blade came striking ruthlessly at her throat! But unlike last time, she had no way to escape from this strike! ¡®Is this how I¡¯m going to die? Without ever catching up to my brother?¡¯ Cling! A spear shot out of nowhere to knock away the blade that was about to take her life! The wielder of said spear quickly followed after it to unleash a punch straight into the elf''s face, knocking it away! "Who knew that the princess was the one leading us. Should''ve figured. Guess the rumors of Prince Dai leaving the kingdom are true. And Jayce, don''t you dare start with one of those ''young hero'' jokes!" Standing above her like a demon covered in red and black blood, Jao gave the stunned princess a warm smile and offered her a hand up, ¡°Need a hand, Princess Diana?¡± Chapter 8 - Scene 5A,5B Scene 5A - 3v3 With a cold snort, Princess Diana slapped Jao''s hand away, not wanting to look weak in front of a subordinate even though she was grateful for his help. Weakness wasn¡¯t tolerated in the land of the strong. Planting her sword into the ground, Diana leaned against the blade and wobbled to her feet, gritting her teeth and pushing her pain to the side as she brought her sword up to bare its fangs. A sharp glint appeared in her eyes as she rushed forward with a harsh yell, ¡°I¡¯ll take the fatass, you two take the two skinny shits!¡± Jayce moved towards his opponent with a chuckle, ¡°Hear that young hero? You got rejected by the princess and didn''t even get a word of thanks for saving her! Truly a legend in the making, hahaha!¡± A slight tint of red appeared on Jao¡¯s face as he furiously smashed his spear towards one of the two skinny elves. The elf managed to block his attack with its sword but was pushed back a few feet. Its cold and emotionless eyes caused Jao to shudder slightly. Even though he had managed to push the elf back, he wasn''t an expert that could surpass levels. Despite his special type of cultivation base, the skinny elf could easily kill him with time. Although he had a trump card, it wasn''t the best time to use it. For now, Jao could only fight with his life on the line! Despite the pressure, Jao was under facing a higher level opponent, he still managed to scream at Jayce while pushing forward to attack once more, ¡° It¡¯s Jao you prick! Calling me young hero...I''ll trample you after this!¡± Jayce''s eyes flashed wildly, a bloodthirsty smile on his face as he brandished his sword, ¡°Oh? You clearly.¡­¡± He stabbed forward towards his foe''s forehead, ¡°Misheard, brother Jao!¡± The elf dodged to the side, avoiding a death blow. Jayce kept up his assault while grinning, giving the elf no time to breathe. Scene 5B - Princess Diana Vs Giant ElfYou could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Facing the strongest of the three elves, Princess Diana wielded her heavy sword with utter fury as she used her qi to the best of her abilities. Despite losing an arm, the elf wasn''t at a disadvantage since Diana was injured as well. Her black hair flowed like water as she attacked with no regard for her own life! Booms could be heard as the two trading blow for blow. Enforcing her mangled body with earth qi and increasing her attack power with air qi, Diana went all out in the hopes of finish this fight before her wounds got worse. Their battle raged on but after five minutes had passed, Diana could feel her body was reaching its limits. If she didn¡¯t end this soon her qi would be exhausted and the elven expert would take her head. ¡®I have no choice but to use ¡®that move,¡¯ she thought. Sending a blade of air qi at the giant elf and knocking it away, Diana prepared her move <>. While she charged her move, the giant elf didn''t wait around. Despite being accursed it still held some intelligence and knew that being hit by something that needed vast amounts of qi was dangerous. Its muscles suddenly bulged, causing veins to pop outward across its skin and somehow allowing it to move a few notches faster than before. But it was too late for the giant elf to turn the situation around. A cold smile upon her face, Diana finished storing the needed energy. Tightly gripping her heavy sword, Diana let out an enraged howl as she released <> to finish the accursed bulky elf off once and for all! The giant elf roared in rage, unwilling to die by the hand of a little girl. It summoned a barrier of black qi in the hopes of increasing its defense enough to be able to survive the strike. Diana snorted coldly, placing all the power she could muster into this one attack as she shouted, ¡°Break!¡± Her heavy sword smashed through the barrier of qi as if it was paper, continuing on to bisect the shocked bulky elf. As a last ditch effort, the elf tried to strike Diana with its war club to bring her down with it. Diana smirked, having been waiting for this moment, and yelled out, ¡°<>!¡± Her heavy sword tilted in a strange manner, suddenly shifting from a attacking the elf''s body to striking towards its neck to decapitate the giant fiend! The elf tried to change its defense, but it was far too late! The sound to flesh ripping could be heard as the bulky elf''s head flew through the air, unwillingness to die written all over its face. The headless corpse fell to the ground with a thud, raising a small cloud of dust. Like a Goddess of War in the making, Diana''s eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty intensity. Despite her wounds she roared across the battlefield, ¡°Who¡¯s Next?!¡± Chapter 8 - Scene 6 Scene 6 - A lotus blooms Blood flew as Jayce slashed away at his foe with his one-handed sword without regard for his own safety. With bloodshot eyes and steam coming out of his mouth, Jayce looked more like a demon spawned in the depths of hell than a human. It was only at times like these, when he was facing a strong opponent and able to let loose that he truly felt alive. Despite his growing murderous intent, the fiendelf kept its cold emotionless stare as they trading blow for blow, causing blood to splatter around them. Every strike was meant to kill, yet the other kept dodging at the last possible moment. This was a fight of evenly matched experts, where the one who used his cards to the best would come out the victor. Giving a cold snort the elven expert moved in an odd manner, causing lines of air mana to build up around its feet and allowing its speed to increase little by little. With the elf''s increase in speed, the balance of power between the two was destroyed. Blood began to flow from Jayce as he wounds upon his body built up. Yet instead of making him weaker, the loss of blood actually made Jayce''s strikes stronger. But even then Jayce could barely keep up with the elven expert. As his injuries increased, Jayce could feel his limit drawing near. If things didn''t change soon, he would die. His opponent grew faster with each passing second as he grew slower. In the face of death, Jayce didn''t feel fear. Rather, a wicked grin crept across his face, ¡®Ah~ This is bliss~. Finally, I can go all out~! Jayce waited for the elf to rush in and dodged the blade in an uncanny way that would make an onlooker sweat in fear. With a quick spin and a step forth, Jayce kicked his foe in the gut, forcing the elf away by a few dozen feet. ¡°Ya see I got ta thank ya for getting me out, Elfy~. As thanks, I''ll send ya off pain~less~ly~. Tell everyone in the netherworld Ecya said hi~! ¡±, The change in Jayce¡¯s tone was noticeably more warm than wrathful, yet the blood-lust leaking out of his body had increased drastically. In the face of Ecya''s killing intent, the fiend elf felt its blood chill. Even the air mana around its legs started to distort. Ecya slowly placed his hand upon his sword sheath, swiftly flourishing his arm in a strange manner that resulted his sheath hand covering his left eye and his sword hand crossed over his sheath hand, creating a strange cross At some unknown point it time Ecya''s right eye had transformed, blossoming into a violet lotus bud. With Ecya blinded, the elf was finally able to shake off the blood lust that had weighed it down, regaining full control over its body and mana. A furious growl escaped the elf''s mouth as it rushed towards Ecya, the desire to kill and consume taking over its fragile mind.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The elven expert poured all of its power into its air mana, doubling its speed in an instant! Even though a murderous fiend elf was hurtling towards him, Ecya didn''t move a single muscle. It was as if he had been transformed into a mountain unaffected by the wind and rain The elf grinned evilly at Ecya''s nonexistent reaction as it aimed for Ecya''s neck in order to take his head! Yet when the elf was just a mere meter away, Ecya began to move. The blood lust that had vanished when he was blinded suddenly exploded out with a vengeance as Ecya yelled, ¡°First form of the Lotus''s Five Petal Dance, <>!¡± Jayce took a single step forward, releasing an overhead slash with his sheath. It was a simple move in all aspects, but this seemingly simple step and slash caused the elven expert to completely lose control of its mana. Even the cursed soul within the elf froze in terror as the sheath smashed into the elf¡¯s face, sending it flying backwards and into the ground. ¡°First Step...¡± In an instant the violet lotus that had replaced Ecya¡¯s right eye turned crimson as a single petal bloomed. The elf tried to recover its footing but Ecya didn''t give it the chance, descending upon the elf with uncanny force! ¡°Second Step.¡± Ecya leapt into the air and smashed his sword sheath down onto the elven expert''s stomach. There was a horrible crunching sound as the elf''s ribs broke, causing it to let out an inhuman screech of pain. A second petal bloomed and Ecya moved like water, using the attack''s recoil to turn in the air. Raising both his blade and its sheath, Ecya brought them down upon the elf with a force resembling a small mountain falling from the heavens. ¡°Third Step.¡± His blade pierced into one of the elf''s arms, cutting through it as if it was made of paper and severing it in a single blow. His sheath slammed down onto the elf''s remaining arm and instantly crushed it with a sickening sound.. The third lotus petal bloomed, yet Ecya wasn¡¯t finished with his dance of death. Stepping on the armless fiend elf¡¯s gut, Ecya swiftly severed his foe''s legs while whispering in excitement, ¡°Fourth Step!¡± As the fourth petal bloomed, Ecya slipped his blade into its sheath. Ecya¡¯s left eye twinkled as he looked down at the fiend elf that had pissed itself in fear. His face filled with ecstasy, Ecya smiled and straddled the elf with a gleeful hum, ¡°Let¡¯s end this dance!¡± ¡°Fifth step~!¡± Raising his sheathed sword high to the sky, Ecya grinned as he watched the despairing elf¡¯s face, ¡°Ah~. Just like that, your expression is the best!¡± He smiled warmly as the sheathed sword ruthlessly smashed into the elf''s face, causing foul black blood to splatter everywhere. Removing the weapon from the elf''s face, Ecya noticed that the elf only had busted teeth and his smile only grew brighter, ¡°We''ll play until you break, lovely!¡± The elf tried to grunt pleading for mercy, but Ecya stared at the elf straight in the eye, grinned, and brought down his sheath with even more force than before. Blood flew as the elf¡¯s pleas mixed together with the sound of Ecya''s laughter. The fifth petal slowly bloomed while across the battlefield, both enemies and allies alike shuddered in fear. Chapter 8 Scene 7A - Princess Jao: Half a step failure Scene 7A - Princess Jao: Half a step failure Jao stood steady as ragged screams and battle cries filled the air. The heat of war could be felt all around him. Jao released a steady breath in the face of the elven expert''s overpowering aura that seemed to sap him of his strength. With heavy steps and beads of sweat the size of raindrops flowing down his body, Jao moved to face the elf, not faltering in the slightest under the its suppression. As the distance between the two foes decreased, Jao felt the hand of death creeping towards him, causing his breath to turn forced. Gnashing his teeth, Jao''s mind started to waver as thoughts of fleeing appeared within his heart, ¡®I¡¯m just a peak 4th heavenly refinement expert, why do I have to fight against a mid stage 5th heavenly refinement expert.¡¯ But he couldn''t run away. Not now. The moment he turned his back, the elf would slice him in two. No matter what the cost would be, he had to kill this opponent if he wanted to survive! He wasn¡¯t like Jayce, who could turn crazy at the drop of a hat and explode with unknown power in order to take out stronger opponents. And he wasn¡¯t like the princess, who had been fed heavenly resources at every meal, given divine abilities to train in, and taught the best skills in the kingdom. All Jao had to depend on was the spear in his hands and his peak 4th heavenly refinement cultivation and being half a step mage. The fiend elf licked its lips as it eyed it''s tasty prey. Despite the elf¡¯s low intelligence it knew the being before it was weaker than itself and would die easily. Jao¡¯s eyes held a mixture of courage and fear as he gathered fire mana around his spear, causing a raging inferno to appear. ¡®This¡¯ was the only trump card he had. As a half a step failure in magic, this was all he could do with mana. Using his qi as glue, Jao gathered all the fire mana he could from the surrounding area and pasted it to his weapon, increasing its damage in a crude manner. Gritting his teeth, Jao moved even as the feeling of death grew in the back of his mind. His pupils turned pure scarlet under the pressure as a single thought raced through his mind, ¡®I have to win!¡¯ Jao fought with everything thing he had, kicking away the elf''s sword strikes and stabbing with his spear whenever he saw the chance, but with every exchange he came off worse for wear. Wounds piled up upon his body in no time at all. No matter how he attacked everything was meaningless in the face of overwhelming power. The elf''s sword inched ever closer as it aimed for his life. Licking its lips, the elf¡¯s cold eyes shone with hunger. Jao overstepped a move and the elf took immediate advantage by stabbing its sword into his side. Amazingly the sword missed Jao¡¯s vitals, but the elf wasn¡¯t finished with him as it pulled on him to bite into his neck!Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. In a last ditch effort to survive, Jao kicked off the elf¡¯s body and threw himself back, causing blood to squirt outward as the sword was removed. Rolling through the blood stained grass, Jaos stopped thirty meters away with his face to the ground. Despite rolling that far Jao never lost his spear. The elf slowly stepped towards Jao, clearly playing with its food. Gritting his teeth, Jao raised his head. He knew that his injuries were severe and that if he wasn''t treated soon he would die, but knowing his opponent was merely toying with him made his mind blank with anger. He wanted to rise to his feet and battle the fiend elf to the death, but his body wouldn''t move. Faced with death Jao roared within his mind, urging his body to move, ¡®Move! Move you piece of shit body, move! I can¡¯t die here, not when I have yet to become a mage! I refuse to die a failure!¡¯ The elf steadily crept closer, its cold eyes holding nothing but hunger. Twenty-nine meters¡­ Twenty-eight meters¡­ Twenty-seven meters¡­. The distance closed at a steady pace. Jao desperately fought to stand yet no matter what he tried, nothing seemed to work. His anger faded as the elf grew nearer, replaced by the fear that lingered in the back of his mind. Images of the past suddenly filled his brain as he looked at the elf. Images of being laughed at, stepped on, berated, told he was a failure. His rage came crashing back with a vengeance as something inside him snapped. Unknown strength exploded inside of his body, raging through his limbs and allowing him to rise to his feet. His arms shaking and vision clouded, Jao ignited all his remaining qi and pulled at the fire mana in the air around him, causing flames to appear across his body as they made their way to the tip of his spear. He charged forward, his footsteps shaky at first but they quickly gained traction, allowing him to become an unstoppable force! Feeling the surging power within, Jao suddenly released a howling scream full of madness, ¡° <>!¡± The elf, though startled by its prey¡¯s transformation, didn¡¯t idle and meet Jao¡¯s charge with green qi upon the edge of its sword. The two clashed with a boom that shook the battlefield and caused the surrounding people to be blinded as the resulting dust storm blasted in all directions. ¡®Fuck, I didn¡¯t kill him...¡¯ Jao thought as he lay on his side, a sword stuck in his gut and an one-armed elf standing close by, smirking down at him. A coppery taste filled his mouth, and Jao coughed out blood. He lost. He lost as a failure that couldn¡¯t even kill his opponent. So what that he took an arm? A fiend elf, given enough time, could easily heal such a wound. The elf seemed completely unfazed as it made its way over to him once again, hunger still looming within its cold black eyes. Jao cursed to the heavens, not having an ounce of strength to resist. Jao closed his eyes in the face of death, waiting for the end bitterly, ¡®If only I was stronger¡­.¡¯ Chapter 8 - Scene 7B - Lord Elbirret Scene 7B - Lord Elbirret Seconds passed yet the end never came for Jao. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. The elven expert looming over him stood with its eyes glazed over. It was faint, but its skin seemed to be darkening. The elf suddenly staggered, and to Jao''s horror seemed to melt. Within moments, the only proof that the elf had existed was a glob of black blood on the grass. The elf before him wasn''t the only one to be affected by this strange event. All over the battlefield fiend elves collapsed to the ground, melting down in droves to the point that a foul smelling swamp of red and black blood was created. Those still alive upon the battleground shuddered in disgust when the swamp''s stench reached them, an inexplicable feeling of fear shrouding their minds. Black clouds gathered above the swamp, spreading until they covered the whole battlefield and stealing away the afternoon''s warmth. *** The princess instantly went on guard, her voice cutting through the frozen silence, ¡°All men into formation!¡± A foreboding feeling of imminent death grew inside of her as the surrounding world qi morphed into something unnatural that left a disgusting slimy sensation upon her skin. Grim thoughts raced through her mind as she clutched her sword tightly, preparing for the worst, ¡®These madmen actually summoned a demon... just how many of us will fall here today?¡¯ *** Within the bloody swamp, Ecya dropped to his knees, the blood lotus petals upon his eye decaying into ash disappearing with the wind. A bitter smile appeared on his face as Ecya''s will began to fade back into the depths of Jayce''s mind, ¡°Jeez, I don¡¯t think my descendant will live through this fight. My time has already run out¡­ If only Lord Sai was here, that damned small fry wouldn''t even have the guts to show itself...¡± His eyes slowly closing, Ecya fell headfirst into the bloody swamp. Startled, Jayce jumped up and frantically wiped away the filthy blood, his eyes bewildered, ¡°Wasn¡¯t I fight just a moment ago? Wait, what the hell is going on here?! What the hell is that disgusting thing?!¡± *** Jao laid nearby, coughing and unable to rise to his feet. It was getting harder to breathe, but his body wouldn''t respond and allow him to pull himself out of the rising blood waves. Alas, he could feel his life force fading away.No matter how much qi he absorbed it would never be enough to replace his lost blood. Jao''s bitter expression worsened when he felt the qi in the air change into something slimy and foul. His last lifeline cut, Jao''s vision lost focus as he came to the borderline between life and death. The wind started to pick up with a wail as if a storm was about to hit. If that was all it wouldn''t be worth noticing since even a commoner knew that storms happened in a flash. Though unlike a common storm, this would be the exact opposite of a blessing. If people knew what was about to descend, they wouldn''t even have time to pray as they ran for their lives. A small bubbling ripple suddenly appeared in the swamp. Then another. And another. Soon the blood swamp began to wiggle and squirm as if it were alive. Soon the blood began to squirm as if it was alive. On guard and terrified the princess¡¯s men stared at this strange event with shock. Wisps of blood that quickly turned into streams and rivers were sucked up into the clouds. Some unfortunate men were caught up in the flow and carried away, their helpless screams filling the tense air. Jao was one such person. Even though he had tried to dig his hands and stab his spear into the ground, he didn''t even have the strength to make a dent with most of his blood outside of his body. ¡®Fuck¡­ I guess this is the end¡­¡¯If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Closing his eyes, Jao felt himself being pulled into the sky and spiraling away from the ground. Then a familiar voice appeared next to him, ¡°Oh Young Hero Jao~. You can¡¯t fly away without me!¡± A hand suddenly gripped Jao¡¯s arm and easily pulled him out of the blood river''s current. Glancing at the man Jao coughed out some blood and smiled, ¡°I told you to stop a *cough* calling me young hero, you bastard¡­¡± Jayce laughed and shoved a pill down Jao''s throat, ¡°You misunderstood me, brother! I never once said such a thing. Now quickly break down that pill with your remaining qi. It''ll bring back even someone on the brink of death... like you! Also on the count of three, I''m gonna pull out this sword. Ready?! One¡­ Two...!¡± Jao''s already pale face turned even paler as he tried to yell out wait, but Jayce didn''t give him the chance and instantly pulled the sword out when he reached two. Blood spilled out of the open wound, leaving Jao no time to retort as he furiously used his remaining qi to break apart and absorb the pill. Cool streams of healing qi spread through his body, causing his blood to multiply and wounds to heal. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t going to die today. Jao cursed inwardly as he focused on healing himself, ¡®Crazy bastard! At least give me a better warning. When we get home I¡¯m going to--¡¯ Standing over him with a grim face, Jayce watched the sky, ¡°Jao, hurry up.¡± Jao spat and gave Jayce a look, ¡°Why, didn¡¯t we win? All the elves are dead.¡± Jayce pointed across the battlefield and Jao glanced over, following his finger. Jao¡¯s eyes widened in shock as a fear stronger than when he fought against the elven expert emerged within his heart. A black and red tornado of blood descended from the skies above the enemy camp as souls of the dead appeared with vile black thunderbolts sparking across their skins. Not knowing what was happening, cries of fear appeared across the battlefield as friend and foe alike ran from the horrible force. Jao''s mouth hung open in fearful awe as he stared at the horrible sight. Jayce''s voice suddenly rang in his ears, ¡°A demon is about to appear. Fuck. I didn¡¯t bring any Maiden Water today. Hey Jao, got any I can borrow?¡± ¡°¡­¡± *** Lao Qu had been waiting for this moment. The blood density had finally reached the amount needed as payment for the summoning. With a grin, he removed his hood to reveal a scarred face warped by howling flames and yellow snake eyes that flickered with malice and contempt. Raising his arms to the sky, he began to preach, ¡°My brothers and sisters, it is time for those who have berated us to pay the price for stepping on the weak! It is time to summon Lord Elbirret to kill our foes! Let us raze the two kingdoms and begin anew!¡± ¡°Yes Master Lao, let us wish away those foolish sinners!¡± ¡°Kill the vile spawn that killed our families!¡± ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill!¡± Lao smiled warmly at his pawns, ¡®Ah so devoted to the cause, I raised them well.¡¯ Lao waved his hand to silence his people, ¡°Follow my lead, let us finish the ritual!¡± Taking the lead, Lau started to chant, his followers starting soon after. The ancient words of law floated through the air, causing shocking transformations. Lao finished the chant with a smile, having been saying his words like a devoted believer, ¡°Let chaos reign!¡± The tent ripped away to reveal the eye of the storm. All of the cultist¡¯s skin, with the exception of Lao, began to crack away and burn away but their faces were full of zeal, unafraid of the sacrifice. Their ashes gathered in the center of the magic formation to create a dark gem full of vile energy. Lao pulled out a small vial filled with slimy green blood and threw it to the ground to shatter the glass and release the shifting blood inside. Once free, the slime-like blood shot straight into the crystal. The blood tornado then halted in mid air as if frozen in time then suddenly surged towards the crystal, vanishing inside. Flesh and blood began to erupt from the crystal, compacting around it form a three hundred meter snake. The coiled snake seemed to take a breath that sucked in the surrounding souls, causing lightning to flicker around it. Nervous soldiers clutching spears gathered around, staring fearfully at the giant snake and Lao, whose smile only made his appearance more grotesque. Duke Kavor came out of his tent at this time, his face covered in fury., ¡°What happened to my elves, assassin?! If this beast does not deliver I shall have your¡­y-your... N-No, it can¡¯t be I kill-¡± Lao pointed at the duke, chuckling like a madman, ¡°Killed me? Duke Kavor if you keep walking near a river eventually your feet will get wet. It is time to pay the dues you owe to the dead!¡± Duke Kavor cursed, ¡°You should have died in that fire Minister Lao! Men, kill that traitor!¡± Following their commander''s,words the soldiers rushed at Lao, who stood there with a smile, not moving in the slightest. Yet the moment they came within five meters of Lao a shadow loomed above them. A gaping maw smashed down, devouring one hundred men in a flash. *Crunch Crunch* Ghastly sounds came from the slimy creature, its mold covered scales shining a disgusting shade of green as its large cat ears flickered, releasing waves of pressure that could crush a mortal with ease... Lord Elbirret the Terrible had awoken. Chapter 8 - Scene 8A - Ramage Scene 8A - Ramage Dust, screams, and trails of blood flew through in the air in the enemy¡¯s camp as Lord Elbirret rampaged, devouring everything in its path. It was a sight for the eyes as mages frantically cast various spells causing lakes of elemental magic to fall upon Lord Elbirret the Terrible. But as a demonic snake that once plagued the world, how could Lord Elbirret be dealt with so easily? Whipping its tail furiously, causing earthquakes to appear, Lord Elbirret opened its mighty mouth, revealing its horrendous fangs as it swallowed the magic attacks greedily, stunning the tiny pale mages around it before shooting a death beam across the landscape, explosions lining its path. Body parts fly and charred corpses flew into the sky as the puny mages scattered in panic. Princess Diana¡¯s face paled and she unhesitatingly turned around to shout orders at her cowering men ¡°All forces retreat back to the camp! Those with able bodies carry the heavily wounded! Those that are injured yet can still walk, get your asses moving!¡± Despite her calm, confident voice, Diana''s mind was in utter turmoil, ¡®Why the fuck is that demon at the 13th rank of heavenly refinement?! What idiot would summon something that could end both of our kingdoms?!¡¯ As her forces retreated back to their camp, the slimy feeling in the air vanished without a trace, allowing those who had spent their qi to recover at last. What was left of the enemy army stood dazed, losing their spirit as they watched the monstrosity called Lord Elbirret devour their fellow countrymen with ease. Princess Diana scoffed at the shellshocked enemy soldiers who stood as if they had lost their souls and made making her way to the main tent, ¡°Boren! You are in charge of the retreat!¡± Boren was shocked and horrified, knowing what the princess wanted to do, ¡°You don¡¯t mean to stay and fight that demon by yourself?! Your highness, that''s utter madness!¡± Princess Diana forced a laugh, a charming smile on her lips, ¡°If no one holds it back we won¡¯t have time to flee back to the kingdom.¡± Boren made a difficult face and opened his mouth, but the Princess had already left the tent.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Diana stood upon a crate and infused qi into her voice, allowing it to be heard in all corners of the camp, ¡°I issue a full retreat! Split into 10 bands and thead for the castle to report the situation! Those of able body, carry the wounded to the carriages! Those that wish to stand with me and fight the beast threatening our kingdom, stay back and join me in slaying it!¡± Despite the low morale in the camp and confusion over Princess Diana''s appearance, a thousand warriors decided to stay back and fight, causing the Princess''s chest to swell with pride. Surveying those remaining, she noticed Jao and Jayce quietly standing on the edge of the crowd with blank expressions. Not paying much attention to the pair, Diana ordered her remaining men to prepare the defenses in order to slow down the giant snake as much as possible. She guessed they had about two or three hours before the beast came for them. While overseeing the work, she noticed she saw that Jao and Jayce weren¡¯t moving at all, despite her orders. A flash of anger passed through her eyes as she walked up to them with a cold snort, ¡°I¡¯m thankful for your help, but since you''re here there is no time to slack off! Hurry up and help the rest of the men set up the defenses!¡± The two stood there with blank expressions, not even gazing in her direction. Now fuming, the Princess roared, ¡°Fine! Be that way then! But you have to fight two times harder than the others when the battle begins or I¡¯ll hang you both if I get the chance!¡± Still fuming, she turned with her head held high and began helping her men move bricks and logs, ordering them in a way that would help restrict the demon''s movements. Three and a half hours passed in a blink of an eye, and even while working the princess had remembered to gaze at the two men standing still as statues. She eventually came to the concision that the two had somehow managed to faint while standing up. It would have been funny at any other time, but this wasn¡¯t a joking matter to her. If she had noticed earlier she could''ve had them brought away from the battlefield, but now the two were doomed to stay even if it meant their deaths. The last of the duke''s forces were almost completely wiped out, leaving only a few small pockets of resistance. The moment they were gone, the snake would turn its attention to them. Yet looking at the giant snake''s unwounded appearance and its hard as steel scales that deflected both swords and magic with utter ease, Diana felt a headache coming on. Suddenly the air changed and the princess couldn''t breathe. A slimy and cold feel crawled over her skin, and she knew that the demonic snake had set its sight on her band of men. She knew at that moment the demon had set its sight on her band of men. Biting her lip to resist the pressure, a trickle of blood rolled down her chin as Princess Diana held up her sword, ¡°Prepare for battle! That damn snake is approaching! Chapter 8 - Scene 8B - Legacy of Lord Sai Lord Elbirret licked its grotesque bloody maw and raised its head arrogantly as it gazed towards the distant camp. Minister Lao stood atop the beast unfazed by the bloodshed, utilizing the slimy qi to remain atop the snake, and uttered, ¡°My lord, look your puny snacks are fleeing for their lives! Those impudent bastards, how dare they run away!¡± With a terrifying roar, Lord Elbirret charged straight towards the Princess¡¯s defenses without a hint of fear. Diana raised her heavy sword and yelled, ¡°First line of defense, prepare! The second line, fire at will! Third line, continue to channel! We''ll kill this bastard here!¡± The men and women in the first line of defense readied their swords and spears as drops of sweat as big as beans fell from their bodies. The archers making up the second line of defense pulled back their bow strings with trembling hands and fired at the large target that only increased in size as it moved towards them. As for the third line of defense, a circle of sixty mages surrounded an old man with a shaggy beard, channeling all the mana they could gather into him. Lord Elbirret swiftly crossed the empty battlefield and crashed into the first defense line as swarms of arrows and spears bounced off its steel-like scales harmlessly. Wood and flesh scattered through the air as the men desperately tried to buy any time they could by throwing their lives at the beast. Yet despite their best efforts, the men along the first defense line lasted only twenty minutes before being annihilated. Princess Diana gritted her teeth and yelled at the archers. ¡°The first line is down, protect the mages at all costs! Archers pull out your melee weapons and hold as long as you can! We can, no, we MUST win this!¡± Inwardly cursing under their breaths, the archers rushed the giant snake, literally throwing their bodies at it some harm to the beast. in their attempt to cause at least. Sadly they only managed to leave faint scratches upon the snake''s scales before they were swallowed into the beast''s maw. The sixty mages behind them furiously channeled every scrap of mana they possessed into the old man, who had gathered their mana into a fist-sized bead that radiated with a powerful gray aura tinged with yellow. Judging by the color the princess knew that they only needed five more minutes before the bead was fully charged. Alas, with the way the demon was slaughtering through their ranks, the bead wouldn''t be charged in time. Diana felt the weight on her shoulders increase with every man lost. Something within her clicked as a surging rage filled her meridians, allowing her to instantly break through to the 6th level of heavenly refinement. Wielding her heavy sword the princess leapt into the air with a roar, filled with newfound power, and with beams of qi shooting out of her furious eyes. Alas her war cry was cut short when the giant snake idly swung it its tail, striking her out of the air. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, the air knocked out of her lungs, the princess slid through the dirt and lied motionlessly, her ribs fractured and one of her legs broken. Despite cladding herself in qi before charging, the princess was trampled upon with ease, leaving her in a sorry state and unable to fight. The remaining archers felt their spirits crushed when they saw the princess¡¯s sorry end, the will to fight within them rapidly vanishing without a trace. Noticing this, the princess clutched her sword in a death grip and used it as a cane, standing proudly despite the excruciating pain coursing through her body. Taking a heroic pose despite her broken leg and cracked ribs, Princess Diana coughed out a mouthful of blood and yelled, ¡°Keep fighting men! If we fall here, our families will be the next to die under this vicious beast!¡± Feeling their fighting spirit ignite once again, the remaining warriors charged towards the snake without fear, trying to buy just a bit more time. The old man in the middle of the circle of mages was short of breath, trying to hold back against the waves of unstable magic power running rampant within his body. Minister Lao laughed like a madman as a repulsive slimy qi rolled off his body, ¡°You will all die today! Your kingdoms will be wiped away, your families will be slaughtered, and your land devoid of life! Only then will my family''s revenge be fulfilled! Kill off their filthy mages and crush their spirit, Lord Elbirret!¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Paling in fright the princess screamed, ¡°We need just one more minute! Hold out, men! ¡± The warriors tried their best to block the snake''s path only to be eaten, flattened, or thrown into the air as the beast shot straight for the mages.Diana was horrified, knowing that the bead''s current charge wouldn''t be strong enough to wound the snake. If only they had just a bit more time, they could have at least caused some damage to the beast. It seemed as if Lord Elbirret would gobble up all the mages in one fell swoop, but gritting his teeth the elderly mage released the bead¡¯s incomplete beam at the snake with a hysterical scream, ¡°Die!¡± Suddenly a blur of red and clear energy entered straight into the beam''s path; the princess gasped in shock as the blur came racing towards the blast. The strange blur came to a stop between the beam and the beast, shockingly revealing its identity as Jao! Without thinking the princess bitterly shook her fist at Jao, ¡°What are you doing Specialist Striker! You''re going to die for no reason, hurry up and move!¡± But even if Jao wanted to get out of the way, it was too late to dodge the two unstoppable forces from clashing, killing him in the process! Yet if someone gazed closely, they would have noticed that Jao didn¡¯t seem fazed in the slightest. He even rushed straight into the beam! The beam exploded onto Jao¡¯s body, creating a rumbling sound that blasted in all directions, kicking up dust and sweeping away bodies, the Princess among them. While the Princess was spiraling through the air, shocking transformations began taking place within Jao as a multitude of energy swirled around him. Lord Elbirret actually stopped in its tracks, watching Jao with curious eyes. Inside the chaotic flow of energy, Jao opened his mouth, his voice booming with confidence, ¡°My name is Jao Striker, and I am a failure no more!¡± The old mage released ashockingly soaked into Jao¡¯s body, causing the old man to exclaim exclaimed, ¡°Impossible!¡± As the magic flowed into his meridians, Jao¡¯s hair turned from scarlet to a soft silver, with the tips of his hair turning a faint shade of purple and his eyes changing to a glowing silver. A vortex appeared as the explosion faded around him, revealing Jao as he stood face to face with the disgusting snake, looking at the beast with a gaze of contempt that somehow made the creature feel uneasy. Noticing this, Minister Lao patted the head beneath him as he sent a contempt gaze of his own towards Jao, ¡°Fear not my lord, this man is nothing but mere food. Now kill him and move on towards the others!¡± Reassured, LordElbirriet opened its large slimy maw, maneuvering to eat Jao in one bite. The princess gazed fearfully at Jao¡¯s confident back and yelled, ¡°Get out of the way before you get eaten! Yet Jao ignored her command, merely gazing over his shoulder at her and winking before turning back to the snake, ¡°You lesser being, daring to stand in the way of Lord Sai¡¯s descendant... You¡¯re seeking death!¡± Raising his hand, the mana vortex surrounding Jao suddenly dashed into the ground in front of him as if drawn there by some unknown spell. Alas, how could Elbirret and Minister Lao let Jao do as he wished? ¡°Die, you filthy vermin!¡± shouted Minister Lao as Lord Elbirret charged forth. Smiling coldly, Jao pointed his hand at the grotesque snake ten meters away from him and suddenly made a claw, ¡°Second tier, large class Glass magic <>!¡± Cracking sounds came from beneath the ground as dirt blew away, revealing a mind numbingly huge 1,500-meter long glass serpent that leisurely rose from the ground with a thunderous roar before moving with a shocking speed and chomping straight at Minister Lao and LordElbirret! The princess was filled with shock, the mages fainted from the sight, Minister Lao was so stunned his face paled and Lord Elbirret trembling in fright! There was no time to get out of the way! Jao¡¯s glass serpent opened its mouth wide and swallowed Lord Elbirret in a single bite! Jao closed his hand tightly, a cold smile upon his lips and a vicious look in his silver eyes, ¡°Implode!¡± Shimmering brightly, the serpent crushed unto itself, turning the pitiful Minister Lao and Lord Elbirret into a bloody shake before exploding outwards, causing glass shards to fly in all directions. Jumping in joy with tears in their eyes, the surviving men and women were overjoyed, unable to believe that they were going to live. Despite her injuries, the Princess ordered one of her men to help her to Jao¡¯s side. ¡®How did he get so powerful!?¡¯ the Princess wondered as she limped her way over to Jao, almost jumping on him in her joy and only stopping when she saw that he had once again fallen asleep while standing. Laughing at the strange sight, Diana ordered her men to remake the camp and treat their injured, before calling over a few messengers to tell the retreating army that the beast had been slain, then passed out on the bloody ground, unable to stand her pain any longer. As she fell to the ground with the world around her slowly fading away, she couldn''t help thinking, ¡®What an interesting fight¡­.¡¯ Chapter 8 - Scene 8C- Spirited away Scene 8C - Spirited away As night descended Jao''s eyes suddenly snapped open, ¡°Holy water won''t do shit to that thing, you idiot! Eh?¡± Jao held his head that felt as if someone was beating it with a plank of wood and swept his eyes over his surroundings until he noticed a startled combat medic standing nearby. Fighting through the pain, Jao grit his teeth and asked, ¡°Where am I... and where''s that bitch Jayce? Why am I in a bed... and why is the princess in the next bed over?!¡± The startled medic opened his mouth to explain, but Jayce suddenly appeared from a corner of the tent holding a half empty bottle of spirits, ¡°Ah, Young Hero Jao has awoken! Now don¡¯t I have a story to tell you!¡± With a frown, Jao gazed at Jayce with unfocused eyes, ¡°For the last time, it''s Jao you damned fool! I''ll fucking beat you until you see heaven''s gate if you call me a young hero again!¡± With laughter in his voice, Jayce ignored Jao¡¯s threat, ¡°What is this about, young hero? I never said such a thing, right doc?¡± The combat medic opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Jayce, ¡°But you''ll never believe what happened, brother! You see, it went down like this..."¡± After being filled in by Jayce Jao gazed at him strangely, not believing him in the slightest. Eventually, he turned to the combat medic, ¡°Give me a mirror Doc.¡± The combat medic faithfully handed Jao a mirror and stood to the side, deciding not to bother with the two. When Jao saw his reflection he was shocked to the core, a smile creeping up on his face as he jumped out of bed yelling at the top of his lungs, ¡°I¡¯ve become a mage! A mage! I¡¯m no longer a failure! Jayce you lovable bastard, I won¡¯t strangle you tonight!¡± Jayce choked on his alcohol, speechless, ¡®You didn''t even believe your own brother?!¡¯ Clearing his throat, Jayce retorted, ¡°Oi! Your brother has-¡± A strange wind suddenly shot into the tent, cutting of Jayce¡¯s words. His eyes sharpening, Jayce reached for his sword only to find himself unable to move, as if he was stuck within blackroot mud!Stolen story; please report. Horrified, the three men could only stare at the gust of wind converging in the middle of the room. The gale suddenly vanished, but in its place was a small bald old man the size of a dwarf with a gray beard as majestic as the sun and eyes full of wile. The old man stare directly at Jayce before sweeping his eyes towards Jao, studying the two as if they were prime meat, ¡°So you two are Dao descendants, eh? Perfect! I heard that old fart Mo found nine promising youths this time around, so you two will do nicely!¡± Jao opened his mouth in an attempt to talk, only to find the words trapped in his throat. The old man noticed this and wore a confused expression for a moment, but then with a flash of understanding snapped his fingers, ¡°Ask away, dear disciple!!¡± High confused, Jao almost stumbled over his words when he opened his mouth, ¡°W-What are you talking about? Calling me disciple... I don''t even know you! And what¡¯s this about being a descendant? Who even are you?!¡± Jayce kept his mouth shut for once, guessing a bit of what the bald gremlin had to say. The old man smirked in pride and laughed warmly, ¡°Ah, I am the Vice Sect leader of the Sectless Sect, Yorlin Evergreen! I was just passing by when I sensed the energy of that vile small-fry of a demon. I figured I would take care of it, but then you two popped up and let me watch a good show. Now I finally have something to brag about to the other elders! This test, I''ll have the last laugh, hahaha! What a great find, what great luck! To find such gems in the mortal world, this Yorlin is blessed!¡± While laughing, Yorlin wrapped up the powerless to resist Jao and Jayce within his winds, ready to leave without another word. But as they floated behind the old man, Jao threw away his stunned expression and yelled, ¡°Wait, I can¡¯t go!¡± Jayce nodded, agreeing with Jao, causing Yorlin to turn with a stunned expression and ask, "Why not? State your problems and your Master will wipe them out for you!" ¡°I have a sister¡­¡± ¡°You can bring her along.¡± ¡°I have a debt to the kingdom.¡± ¡°A minor manner.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­. Also¡­.¡± Whatever he said Yorlin agreed without any problem, making Jao dazed from his new master¡¯s goodwill. Even Jayce pondered for a bit and asked the old man for a few things which were dealt with ease. After finishing their conversation, old man Yorlin made to leave when a womanly voice stopped him in his tracks. At some unknown time, the Princess had awoken! ¡°I wish to accompany great master Yorlin as well!¡± The old fart gazed at the girl with an indifferent expression as he sizing her up, ¡°Hmmm you barely pass my standards by a small grain of rice, you can come along but you won¡¯t but you won¡¯t be my disciple unless you pass the sect¡¯s examination with flying colors!¡± Forgetting her broken leg, Princess Diana excitedly jumped out of bed as she yelled "Deal!" only to fall to the ground. ¡°Good, then we leave now!¡± The three youths gazed at the old man with confused expressions, only to be lifted out of the tent by a strong wind. As the group of four shot off into the starry horizon, a lone medic was left with a headache. ''What do I tell the King...'' Chapter 9 - Scene 1 - The Armory Scene 1 - The Armory Saren awoke surrounded by books, covered by a thick quilted blanket. A piece of paper attached to his face blocked his vision. Annoyed at his sibling¡¯s passive-aggressiveness, Saren ripped the note off of his face and read, ¡°Big bro, come downstairs to eat when you wake up!¡± Chuckling, Saren escaped his tomb of books and stretched out his sore body, ¡®Why do they keep putting notes on me when I sleep in the library? Can¡¯t they just wake me up or carry me to our room? Not my fault that my brain won¡¯t shut off when learning.¡¯ Fixing his robe to appear presentable, Saren walked out of the library to be greeted by Skinny, who had been standing outside to receive him for an unknown amount of time, ¡°Hey senior-apprentice brother Skinny. What time is it?¡± Skinny gave a faint smile, ¡°It¡¯s not that late in the day. You¡¯ll make it in time for lunch if we move quickly.¡± The black robed Skinny led Saren down the hall towards the dining room where Saren''s siblings had been waiting for him. Master Mo and his daughter Marley were also seated at the table, and when Saren arrived they were in the middle of telling wondrous tales to the children. Saren walked in quietly and sat by Ren, expecting to be yelled at by Master Mo for being late only to be greeted with a warm smile from his Master, ¡°Ah, Saren. Since you''re all here now, I¡¯ll tell you the practical training I have assigned for you all these next few days.¡± Master Mo waited until he had everyone''s attention before he began to speak, ¡°To solidify your cultivation bases, it needs to be in the purest possible state before you break though. Therefore we shall temper you nine through trials. You will be fighting against golems I personally created. We will begin the test in four hours. Any questions?¡± Xue spoke up, her eyes glittering with a strange light, ¡°What weapons will we be using?¡± Sol enthusiastically chimed in, ¡°Thank you Master Mo for this chance to test my strength!¡± Marley smiled,¡°I¡¯m quite interested in the weapons the nine of you will choose. After our meal, I''ll take you to the armory.¡± While the siblings eagerly talked about their upcoming trial, Saren and Len were wondering what weapon they should pick. Saren and Len were thoughtfully thinking about what to use in the fight. Saren¡¯s thoughts went wild, his normally calm brown eyes taking on a deadly feeling for only an instant, ¡®It¡¯s been awhile since I let loose... I hope these things called Golems will give me a good fight.¡¯The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Smiling to himself he remembered how his adoptive Mother had found him fighting against three wild dogs for a slab of meat. He had been bitten all over his body, but with a crazed glint in his eyes, he had beaten the dogs to death with a stone. His mother and his siblings included could only imagine what his life was like before she found him. Thinking of the past caused him to recall how Ren''s constant lectures had helped Saren tame his wild nature and sharpen his wordplay. Yet even with all the help Ren and the rest had given him, Saren knew his mindset was always that of a predator treading the thin line between human and beast. Master Mo had supplied him with a library full of books, but his calculative nature had easily swallowed the knowledge like a vast desert being moistened by a single drop of water. One library would never be enough. After filling their bellies, the nine followed after Master Mo and Marley and entered a wing on the third floor. Various weapons filled the walls, giving off a unique energy that made the nine gasp in amazement. Master Mo wore a smile upon his face, ¡°Choose wisely, this decision it is very important for your future growth.¡± The nine spread out and started looking through the vast amount of weapons. Saren went down to one of the rooms and found it was filled with tens of thousands of knives. For a long while Saren shifted through the room, but eventually, he picked up two tattered knives. They were clearly old, their sheaths covered in a thick layer of dust, but something about these two knives had drawn Saren to them. In fact, when he tried to pick up any other blade, these two knives had cried out fiercely, like angry children. Intrigued by the situation, he went into the other halls to see if he felt anything else call out to him. In one of the rooms, he saw Xue holding a giant black and gold hammer covered in tribal marks, her eyes shining in a way that made him unconsciously back away. The giant hammer made his blades seem dull in comparison, but he shook his head and moved on as nothing there called out to him. Saren visited the sword section next, only to see Ren fawning over a purple, green and black longsword half his size. Saren warily backed out slowly as Ren was caressing the sword and whispering sweet nothings to it. Finally, he entered the bow section and was delighted to find something that spoke to him, or rather outright called for him as it immediately shot straight towards him. Saren was stunned and stared stupidly at the bow in awe. It was unadorned with the exception of a tear on the top side. The rest of it was completely black, to point that light seemed to sink into it only to vanish without a trace, its curves were smooth and slender, and a blood red string connected its two sides. Without thinking much about it Saren grabbed hold of the bow. A thunderous yell instantly filled his head, as if a divine dragon had descended upon the mortal world only to whisper to him the bow''s true name, ¡°>>God Slayer, Night Thorn<<.¡± With a bow and two blades in hand, Saren felt he didn¡¯t need any other weapon. He walked out and waited next to Master Mo and Marley. The two seemed unfazed by his choices, but inside their minds were reeling with shock! Saren walked out and waited by Master Mo and Marley Mo who kept the composure, but inside they were thoroughly shocked with mind reeling! ¡®How could he have pulled out a God Slayer weapon?!¡¯ Chapter 9 - Scene 2 - God Slayers Scene 2 - God Slayers Marley shook her head, ¡®God Slayers are weapons that have killed gods! Such an amazing weapon in the hands of a child? How was he lucky enough to grab one in an armory full of lesser weapons?¡± A normal weapon would''ve lost all the power its previous owner nurtured within it when they died, even if it was made with godly materials. But a God Slaying weapon was different! Even though it would lose most if not all of its stored energy, it would retain the divine ability of the God it had slain within an imprint. An imprint such as the tear on the top of the bow. Yet God Slaying weapons disdained normal cultivators. When their owner dies, sometimes it wouldn''t choose a new master for tens of thousands of years! Even if a cultivator found one, they might not be able to use it due to the weapon''s picky nature. Thus, many God Slaying weapons were placed within the storages of Clans, Sects, or Guilds. Some were even placed within showcases or hung on walls. When Master Mo saw the battle blades on Saren''s body his eyes shone, even though they weren''t God Slaying weapons, they had at least killed a greater demon before. If he remembered right he found those blades when he was exploring the Sectless Sect''s labyrinth grounds. They had been emanating a demonic air as they lay trapped within the cold dead hands of some nameless corpse. Seren waited with his Master for the next person to come out. Not long after Vince appeared, carrying nine seemingly weightless earth colored Francisca axes on his belt. Master Mo nodded. All of the axes had killed a greater demon and came from the same source. They would grow as Vince did, and would eventually show terrifying might. Sol appeared next with a simple sword streaked with orange and a jet black shield. Luna walked slightly behind him, holding a long silver spear and a shield that shone with the light of the moon. Master Mo was stunned yet again, ¡®The Sword and Shield Sol is holding are God Slaying weapons! If I remember right they used to belong to the SunMoon Clan. It was an ancestral heirloom that hadn''t chosen a second wielder in over fifty thousand years The sword and shield are considered a single entity by the name of Eclipse, and can''t be separated for more than one hundred meters else they lose their power.¡¯ Luna''s spear and shield may not be God Slayer weapons, but they had soaked in the blood of countless lunar demons to the point that their original bronze color was tainted with a pure white haze After Sol and Luna came Ren, who held his sword to his chest as if he feared someone would take it from him. Xue was behind him and acting in the same manner, only she spoke sweet nothings to her great hammer as if it were her child.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. They were, of course, greater demon slaying weapons which had killed a great many things. At this point, Master Mo had become accustomed to how each and every disciple obtained powerful weapons as if they were cheap candy. Afterall he couldn''t always be shocked or his hair would turn white, perhaps even falling out. A mystified Len walked up holding a massive folded up jagged white scythe that gave off a pure heroic energy in her right hand and a large leather bag containing 108 long one foot needles that gave off pure dark energy in her other. After Len, Rune appeared carrying two slender gauntlets. One was a dazzling yellow with each finger outlined in red, and the other was pure purple with fingers outlined in blue. The yellow gauntlet has an image of a smiling mask atop it while the other possessed a sad mask. Master Mo opened his mouth to speak and the eight instantly grew fearful, their expressions spelling out their unconfidence, ¡®Were their choices not good enough? But the weapons had called out to them like whining children, it¡¯s not their fault!¡¯ Master Mo smiled wryly, and heard a door open. He turned towards the sound only to have his eyes roll back into his skull and turn white. ¡®How is this possible?! How could she possibly wield that sword!? It weighs over one hundred thousand pounds and has never called out to anyone before! How?! It should be impossible!¡¯ Master Mo suddenly remembered a legend so old that it had been around at least one hundred thousand years ago. t was a story passed down by mortals for generations. According to the story, the sword descended upon the mortal plane when an angry shout from the heavens shook the whole world,¡°You piece of shit sword, how dare you reject me! I made you!¡± The sword stuck deep into the earth, creating a crater that spanned ten miles. The locals hurriedly rushed over, descending into the crater and finding the sword at the bottom, standing tall upon a large God Beast that had been cleaved in two. The blade had upon it a symbol of a black Demon skull, but the rest of it was pure white without a speck of dust. Even the blood on its blade slid off without leaving behind a single mark. Many a man had tried to move it with no success, and eventually, even famous figures of the time appeared and tried to move it. When everyone failed, someone rose the possibility of it being a God Slaying weapon. Unable to be moved, the blade was eventually forgotten though word of mouth kept the story alive. Seasons passed and the huge crater filled with water, becoming a large lake. Master Mo had come across the story in his travels and moved the Sectless Sect into action. Together with the sect elders and a powerful formation, placed upon a sturdy sheath that decreased the blade''s weight to ten thousand pounds, they were able to pull the monstrous blade from the bottom of the lake. Through the passing ages, the blade hadn''t been affected by the elements in the slightest, its edge still as perfectly sharp as the day it appeared. And now this ten-year-old girl was casually holding that same blade within her thin arms as if it was as light as a feather... Master Mo''s mind reeled as he pulled himself back into consciousness ¡°Nena, my dear disciple... what is the name of that blade?¡± Nena grinned a charming smile that pulled at the heartstrings of those around her, ¡°His name is Solitude!¡± Master Mo finally regained his former composure as the satisfaction of having a long-standing question answered washed over him. He had wanted to know the true name of this blade to see if the sheath''s name ¡®Abyss¡¯ matched that of the one hundred thousand-year-old blade it held. Master Mo nodded with a faint smile, ¡°Thank you, Nena. I¡¯ve always wondered what the name of that blade was. Now come here disciples, I have to lay a concealment spell over your weapons so that others aren''t too shocked, Later on, I shall teach how to wield them well.¡± Chapter 9 - Scene 3 - Weapon Souls Scene 3 - Weapon Souls After placing the concealment spell, Master Mo¡¯s expression turned solemn, ¡°Now you must remember this well disciples. Your weapons are powerful and have their own souls. They might have picked you as their masters, yet they will attempt to forcibly change your mindset to that of their old owner.¡± Saren titled his head in confusion, ¡°If these things are so dangerous, why did you bring us here so we could choose them? Wouldn''t it be better to get some new ones instead?¡± Hearing Saren¡¯s question Master Mo smiled, his eyes dancing with passion, ¡°These weapons hold ancient secrets gained from either their previous wielders or the gods they vanquished! Their cultivation path, their memories, powerful legacies, and other profound teachings on martial arts, forging, alchemy, anything could be hidden within these weapons, the possibilities are endless! If you are able to dominate the weapon, everything it holds will be yours! Even if they are dangerous if you wish to grow stronger these weapons hold the greatest of fortunes!¡± Eyeing his disciples and seeing their hesitant expressions, Master Mo followed up, ¡°Now I won¡¯t force you to take them. If you can''t brave the danger, you can leave these weapons behind.¡± Nena beamed, full of wonder, ¡°Ummm... Master, can we pick more than one?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Sol asked as well, ¡°Can I get another?¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Stunned at their responses and seeing their resolute expressions, Master Mo only now realized that his disciples weren''t afraid of the danger at all, in fact, they were willing to face even greater danger in the hopes of getting stronger! He couldn¡¯t hate them for how they acted as greed was good for a cultivator. Too little and they would never be able to reach the peak, too much and they would most likely bring about their own deaths. Master Mo pat Nena''s head with a laugh, ¡°Now, now you little ones shouldn¡¯t bite off more than you can chew at your level. Learn about and dominate your weapon¡¯s souls before taking on another or your very own soul will be put under too much stress and collapse under the pressure, turning you into a vegetable. But I shall warn you once more, and remember this, reaching for unknown power while not respecting it can quite possibly kill you! Not in only body, but also in soul and Dao!¡± The siblings were unhindered by their master¡¯s words and instead asked questions about their weapons until they were satisfied, at which point Master Mo told them, ¡°Come now, let us go test out your weapons!¡± Master Mo led the nine and Marley towards the training wing, where layers and layers of protective formations covered the entire room. Master Mo suddenly turned to face them, thrusting his arms out to the sides with a smile on his face, ¡°Welcome to the training hall!¡± As his voice faded, a massive ten-foot tall golem made of stone fell from the ceiling! His smile stretching from ear to ear, Master Mo ignored his disciple''s gaping expressions, "Who¡¯s first?" Chapter 10 - Scene 1 - Battle Prowess Scene 1 - Battle Prowess Len suddenly stood up, surprising her brothers and sisters, and bowed to Master Mo, speaking in a whisper, ¡°Allow me to go first, Master!¡± She carried her scythe in hand, unfolding it behind her back in a casual manner, her Demon Slaying needles hanging on her waist in a black runic satchel that Marley had given her. Len moved swiftly, her expression calm under her long messy hair. Standing before the large golem, she couldn''t resist muttering, ¡°Finally this sister here can vent some anger. Sorry big guy, but I¡¯m going to be impolite.¡± Master Mo raised his voice, ¡°The rules are as followed: if you are hit directly by the Golem, your fight is done. Don''t worry about being injured as its attacks will faze right through you. You''ll be able to block its attacks, but anything not blocked will be considered a hit. Are you ready Len?¡± Len¡¯s eyes, even if covered by a jungle of hair, showed a blazing fighting spirit. Her once bleak and unnoticeable aura took a drastic change at this time, making it seem as if a ferocious god of war had descended upon the mortal plane, ¡°Disciple is ready!¡± Master Mo snapped his fingers and suddenly the motionless Golem roared to life, moving at a speed one would think impossible for its massive body! It only took three steps and was already upon Len, swiping its trunk-like fist right towards her! Len snorted coldly, ducking below its fist and pivoting on her foot like a winding demon, causing her robes to spread out like the blooming petals of a flower, her movements alike that of flowing water. With both hands on her scythe, she spun forth to the golem''s left flank, using her momentum to slice off its left leg in one swift motion! Her first time wielding a weapon, Len had surprisingly struck an impeccable blow on the first exchange, shocking everyone present! Even Master Mo and Marley were shocked, though their expressions didn''t change. Master Mo watched on, thinking about the movements Len had shown, ¡®Mhmm... the Scythe is giving her the memories of its past owners. The others should get memories of fighting from their weapons as well. I should have increased the difficulty for these youngsters. Consider it your master¡¯s mistake. I thought it would be too early to temper them by throwing them into the fire, but this won''t be enough to refine their foundations!¡¯Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As he came to a conclusion, Len stood atop the golem''s back, cutting off its head with a swift motion, ¡°Weak...¡± Before the word had even left her lips, ten massive golems appeared in a circle around her, instantly dashing forth to attack and leaving her with no chance to dodge! Qi built up under her feet as Len instinctively reached inside of her satchel, pulling three Demon Slaying needles out between her fingers. Tapping off of the golem beneath her feet, Len shot into the air, leaping forward by more than twenty meters and clearing the encirclement with ease. She turned in midair, suddenly shooting out the three needles and piercing three golems square in the head, causing them to explode into a dusty mist! Len landed on the ground unhindered, her obsidian eyes gleaming with a strange light as she gripped her scythe and charged towards her foes, raging across the stage Large limbs, colossal heads, and massive swirls of dust danced around her as her scythe and needles flew through the air. The maelstrom of movement followed Len wherever she moved within the seemingly endless waves of golems, but no matter how many she killed more would appear. Her messy hair waved in the air as Len dashed between the golem''s massive forms, slicing, piercing and cutting all in her way to the point that she became a mini tornado. With every golem that fell, her bloodlust grew stronger, her edge sharper. Finally, after destroying the 45th Golem, Len''s lack of energy caused her to misstep, causing her to be blindsided from an approaching golem''s kick. The moment she was hit, the golems crumbled away, leaving a layer of dust covering the floor. Drenched in a layer of sweat and dust, Len fell over, passing out on the spot. Marley called some black robed maidens over, ordering them to prepare nine hot baths of herbal medicine. As the black robed maidens scurried away to follow her orders, Marley carried Len back to her siblings, who were looking on gravely as worry ate away at them. Master Mo quickly reassured them she had just overdrawn her energy, and Marley placed Len down upon a nearby mat one of the black robed maiden has brought over. Placing her hands on Len''s stomach, Marley slowly infused some of her energy into the exhausted girl''s body.Len''s pale complexion slowly returned to normal, and her siblings breathed sighs of relief. Master Mo had the black robed men clear the stage after Len had been moved off, and soon he turned to his remaining disciples with a grin, "So, who wants to go next?" After Len''s display he had expected that they wouldn''t have the courage to challenge an endless swarm of golems, but to Master Mo''s surprise, his disciple''s eyes were blazing with an intense fire. Chapter 10 - Scene 2A,B - Dance of Axes and Arrows Scene 2A - Dance of axes Master Mo looked on, a twinkle in his eyes even though his face was expressionless, as Vince stood up, pulled off his shirt and shoes to reveal a muscled body full of scars, and walked towards the stage with his Francisca axes hanging from his belt. He resized two of the axes and held them in his hands as he took a battle stance, readying himself for the onslaught, and yelled, ¡°Disciple is ready!¡± Master Mo snapped his fingers, causing the golems to start spawning, ¡°Begin!¡± The golem''s eyes lit up as they activated, and steam rose off of their bodies as they started to move, attacking in a fury. Vince moved across the stage full of vigor, imbuing his weapons with gravity magic to increase their attack power before throwing them into the golem''s faces. Jumping into the air, Vince stepped on a golem''s face, retrieving his axe from it as he did, and moved off before another golem punched the one he was standing on, causing it to burst apart into fine granules of sand. Using <> on the grains of sand floating through the air, Vince was able to move at strange angles as he dodged through the ever increasing group of golems, all the while throwing axes left and right to cut off arms, legs, and heads before calling his weapons back with gravity magic. It mystified him to no end how he moved as if on instinct, his movements full of savage rage as he infused earthen magic into his legs and used a variation of the <> spell to create an earthen whip that managed to slash apart the heads of golems no matter which direction he sent it in. Unlike Len''s dance of blades that was full of heroic intent, Vince seemed to transform into a primal beast that smashed everything in his way when he fought. Master Mo inwardly praised his disciple, ¡®Not bad, not bad. Using the few spells he created along with the memories from his axes, Vince¡¯s battle style is well-formed even though it drains mana a bit too quickly.¡¯ Limbs made of soil continued to fly through the air as Vince¡¯s muscles tensed up before sending out countless fists full of destructive intent. Suddenly Vince''s eyes lit up and flickers of gravity magic started to slowly flow away from his body and stick to the golems, decreasing their speed. Seizing the chance, Vince returned all nine of his axes to their original size and released them into the air, where gravity magic caused them to spin around his body. With a shout of, ¡°Fly!¡± Vince spread his arms wide and sent the axes to smash into the center of nine golems, blowing them back into those behind them and bringing the stone stampede to a halt. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. As Master Mo predicted, within a minute Vince has exhausted his mana and was sent flying off the stage. Vince struggled to stay awake, but his consciousnesses rapidly faded as a bitter thought echoed within his mind, ''I didn''t get forty...'' Scene 2B - Infinite Arrows Once Vince had been treated and the stage had been cleared, Saren stepped up with his eyes frosted over in a glacial chill, his bow in hand. Holding utter contempt for what was to come he pulled back on the longbow''s string, causing a light blue arrow made of his qi to form under the power of the bow''s tear shaped symbol. Saren silently notched the arrow and waited for his enemies to appear. His voice boomed with a heavy accent not his own, ¡°<>,¡± as the words left his mouth, a vague image of an old man with long black hair covering his face wearing a loose blood colored robe that did nothing to hide the long scar on his chest appeared behind him. Master Mo watched thoughtfully, ¡®I see, so that bow''s special ability is to create arrows out of thin air using qi as a medium. I wonder... if one places more qi into the ability, would a stronger arrow appear?¡¯ With a beastly grin on his face, Saren fired at the first golem before it even touched the ground, pinning an arrow straight through its skull. Pulling the bowstring back, he let loose another arrow at a new target, but the golem managed to block the attack with its arm. Master Mo, noticing Saren''s skill level, raise the golem''s abilities with a flick of his finger, ¡®Humph! I can¡¯t let you trample these Golems too easily with that God Slaying weapon, or you¡¯ll make your siblings look bad!¡¯ Saren suddenly reached out, pointing at the arrow embedded within the Golem''s arm, ¡°<>!¡± The arrow crackled with a blue light before bursting apart with a thunderous roar, blowing the golem''s right arm into smithereens! ¡®This Tear of the Night is actually a terrifying branching ability!¡¯, As always, Master Mo''s inward shock didn''t show on his face as he watched Saren release a rain of exploding arrows upon his pitiful golems, managing to kill forty of them in no time at all. ¡®At this point, he¡¯ll kill a hundred with no problems... Time to increase the difficulty again,¡¯ Master Mo thought as he increased the golem''s movement speed, making them harder to hit. Put off by the large wave of golems swarming towards him, Saren had no choice but to place his bow aside and take up his battle knives. He lined the edges of their blades with qi before diving into the golem swarm, slashing and cutting at everything within his reach. Master Mo watched Saren swim through the sea of golems with ease and was unable to hold back his praise as the battle reached a peak. ¡®It¡¯s almost as if this child was born to battle¡­¡¯ Chapter 10 - Scene 3 - Battle Results Scene 3 - Battle Results After the preceding battles, Master Mo created a list showing how many Golems the siblings had killed in the order of highest to lowest. Saren:70 Sol:65 Ren:64 Vince:39 Luna:47 Len:45 Xue:43 Rune:37 Nena:4 Except for Nena, all the siblings laid passed out on the floor, exhausted from sparring. Master Mo contemplated over the results of their fights as he followed the black robed maidens carrying the eight youths to their awaiting medical baths. Marley had stayed back with Nena, determined to teach her some basic swordsmanship before she took her bath. ¡®It seems God Slaying weapons do hold up to their name as weapons of mass destruction. Greater Demon weapons, even though a tier lower on the scale, lag behind in power by only a little bit. With today''s results, I have a good idea of how to improve their progress. Xue, Len, and Luna have a battle prowess alike those in the middle of the 3rd stage of Heavenly body refinement. Vince and Rune just broke though yet have the battle prowess of a 4th low tier Core formation expert, but more or less these five have around the same level of fighting strength.¡¯ Master Mo¡¯s thoughts shifted towards Sol, ¡®Because of his weapons and his ancestral bloodline, his art of attacking while defending was almost attuned to perfection. He was able to deal with overwhelming numbers thanks to his strong spirit and has the power of a 4th mid tier Heavenly body refinement expert. Ren on the other hand¡­ Even though Ren uses a Greater Demon sword with a high offense, his soul allowed him to assimilate with the sword''s memories on another level, enabling him to clear three or four golems in half with a single strike... He has about the battle prowess of a high 4th tier Heavenly body refinement expert. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. But Saren truly managed to surprise me today. His fight was shocking to the extreme even though at first he was doing alright like his brothers and sisters. Yet midway through the battle his demeanor suddenly changed from its normal calmness into a strange mix of wild cunning, turning him into a fearsome predator. He was able to move through the enemy swarm by leaping from golem to golem as quickly and agilely as a spider, all the while shooting or stabbing with fluid motions. It was an amazing show of skill and force, but there were moments when he seemed to be walking on a tightrope stretched across a bottomless chasm. As he absorbs his bow''s memories and learns to use its ability with ease, Saren will easily become a powerful combatant capable of controlling the battlefield.¡¯ Master Mo suddenly wondered who would win if Saren and Ren fought, causing shivers to run down his spine, ¡®It would be hard to say who would triumph¡­ but if I have the siblings fight one another after they surpass 100 golems, I can find out! Yet then he recalled Nena, and how terrifying she would become ¡®She only killed four Golems, yet they were all killed when 10,000 pounds of force smashed them into the ground! Good thing I told her to keep the sheath on when fighting, heavens know what would have happened if that sword slipped out of her hands¡­ If she manages to learn some sword skills while using that thing, anyone within the Heavenly body refinement stages would be crushed into pancakes...¡¯ While Master Mo was lost in his thoughts the black robed maidens had taken the eight siblings into separate rooms to strip them, leaving him alone. When the siblings were unclothed, the maidens threw them into the awaiting lukewarm medical baths. The eight unconsciously moaned in pleasure as the medical ingredients seeped into their skins, and the black-robed maidens started to gossip while scrubbing their filthy bodies clean. ¡°Wow, look at this! This Xue girl is so pretty! I wonder why she has ink on her face?¡± ¡°Daw, these twins are so cute! I could just snuggle them in all their cuteness.¡± ¡°My word, this swordsman¡¯s muscles are so honed they¡¯re like rock fufufu~.¡± ¡°Oh let me see!¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s mine! If you come in here don¡¯t be afraid when I become impolite!¡± ¡°Wow this Vince has scars all over his body, I wonder what he¡¯s been through¡­¡± ¡°This girl has such soft silky red hair, I wish I had hair like this... and these boobs as well! I feel so inferior.¡± Master Mo¡¯s thoughts were instantly shattered as he heard everything and coughed dryly, ¡°Remember girls, washing only! Don¡¯t do anything to my disciples that''s impolite or I¡¯ll whip you with thirty lashes!¡± The black robed maidens cried in alarm, ¡°Wahh!¡± ¡°Who do you take us for, Sect Master!¡± ¡°We are not some kind of loose women that would take advantage of such fine feasts when they can''t even fight back!¡± ¡°Yah! We¡¯ll do that when they¡¯re awake!¡± The black cloth maidens cried out in unison, chasing their Sect Master away from the room. Master Mo shook his head, coughing dryly, ¡®I wish you the best my disciples!¡¯ Then ran away with his tail between his legs, showing an appearance truly unbefitting of a sect leader. Chapter 11 - Scene 1 -Scars Scene 1 - Scars Xue awoke with the sound of giggling in her ears and the feeling of warm water surrounding her, ¡®Who¡¯s giggling? This water feels so nice... must be a bath¡­ Wait bath?!¡¯ Her eyes flew open in shock, and two pairs of arms with rolled up sleeves entered her vision. Stricken with fear when she saw the two black-robed maidens scrubbing her arms and legs, Xue screamed. Loudly., ¡°DON¡¯T LOOK AT ME! LEAVE ME BE!¡± Startled, the two black-robed maidens moved back as Xue covered her face and huddled into a ball, whimpering, ¡°Stay away from me! Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t stare at my face!¡± One of the black robed maidens rose her voice in surprise, ¡°We were only washing your face and body... nothing is wrong with your face. In fact, you¡¯re beau-¡± Xue cut off the black robed maiden with a cold whisper, ¡°Leave me alone and bring me a sack of ink¡­ NOW!¡± The two black robed maidens started and ran out of the room, conversing once they were a safe distance away, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°Is she alright?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but she said she wants... ink?¡± ¡°Right, her face was all stained and muddy. Let me get Master Marley, she might know what to do.¡± ¡°I''ll tell everyone else to leave her alone.¡± Xue heard the whispers, yet merely curled herself into more of a ball. She didn''t know how much time had passed, but every moment of it seemed like hell as she waited for the ink sack to arrive and help her hide away her curse. Eventually, there was a knock at the door. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°May I come in Xue?¡± Xue hesitated when she heard Marley''s voice, unsure what to say, ¡®I¡¯ve only known her for a little bit, but she seems alright. Then again those guys seemed alright yet... If it hadn''t been for that hooded man, I don''t know what I would''ve done¡­¡¯ A cascade of thoughts began to consume her mind, causing her to break down into a fit of tears. If only she had her ink... Marley heard Xue crying and opened the door, provoking Xue to scream, ¡°LEAVE ME ALONE! DON¡¯T LOOK AT ME! ¡± Huddling closer to her legs, Xue¡¯s body shook as her horrid thoughts ate away at her reason, ¡®I don¡¯t want this accursed beauty! I¡¯m not an object! I¡¯m not a doll! Stop looking at me with those eyes, just leave me alone!¡¯ Suddenly a towel dropped over her head, cleaving through her thoughts and causing her to descend into newfound panic as Marley''s tender voice rang out next to her ear, ¡°My dear junior I don¡¯t know what happened to you in the past, but if you feel you need ink like this to live I have something better. I¡¯ll leave it on the table next to your clothes, so when you stop sulking you can check it out.¡± Marley placed something on the table before swiftly leaving the room, closing the door behind her. Xue''s shaking didn''t stop when she left, and her breathing only slowly stabilized a long time later. She focused her hearing on making sure no one was in the room before lifting her head, turning her gaze towards the table where her change of clothes lay. Something was sitting next to the neatly folded outfit, but she couldn''t quite make out what it was. Xue slowly got out of the majestic marble bath, her hands still trembling slightly, and was shocked out how weightless she felt, how a newfound explosive power seemed to fill her very being! She faintly wondered what sort of precious ingredients they put in the water, and feelings of guilt washed away her remaining weakness. ''I should apologize to those black-robed women... I shouldn''t have lashed out at them...'' After drying herself off she headed over to the table, looking at the object next to her change of sky blue robes. Colored black and covered in lines of white tribal flames, the strange mask would be able to hide everything above her mouth. Next to the mask was a hastily written note, and Xue figured it wasn''t Marley who wrote it as she couldn''t imagine her having piss poor writing., ¡®I, the Winter Rose, the Maiden of Ember City, crafted and refined this mask from the bones of a Black Dragon. It was designed to cover my daughter''s beauty in order to save her from the countless suitors coming for her hand with evil intentions. Only the wearer and those filled with nothing but pure intentions and love towards said wearer can remove the mask.¡± The rest of the note was ripped and couldn¡¯t be read. However, Xue didn¡¯t mind, focusing only on the mask''s ability. She would be able to hide without staining her face, without ink and without mud! Xue held the precious mask gingerly as if she was afraid to break it, ¡®A rare mask not marked by those damned gods, what a truly precious gift¡­.¡¯ Eyes filled with longing, Xue placed the Dragon Bone Mask over her face. A weird feeling crawled over her as if the mask was fusing with her face. Yet Xue didn¡¯t feel scared and was instead filled with relief, ¡®To hide oneself away from the world, away from the fear. With this mask, I shall become strong enough to overcome my fears. This is what is best for both my siblings and I...'' Chapter 11 - Scene 2 - Change Scene 2 - Change When the mask finished forming to fit her face, Xue was slightly surprised at how natural it felt, as if it had always been there. She put on her new silky blue robe and exited the room to see the two black-robed women from before staring at her with pale faces and shaking bodies. A wave of guilt washed over Xue when she saw their expressions. Why couldn¡¯t everyone just wear a mask? It would make life so much easier. Shaking her head, Xue slowly moved towards the two black-robed women who were staring at the ground, too scared to look her in the eye. Agitated by their actions, Xue cursed inwardly,¡®I have to act better or else I¡¯ll lose face for master.¡¯ Taking a deep breath, Xue looked straight at them with a tranquil appearance, showing no hint of her previous unsightly manner, ¡°Please raise your heads fellow sect members.What happened earlier was my fault, I don''t blame you.¡± Startled, the two women raised their heads, ¡°No, Senior Apprentice Sister Xue! We were in the wrong! We should have known that there was a reason why your face was stained with ink!¡± ¡°How could you have known when I didn¡¯t tell anyone? The fault lies with me, not the two of you. Please forgive me for screaming at you like that, it was shameful of me to have acted that way.¡± Xue suddenly moved forward, placing her hands on their shoulders and startling them in the process, ¡°And what¡¯s this Senior Apprentice Sister nonsense about? I haven¡¯t even formally joined the sect yet so you should call me Junior Sister Xue for now.¡± Seeing Xue smile with a gentle smile, the two black-robed maidens relaxed and color gradually returned to their faces; one of the two maidens, a girl with average features but a slender figure, shook her head in disagreement, ¡°We can''t do that! Our status within the sect is much, much lower than a soon to be core disciple like yours is! To call you something like that whenever inner disciples would have to treat you with the highest of respect... Us two outer disciples would only get in trouble.¡± The other robed maiden, who possessed a childish demeanor and was a head shorter than Xue, hastily spoke up while giving a smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts, ¡°It was our fault in this matter. We¡¯re sorry for the trouble, Senior Apprentice Sister Xue, but thank you for showing my friend and me such kindness.¡± Xue gave a complicated smile, ¡®Were Sect rules really this strict? Whatever. I¡¯ll do what I want!¡¯Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Having made up her mind, Xue smiled at the two maidens, ¡°No matter what you say, I''m still sorry for the trouble I caused. I''ll repay you for the inconvenience, so if either of you are ever in trouble don''t hesitate to seek me out. Ah, but you''ll have to leave your names behind so I know who I''m indebted to.¡± The two, still shocked, stuttered as they gave Xue their names. Muya was the smaller of the pair and the other was known as Lilly. The three chatted for a while, with the two girls respectfully answering some of the questions that were bugging Xue. They were not servants but rather apprentices of the sectless sect, outer disciples that followed Sect Master Celia. They had volunteered to follow Master Mo and help him around the ship while he searched for promising disciples in the outside world. While they talked, Xue watched the girl''s eyes and mouths to see if they were being trustworthy, a skill she had picked up from living in the slums her whole life. Thankfully she felt no signs of malice or hidden intent as they talked. While Xue was absorbed in the conversation, her brothers and sisters exited the baths one by one. All of the guys were blushing and half-haphazardly dressed, being chased by black-robed women with rotten eyes as they fled from their rooms. Xue even chuckled when she saw the evil glint in Rune''s eyes as she watched two women try to seduce Vince, only to rush over a moment later and thrust them away before storming off with a red face, dragging Vince behind her. The rest of the siblings followed after the pair, so Xue said a quick goodbye to the two black-robed women before hurrying after them. When Xue exited the room she saw the black-robed guard, Skinny, standing outside waiting for them. ¡°Master Mo wishes for all of you to return to your room and cultivate for the rest of the day. Since this is your first time in this area, I¡¯ll lead the way back.¡± The siblings quickly followed behind him and soon returned to their bedroom; as soon as the door closed both the twins and Nena surrounded Xue and drowned her in questions. Sol, with his big green eyes sparkling, hung on Xue left arm, ¡°Big Sister Xue, where did you get the mask? It looks so cool!¡± ¡°I want one too,¡± Luna hummed as she played with Xue¡¯s hair Nena clung to Xue¡¯s right arm, watching her with innocent eyes, ¡°That mask is so pretty! Can I hold it?¡± They hung on Xue like monkeys and all reached for her mask. ¡°Eh? Why won¡¯t it come off?¡± ¡°Eh? Big sister, why?¡± The three''s insistent questions of why seemed unending, and after a while, Xue couldn''t take it anymore and roared, ¡°YOU LITTLE SHITS! GO CULTIVATE BEFORE I BEAT YOUR BOTTOMS BLACK AND BLUE!¡± The three took flight, speeding away like the little fiends they were and hiding behind Vince. Sol even cried out, ¡°Big bro~! Big Sis is being mean to us!¡± Luna stuck out her tongue, ¡°Yeah! Xue¡¯s being a big meanie.¡± Nena nodded her head in agreement. Vince pinched both of their cheeks while Rune gave Nena a stern look. Both of twins soon had tears in their eyes but didn¡¯t dare whine as they looked at the menacing scar under Vince¡¯s eye. ¡°Stop bothering Xue and get to cultivating and I might read you a bedtime story.¡± When he let go of the twins, the waterworks immediately stopped as they excitedly ran to their beds to begin cultivating. Nena followed after them, holding her sword tightly as she mimicked their actions. ¡®Their moods change faster than the wind... Guess it¡¯s time to break into that beast book¡¯, Xue thought listlessly, reached for her own cultivation manual. Chapter 11 - Scene 3 - Beast Cultivation Scene 3 - Beast Cultivation Xue opened the Book of Beasts and started to skim through, ''This book covers how to learn the beast language, how to tame creatures, and even how to temporarily fuse a beast''s characteristics into one''s body.'' Xue sighed, feeling an aching pain in her head, ¡®This book is too profound¡­ I can only read the first section. Anything after that gives me a splitting headache.¡¯ Having read all she could, Xue placed her hammer on her lap as she cultivated, following Master Mo''s suggestion in order to better attune the weapon to her path of cultivation. Soon she fell into a trance, losing track of the passage of time... The air flow suddenly grew savage, as if she was on a wind blown mountain top. Xue opened her eyes in fright, ¡®What was that? Wait, where am I?¡¯ The room she had been in previously had vanished without a trace, and instead she found herself surrounded by multicolored mist. The rusty orange, savage green, flickers of scarlet and faint specks of brown mist swirled around her unceasingly. The floor glowed with strange patterns that were filled with wild intent. Just looking at them caused Xue to grow dizzy, so she turned her attention to the lone object within this strange realm: a gigantic metallic hammer framing a massive door. She walked closer, filled with curiosity, and noticed that the door was covered in beast claws of all shapes and sizes. At first, they seem to be placed in a rather disorganized random manner, but when taking a step back it was obvious that the claws made up various complex magical symbols. Xue suddenly felt an inexplicable urge to open this unknown door, but when she pushed the desire away it only grew stronger. Clenching her teeth, Xue slowly moved to stand before the door and hesitantly reached out to pushed it open. Yet the world within the hammer left her stunned and gaping in shock, ¡®What is this?!¡¯ The world within the hammer was vastly different from the colorful misty realm, containing only an enormous mountain that towered far above the clouds. The mountain, gigantic that stretched endlessly, suddenly shook as a bestial roar filled both of the strange realms, shaking Xue to the point that she had to cling to the door in order to remain standing. Suddenly Xue''s surroundings changed as she was ripped away from the door and her body shot uncontrollably through the air, heading straight towards the mountain A sense of deadly crisis filled her entire being and she closed her eyes in fear, ¡®I''m gonna die! I''m gonna be splatted on the mountainside and turned into a pancake!! I don''t wanna die in such a pitiful waaaay!!!! Alas, Xue was too weak to resist the force affecting her. She helplessly closed her eyes and screamed, ¡°What a fucked up way to die!¡± She crashed into the wall... or rather entered a massive cave opening and came to a sudden halt. The sudden stop caused Xue to stagger as a sick feeling swam through her. She covered her mouth and crouched down, her thoughts slowly focusing and chasing her previous fear away, ¡®Eh...? I¡¯m not dead?¡¯ She hesitantly opened her eyes to see a brightly lit cave littered with bones and walls covered in decorative leather. Yet the cave¡¯s beauty didn¡¯t move her in the least after she saw what lay at the center of the cavern. A woman stood in front of Xue, no, not a woman but a terrifying beast! A small giant with a height around twelve feet sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, wearing loose leather clothing full of trinkets that barely covered anything at all. Her skin, a mixture of light brown, seemed fused together in some parts with metallic tribal designs depicting a primitive yet elegant pattern that flowed into another, separate pattern full of sharp edges with smooth sides. This seemed especially so when looking at her hands that were covered in complex metallic designs leading up to her elbows and letting off a chilling light. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Many things about this small giant frightened Xue. The fangs hanging from her red lips; the messy brown hair tied up in a half-assed way while not allowing any wildness to be restrained, and most definitely the giant¡¯s slitted forest green pupils that held a seething savage gaze that in comparison made Saren''s demeanor seem like child¡¯s play. The bestial woman tilted her head slightly, gazing at Xue as if a passing meal and making the girl tremble inwardly in terror. Cracking a smirk that caused the woman¡¯s large white canines to show, the giant let out a bestial growl of a voice, "So... We finally meet, Preyling. I am Mear, she who rules this land of beasts." Despite the sudden turn of events Xue somehow managed to choke out a calm response even though her eyes shifted about with fear, ¡°Who are you? Wait, are you the spirit Master Mo told us about? The one who inhabits my hammer?¡± The towering woman nodded, quite pleased that the Preyling before her wasn¡¯t as dumb as a box of rocks and even had a spine to talk to her, ¡°Indeed. You take quickly to the changing winds as well. But now that we have met, let us talk. Come Preyling, sit with me and partake in drinks.¡± The giant waved her hand and prayer mat appeared out of thin air before Xue, reminding her of how Vince and Rune took objects from their space rings. Xue moved neither too fast nor too slow to sit on the mat, facing the huge woman. ¡°Ah, how can drink if we can¡¯t see eye to eye?¡± Mear smiled at Xue¡¯s remark and with a snap of her fingers, her body shrunk down to match Xue, ¡°Is this better, Preyling? If so, then let us drink!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Mear pulled a large gourd and two large bowls from an unknown location and handed a bowl to Xue while snapping off the gourd''s cap. A sweet smell immediately spread through the cave and made Xue¡¯s blood boil as a golden red liquid was poured into her bowl. After both their bowls were filled, the pair sat in silence. Xue seemed to be frozen, not daring to move and drink the tempting liquid the spirit had given her. Even if her whole body wished to consume the liquid Xue did not dare drink before the spirit. ¡®Who knows, she could have-¡¯ ¡°Poisoned it? I assure you, Preyling, that this one would never stoop so low to kill one this one chose. But before we drink these bowls of ¡®pact¡¯, I have one request.¡± Xue felt her mind spinning, thinking that this spirit was indeed weird, ¡°Pact? Also, what request?¡± Breathing out a deep sigh, Mear stared straight into Xue¡¯s eyes, ¡°The pact is one between those who train on the path of the beast, something of a formal matter. My request, however, will be simple, as long as you choose to accept it, Preyling. If you complete it this one will not try to change the Preyling¡¯s mind and will even help full heartedly to train the Preyling.¡± Xue craned her neck, confused the spirit¡¯s actions, ¡°And what is this... Request?¡± The grin reappeared on Mear¡¯s face, ¡°Simple, Preyling. I wish for you to fill this mountain with countless beasts! It''s boring when there is no prey to fight with and hunt.¡± Feeling it was too easy of a request Xue asked, ¡°Is that all?How many creatures will I need to gather?.¡± Placing a finger upon her scarlet lips, Mear staring at the cave''s ceiling that was decorated in various bone trophies in thought, ¡°Hmmm... Before you breakthrough from the Earth Qi Solidification Realm, I expect at least one-thousand Heavenly Body Refinement creatures above the 8th realm, one hundred Sea Qi Formation creatures above the 6th realm, and ten Earth Qi Solidification creatures above the fourth realm. That number shouldn¡¯t be too hard, right?¡± Xue felt faint, almost swaying in her seat, ¡®One thousand one hundred and ten beasts? What the hell does this spirit take me for? Some master hunter?!¡¯ ¡°Well, Preyling? Do you accept?¡± Breathing a regretful sigh Xue slowly nodded, ¡°I will do it on the condition you do not kill or heavily injure the creatures who live here.¡± Mear smiled warmly and laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s all Preyling? Deal! Now let us drink to the ¡®pact¡¯!¡± Chapter 11 - Scene 4 - Raxis Scene 4 - Raxis Two men sat at a table, two glasses and a flagon of wine between them. One had a slight smile on his face and sat stroking his beard, while the other, a man in a red jacket, took the flagon of alcohol and filled both of their glasses as his eyepatch flickered with golden light. The man stroking his beard was Master Mo, the leader of the Sectless Sect, and the man in the red coat, of course, was Raxis, the Master of the engineering mountain! ¡°Hehe... I can¡¯t believe that old fart Absinthe gave you one of his precious bottles of fifty year Dew Drop Wine! Many thanks, Sect Master for sharing a cup!¡± Taking the cup in his hands, Raxis toasted Master Mo, who returned the gesture while still stroking his beard. They both took a sip of the wine before suddenly pouring the whole cup down their throats with a grin. Master Mo placed his cup down and started stroking his beard again while waiting for Raxis to speak. He already knew what the man wanted and why he had sought him out but opted to stay silent and watch the man squirm. Raxis fidgeted on his mat, waiting for Master Mo to speak, but was finally unable to take the silence, ¡°My dear Elder Brother Mo, can you do this little brother a favor and let this little one take on that kid Saren as my apprentice? You have eight others, surely you can spare one?¡± Master Mo looked at Raxis with a faint smile, ¡°Eh, you wish to have my disciple Saren younger brother? Well, you should talk to him and ask for his opinion! If he wants to join you, then I see no problem with letting you have the boy.¡± Raxis filled Master Mo glass with a smile plastered on his face, ¡®Hehe... I get to train a monster, this is going to be so much fun! Oh yeah, I almost forgot¡­¡¯If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Oh, there is another matter I need to speak about Elder Brother. Are you really going to have those kiddies join the sect by having them go through the ¡®selection?¡¯ What if they die inside?¡± Lifting the glass to his lips, Master Mo took a sip and gazed meaningfully at the ceiling. Time ticked by as they sat in silence, and when Raxis was starting to get annoyed Master Mo finally spoke, ¡°Even the most beautiful gems needed to be cut and polished first before becoming stunning items that can entrance the soul. They must be tempered with a trial by fire in our sect labyrinth; we don¡¯t need silk pants that only feed off the golden spoons they were born with but rather geniuses that can sweep across the land with ease.¡± Raxis grew serious when he heard his elder brother''s words, pondering over the meaning within, ¡®Sweep across the land? What does elder brother mean? The cultivation world is at peace and only the mortal world is in turmoil. Is there something brewing in the lands that causes even Elder Brother Mo to feel fear?¡¯ Raxis opened his mouth to ask Master Mo what he meant but noticed that his brother''s eyes suddenly sharpened, his head turning towards a certain direction. That direction so happened to be where the sibling¡¯s room sat. Seeing Master Mo¡¯s strange actions, Raxis closed his eyes and attempted to feel what his elder brother was sensing. His mind lingered in confusion until he saw the strange fluctuations coming off of one of the kids Master Mo picked up. ¡®Eh? Is that kiddie binding her weapon already? Wait, to connect with its master so quickly... it must be the weapon''s ''Trail!'' Damnit, we have to help her before that ferocious thing swallows her soul!¡¯, Raxis moved to get up, his eyes flickering towards the door. ¡°Sit down, younger brother.¡± Stunned, Raxis whipped his around to stare at his elder brother, who was already on his feet, ¡°Why? Your disciple is in trouble, we have to help her! Her body won''t be able to handle the ''Trail,'' it''s too soon!¡± Raxis moved towards the door again only to have a massive pressure weigh down upon him as a cold voice rang in his ears, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you again, younger brother. Sit down.¡± Cold sweat poured down his back as Raxis turned around and sat, frozen in confusion and fear. Lazily turning his head towards his trembling younger brother, Master Mo spoke simply, ¡°Listen to me younger brother, we cannot help Xue. We don¡¯t need such a ¡®genius¡¯ if she can¡¯t even pass this simple test. We need cut and polished tempered gems, not mere broken rock. She can only rely on herself for this.¡± ¡°Besides,¡± he turned his head back towards Xue''s direction, ¡°She will be fine with that mask helping her.¡± Chapter 11 - Scene 5a,5b - Beast Transformations Scene 5a - Beast Transformations Mear moved closer to Xue, extending the hand holding the bowl of wine forward and making a toasting gesture. Xue meekly copied her actions, and with a clink, Mear greedily drank everything from her bowl in one smooth motion. On the other hand Xue merely took a sniff of the drink and immediately felt her body light up with an expiable feeling. Her eyes constricting behind her mask, Xue lifted the drink to her mouth and drank in large gulps. The blood colored liquid flowed down her throat, not a single drop managing to escape despite the messy manner in which it was being drunk. A primordial feeling awoke within her as a deep connection suddenly snapped into existence between her and Mear Mear and the taste of iron, no the taste of bestial blood filled her mouth as the connection popped into being. It should have felt disgusting, yet instead, Xue felt a wild, freeing flavor that called to her like a wolf called for the moon. Suddenly her bones cracked and muscles tore as ivory fangs grew from her mouth, her nails grew pointed like claws, and her pupils turned to silts while her eye color changed to that of quicksilver. Indescribable pain wracked through her body as if it was being burned from the inside out. Yet no matter the pain, Xue felt that she should never let go of the bowl until she had drunk everything within till the last drop. The bowl suddenly dropped to the ground with a clattering sound as Xue huddled into a ball, her body shaking uncontrollably. Mear watched on, the smile having long since vanished from her face, Mear watched on without an expression and no longer a smile on her lips, ¡°This is the trial my previous Master left for the next person to inherit me. This one is sorry to lie to you, Preyling, but if you can control the Blood of 10,000 beasts, I shall follow you till the ends of the earth.¡± Blood began to flow from Xue''s body as she desperately held onto the strands of reason trying to slip from her grasp, yet an agonizing bestial roar still escaped from her mouth. Her bones constantly broke and reformed, broke and reformed until it had been completely reconstructed many times over. ¡°You can make it Preyling! You¡¯re 10% of the way there!!¡± ¡°20%!¡± ¡°30%!¡± ¡°40%!¡± ¡­ ¡°70%!¡± The forty-five minutes of nerve wrecking pain seemed like an eternity for Xue, yet she never once let go of that last strand of sanity, chanting her name the whole time to help her remember who she was, ¡° I am Xue, I am Xue, I am Xue.¡± Suddenly her head raised as a howl of rage suddenly burst forth from within, ¡°I!¡± In an instant, her blood assimilation had reached 78%! Mear¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she thought, ¡®It was a wise choice to choose you, Preyling.¡¯Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°AM!¡± Shockwaves rippled through the air as her blood fusion reached 85%! ¡°XUE!¡± "94%!" ¡°And,¡± as of reaching a critical juncture, her words softened instantly, causing Mear to worry even as Xue reached 95%. ¡°I,¡± ...96% ¡°Will,¡± ...97% ¡°Keep,¡± ¡­ 98% ¡°Living,¡± ¡­ 99% Seething on the brink of madness, Xue¡¯s howl as suddenly increased in volume as she suddenly shot to her feet while blood dripped from her clothes, giving her a demonic appearance that caused even Mear to feel surprised as the cave started to rumble causing the bones on the wall to rattle, ¡°ON!¡± 100%!!! The caved rumbled and the bones on the wall rattled as if in response to her words. A warm smiled once again appeared on Mear¡¯s lips as she watched Xue stagger in exhaustion. With a wave her hand, a comfy bed appeared out of nowhere and Xue passed out on it without another word. Smiling from ear to ear, Mear waved her hand once again, cleaning the blood off of Xue¡¯s body and restoring her lost blood, ¡°Well done, Preyli- no... Master.¡± Scene 5B - Beast Transformations Back within reality, Xue had fallen over while coughing up filthy black blood on her bed, startling her siblings into rushing over to her side. Vince, who had been the closest, caught Xue as she fell, concern written all over his face. Rune was the next to reach Xue, and a worried call immediately escaped her when she saw Xue''s pitiful looking state. ¡°Younger Sister!¡± Nena whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks as she grabbed Xue¡¯s hand, ¡°No, you can¡¯t die Xue!¡± Before long all the siblings had gathered around their unconscious sister, full of worry and crying in the fear that their sister would die just like their mother. Overwhelmed, Vince didn''t hesitate to yell towards the black robed people on the other side of the door, ¡°Get Master Mo and a doctor! Xue must have had a cultivation backlash, hurry her life is in danger!¡± Yet the moment the words left his mouth, Master Mo appeared from thin air, ¡°There is no need to worry, my disciples. Your sister has merely passed her weapon¡¯s test and is finishing her weapons bond.¡¯¡± Saren gazed at Master Mo coldly, ¡°Test? You never told us about a test!¡± Fury could be seen in all eight of the pairs of eyes directed at Master Mo, but he couldn''t blame them. He would be just as mad as they were if not more if the same had happened to Marley, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the trial would come so soon... it is your Master¡¯s oversight on this matter. A weapon should only invoke the trial when its new master has broken through at least the Heavenly Refinement or Core Refinement realm. The spirit must have challenged your sister sooner than expected in order to quickly help her grow stronger. I should have told you, children, the true dangers your weapons hold before something like this happened... Luckily your sister has great fortune.Although your sister has been given a great fortune, quick look.¡± Master Mo¡¯s words somewhat quelled the siblings¡¯ resentment, though traces still lingered. He could only sigh as the siblings turned their attention back to Xue. Fangs grew from Xue¡¯s mouth and her hands shone with a newfound softness. Her fingernails transformed to possess sharp thin points, changing them into dangerous weapons. Her lips had turned a bloody red, and her sun-kissed skin gained a sharper glow to it. Yet the most shocking change was perhaps how her blond hair had become curvy and untamed like a wild beast''. While the siblings stared in awe at their sister¡¯s shocking transformations, Xue suddenly opened her newly changed silvery slitted eyes. She jumped out of Vince¡¯s arms with an explosive power that sent him flying across the room, landing nimbly on all fours like a cat, her hammer on her back. The siblings stared in shock as Master Mo checked on Vince, but eventually, Saren managed to choke out, ¡°Elder Sister Xue... are you ok?¡± Cracking her neck and causing a strange sound in the process, Xue stood up and stared at her hands before smiling and closing her hands, causing loud cracks. She turned to her family and her smile only grew wilder, causing her to give out a charm that enthralled each and every one of her siblings, ¡°Never been better, little brother.¡± Chapter 12 - Scene 1 - First Eye of Locking Scene 1 - First Eye of Locking Time passed as two weeks flashed by in a blink of an eye though the time was well spent with Master Mo and Marley lecturing the youths and filling their days with practice. The siblings had information ranging everywhere from cooking to major powers and worldly treasures drilled into them whenever one of the pairs appeared, all in the attempt to prepare them for the upcoming test. Despite the lack of time on their hands, Master Mo, Marley and their helpers managed to force all the needed information upon the siblings before they arrived in the town where they would drop the nine children off. With some rarely found free time on their hands, the siblings scattered through the ship with each doing their own things. Yet despite having some down time, Vince sat within a training room, searching for enlightenment on <=One Thousand Eyes of Locking=>, the magic given to him by the old god, Reveera. Breathing steadily and closing his eyes, Vince pulled out all nine of his axes, allowing them to float around him in their original sizes while he visualized the scene that Reveera had branded upon his soul. His axes started to spin in an unnatural rhythm as the goddess Reveera appeared within his mind, her eyes closed, breath faint, and arms across her chest. Seconds turned into minutes as Reveera slowly began to move her hands, gradually shaping a complex runic formation. By the time her hand stopped moving, layers upon layers of runes swirled loosely around her body Obscured by the light the runes gave off, Reveera pointed to the front, gathering the mana within herself to create a small ball above the tip of her index finger that quickly grew to the size of a large hill With her preparations finished, the God took a deep breath as the runes swirling around her began to wiggle and latched onto her body like chains, crawling around her like snakes before moving towards her arm and converging around her index finger, that then crawled up her body like snakes onto her arm and then finally swirled tightly packed around her finger. Reveera¡¯s emotionless eyes suddenly opened, and her lips parted ever so slightly, ¡°<<=First Void: Eye of Locking=>>.¡± The rune snakes on her finger shot straight into the ball of mana above them with loud excited hisses, branding themselves upon the dense ball of gravity mana and causing it to slowly shrink until it reached the size of a fist. Reveera flicked her hand, sending the ball flying out towards a mountain in the distance. When the ball was a thousand meters away from the target, Reveera snapped her fingers and the runic markings upon the ball slithered like the snakes they were and sunk under its surface, causing the ball of mana to wiggle and distort as its color quickly darken to the extreme, becoming pure black with cracks radiating over its surface. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The stoic as ever Reveera suddenly uttered a single word, ¡°Implode.¡± BOOM The fist-sized ball of mana exploded out into a raging vortex, causing the mountain to shudder even as an inhuman screech rang out from within the newly appeared black hole. Her head held high, Reveera swung her sleeve and coldly ordered, "Pierce." The black hole, seeming like a living being, let out a screech as it crashed towards the trembling mountain, tearing into its side and leaving only a small two-meter wide hole behind. A few seconds passed by with nothing happening, so Reveera spoke yet another domineering word, ¡®¡°Consume!¡± Though Vince could only see the mountain shaking and thought nothing was happening, eventually he noticed that the mountain face seemed to be shrinking as if its guts were being sucked out. Cracks slowly appeared on the mountain, and at this point, it had long lost its previous imposing demeanor and was merely a husk of its former self. Reveera laughed, showing actual emotion for the first time as she made a sign with her hand, "From dust, you came and to dust you go!" The mountain seemed to seethe in anger at Reveera''s remark, but sadly it was dying and couldn''t take revenge. The previously tower mountain fell away piece by piece, revealing the insatiable black hole eating it from the inside out. When the last of the mountain was finally consumed, Reveera gave a small nod and waved her sleeve, causing the black hole to disperse into clumps of mana. She turned to Vince with a smile on her face, walking through him and throwing him out of the scene in the process. Sweat dripped down Vince''s pale face, but a smile appeared on his lips nonetheless, ¡°So gravity magic could be used in such a way? As expected of a God, coming up with such domineering magic!¡± Only now did Vince see that gravity magic wasn¡¯t just a magic used for crushing, it could also consume, pierce and implode! Countless pieces of inspiration flashed across his mind, making him eager to test the theories and figure out what those unknown runes meant. Suddenly, Vince paused, ¡®Wait, she said this was the first void: eye of locking? How many levels are in this domineering magic!?¡¯ In the midsts of his thoughts the door to his training room opened up and Saren appeared, ¡°Elder Brother, Master Mo is calling for us. He says he has something important to talk to us about.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± A few minutes later Vince and his siblings sat in the main training hall, waiting for their master to arrive. Not long after they sat down, Master Mo walked in and took a seat facing them. The first thing he did was turn to Xue and ask, ¡°How have you been feeling lately, little Xue?¡± Xue, who had been absentmindedly scratching her head, flushed in embarrassment and didn''t look Master Mo in the eye as she nodded, ¡°Disciple feels better than ever Master!¡± Shaking his head with a smile, Master Mo turned his attention to the rest of the siblings, ¡°In a few days we will be landing in the city outside of the sect. Therefore tomorrow we shall hold a mock battle between you siblings. Now I understand if you don''t want to fight one another, but I see that all of you have reached a bottleneck on your first realms... well, with the exception of Nena, who has reached the second realm, and Vine and Rune who have reached the fifth realm''s bottleneck. Perhaps if you two fight each other it could allow you to break through that last bit. Now then if you''re fine with fighting one another, step forth.¡± Chapter 12 - Scene 2 - Sibling match up Luna Vs. Sol! Chapter 12 - Scene 2 - Sibling match up Luna Vs. Sol! The eight siblings, with the exception of Nena, who had yet to kill 100 Golems and would be sparing with Marley instead, stepped up without hesitation. Master Mo spoke up with a smile on his face, ¡°I have already decided the match-ups for tomorrow¡¯s fight. Sol and Luna will go first, then it will be Ren and Saren, followed by Len and Xue, and Vince and Rune shall go last. Now go and prepare yourselves for tomorrow¡¯s fight!¡± --- The next day, the siblings were rearing to go, fidgeting impatiently while Master Mo searched through his ring for some reinforced wooden weapons. ¡°You''ll be using these instead of your weapons. They create a magic shield linked to your core and realms when wielded, and being hit by one will sap your energy. Once your energy is depleted, the weapon will pass right through you and signal your loss. Understood?¡± The eight nodded and Sol and Luna stepped onto the stage with smiles that weren''t smiles on their faces, their real weapons hanging like key-chains on their sides in a miniature form. Sol leisurely tapped his sword against his shoulder and smirked, ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s finally time to find out which of us is the eldest, eh sister? I hope you''re prepared.¡± Luna chuckled at Sol¡¯s words, ¡°Humph, did you forget that the last time we fought I won? Do you dare to challenge me again, little brother? Maybe last time I didn''t beat your ass black and blue, but this time I won''t go easy on you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s big brother to you, little sister!¡±, Sol roared back. Luna roared in response, ¡°Enough talk, let''s decide this here and now! Come!¡± The corner of Master Mo''s mouth twitched when he saw the twins fanning the burning flames of their sibling rivalry and coughed to draw their attention back to him, ¡°I want you two to give this fight everything you¡¯ve got! Remember, these weapons won¡¯t hurt you and will only drain your energy! Now, are you both ready?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± ¡°Then begin!¡± The second the words let Master Mo''s mouth, Sol and Luna dashed forth, heading straight for one another with their shields activating the moment they moved. Even though Luna didn¡¯t have the God Slaying weapon''s memories, she still managed to get the first strike with merely the help of her spear¡¯s length, grazing Sol''s cheek as he dodged to the side. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.Though as a result of gaining a negligible wound, Sol managed to get close and stabbed his blade back only for it to be deflected by the paper thin shield covering Luna''s body. Shoved back by the rebounding force, he lost his balance and rolled backward, scrambling to his feet before Luna could take the chance to retaliate. This took a time to describe but actually happened within a mere five seconds. The Twins fought back and forth, their every strike containing the power that could shatter the earth. They exchanged powerful moves with smiles on their faces, as if they were playing catch and not in the middle of a spar. If this was an actual fight and not a spar where they were protected by shields, most likely the match would have already ended. Even Master Mo was shocked by how crazily they were fighting. Though Luna¡¯s spear outreached Sol¡¯s sword, he made up the difference by using the memories of his God Slaying weapon. Jumping into the air, blocking, stabbing, sweeping, cleaving, slashing. The twins each showed excellent skill and mastery over their weapons, neither giving the other an edge. However, after ten minutes of back and forth attacking and defending, their smiles had long since vanished, replaced by a hint of exhaustion and the deep determination to come out on top. Another ten minutes passed by, and now the two twins were sweating buckets as their attacks slowed and more of their time was defending, waiting for the other to mess up. Eventually, the twins broke apart and stared at each other coldly. Sol gritted his teeth before yelling at the top of his lungs, ¡°Let¡¯s finish this with one last blow, little sister!¡± Luna raised her head arrogantly roaring with laughter, ¡°Ku Ku Ku¡­ That¡¯s big sister to you! But it is indeed time to end this so... FALL!¡± Readying their weapons for one final clash, the two simultaneously yelled out battle cries, their eyes turning red as the two suddenly broke through the first level of Heavenly Body Refinement! Their battle prowess exploded outward, reaching the 6th Heavenly Body Refinement layer¡¯s peak in an instant!! Their shields raised, the twins charged forth, meeting one another in the middle of the stage and causing the ground between them to shatter! ¡°Shit¡­ Nice one... Big Sis...¡± ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s your win.... Big Bro...¡° Sol and Luna swayed on their feet, each pierced by the other''s weapon. Their battle may have ended in a tie, but those watching were satisfied. The twins grinned at one another one last time as Master Mo removed their weapons with a wave of his hand, but without any support the two twins directly fell over, passing out on the spot. The black robed maidens appeared from some unknown location and stole the collapsed twins away, most likely taking them to the baths. Master Mo turned to the remaining siblings with a strange smile on his face, ¡°Ren. Saren. Are you ready?¡± Side Story 006 - Flying sword Standing within the clouds atop his flying sword, Vince stood composed, relaxed even as he stared at the floating ball in the sky with a distanced gaze. How long had it been since he had been in a similar trial? Years? He hadn¡¯t trained like this since the slaughter. His ears twitched at the sound of two high-speed objects flying in his direction, of course, these two ¡®objects¡¯ were his younger sisters, Nena and Len. They steadied themselves and moved next to their brother with smiles on their faces. Nena''s arms shook with excitement as she called out to her brother, ¡°Did you see big brother? I made it through the second trial ground!¡± With a smile that looked fierce thanks to the scar under his left eye, Vince pat her head, ¡°Good job, little sis! You¡¯re a natural at this! And you''re not too bad yourself, Len. You got past the first floor in record time.¡± Nena didn¡¯t shy away from Vince¡¯s frightening smile as she knew he couldn¡¯t help it, while Len was dishearteningly hanging her head in defeat, ¡°I¡¯m... the older sister¡­ How could... I lose¡­?¡± With a loud laugh, Vince tried to cheer her up, ¡°Now, now, Sister. You beat the first level faster than most people could hope to, according to the captain.¡± Despite the hair covering her face, Vince could see that Len wasn''t bothered by losing to Nena. Even so, Len pouted and turned to her big brother to tug on his sleeve as she pointed at the huge floating ball in the sky, ¡°Big brother¡­ Beat Nena¡¯s for me¡­¡± ¡®What a child! Aren''t you supposed to be older sister!?¡¯ Vince almost fell off his flying sword in shock, but thankfully regained his balance. Looks like that year of training wasn''t for nothing. Nena didn¡¯t seem to notice Len¡¯s childish remarks, her eyes shining too brightly for Vince to gaze into, ¡°Big Brother¡¯s going to fly!¡± Vince ran his hand through his hair with a sigh, unable to believe how carefree these two were, ¡°Alright, alright. I came to see what you guys were doing here, not to fly. The twins will be serving dinner soon and we have to be on time!¡± Saddened at Vince¡¯s response, Nena wore a downcast expression that made his heart ache. Yet the final nail in the coffin was Len''s soft mutter, ¡°Brother¡­ Cruel¡­¡± Feeling horrible with how he responded to his sisters, Vince sighed, ¡°Fine¡­ I¡¯ll do one run if it¡¯ll make you guys happy.¡± ¡°Yey!¡± Joy overflowed from Nena¡¯s movements as she smiled brightly with her small hands raised to the sky. ¡°Just watch, you¡¯ll learn a thing or two from me,¡± Vince said with a wink as he immediately fell into a freefall atop his sword, cutting through the air at high speeds and quickly reaching terminal velocity. When he grew close to the testing grounds, he slowed his descent by doing an elongated downwards spiral that expanded most of his built up speed. By the time he reached the thin yellow membrane entrance, Vince had already completely stopped his falling momentum. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Vince gathered himself and charged wide-eyed into the doorway. As he expected, the membrane gave way like a zipper, allowing him entrance. ¡°Hmmm... so it''s this type of puzzle?¡± Vince lazily scanned the field with half opened eyes. Lasers littered the flight path, shooting between moving blocks whenever they got close enough to each other. Mine traps littered the air and if a person came near, they would explode violently. And that wasn''t all. Spiked laser balls floated randomly throughout the field, bouncing off of the walls and floor, constantly changing the pathway to the goal. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. To pass the trail, one had to make it to the goal without touching any of the lasers littering the 2 km room. If it was just that, it wouldn''t be hard to pass the first trial. However if the individual didn¡¯t account for the hidden ¡®Spitters'' placed into the walls waiting to blast holes into trial takers, hundreds if not thousands of shot¡¯s would descend upon them with all their might. Naturally, Vince didn''t head straight into the puzzle, instead of studying how the traps floated through the room. In the air above the training grounds, Nena and Len watched their big brother on a large real-time screen. As time passed Nena sat on her sword, swinging her legs with her head tilted, ¡°Why hasn''t big brother gone yet? Why is he waiting, he could have gone dozens of times by now!¡± Len nodded. She¡¯d seen six different ways to reach the goal by now. But dozens? Her little sister must be exaggerating... Back on Vince''s side, minutes passed by as he carefully watched the flying spike balls slowly float by, the lasers move like winding snakes and the mines stay stable in their spots until he saw the opening, ''3..2..1...GO!¡¯ Vince shot forward in a flash, reaching the center within 20 seconds. In that time the turrets fired, bombs exploded, lasers whipped like serpents slashing out in all directions, and spiked balls flew in all directions at high speeds, changing the trial grounds constantly. Chaos rained around Vince as the red lasers mixed in with the gray wall, and he swiftly dodged the spiked balls, breaking the speed of sound as bullets came mere inches from his body. He moved without hesitation, turning left as a laser flashed an inch from his face. He turned right in a flash, crouching as dozens of balls came flying overhead before launching himself straight into the sky as a horde of bullets smashed into his previous spot. Eyes shining auric outlined in gray, Vince stretched the limits of his mind and body to see the path forward, always on edge as he pushed himself onto the most dangerous paths without regard. Finally, as he neared the goal, a sense of crisis filled his mind. It seemed he miscalculated his movement in that instant as laser whips, spiked balls and bullets had cut off all escape routes except a single route that held a mine. Gritting his teeth, Vince held the tip of his sword and made his body small as possible as he dove down, straight towards the mine, roaring without care, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± A wall of red smashed around his body, missing him by a few inches, no, by mere millimeters! The path constricting around him, and the mine grew ever closer, slowly shining with a bright light. The mine was about to blow, but with a mad, devilish grin, Vince pulled up away from the death trap, escaping through a small gap between lasers. The mine exploded moments later, blowing all the junk behind him away. Vince didn¡¯t gaze back as he dashed straight towards the finish line at high speeds, passing through the silvery stone gate with a grin, ¡°Goal.¡± Chapter 12 - Scene 3 - Ren Vs. Saren Scene 3 - Ren Vs. Saren After the stage was fixed, Ren and Saren jumped up upon it and faced each other. Ren looked at Saren with a smile on his face and eyes full of brotherly love, ¡°Let¡¯s see if you can surpass me today Saren.¡± Saren nodded with a frigid chill in his eyes as he rose his bow, ¡°Humph, I¡®ll win today and pay you back ten-fold for all the spankings you gave me!¡± Ren drew his bow, showing innumerable openings as if taunting Saren, and smirked, ¡°Come if you have the skill little brother!¡± Master Mo didn¡¯t sour the mood and merely waved his hand with a small shout, ¡°Fight!¡± Saren notched an arrow and pulled back while Ren just stood there, unmoving. Minutes passedby as the two stood unmovingly, the battle had somehow turned into a contest to see which of the two would make the first move. Yet despite the fact that neither one of them made the slightest twitch of movement, their eyes were bloodshot and mentalities exhausted. If Saren shot and missed then Ren could move in and win, but if Ren moved in and missed his first swing he would be open to attack. Time passed by and slowly, Saren''s fingers began to bleed. Unable to stand the pain and knowing that the more blood he lost the harder it would be to use his bow, Saren let his nocked arrow loose, making the first move and losing the first round. Ren¡¯s eyes flashed and cleaved the arrow in two in an instant with an upwards swing that was faster than lighting! However before Ren could move forward three arrows appeared before him in quick succession; a triple shot, something Saren had learned from Dark Thorn and his hidden trump card! He hadn¡¯t shown his skill when fighting the Golems in case he needed it for moments such as this one! Ren was successfully caught off guard, only managing to cut two of the arrows in half and knocking the last slightly off course. The arrow squarely hit his shoulder, passing through and draining him of his energy like a ghost. Made dizzy by the sudden loss of energy, Ren clenched his teeth and rushed forth, knowing if he fell now Saren would win with ease.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Having used 40% of his qi on his skill, Saren stood with a pale face, having hoped that Ren would''ve been finished off in a single go.Nevertheless, Saren threw his bow into the air without hesitation and met Ren''s downwards strike with his two battle blades. Yet Ren wasn''t a pure offensive soul for nothing. Even if he had yet to Awaken, he was still capable of using his sword soul as the base for releasing powerful blows! Yet how could a trap soul not be just as, if not more frightening? Saren had long since judged how far he would be blown away, and the place his bow would be in the air after he discarded it. Reaching out his hand, the bow landed perfectly within. Pulling three arrows from his quiver, Saren flipped in the air even as Ren''s face changed! Triple shot released once again, and Ren had no way to stop them! Through having used his mind to the limit to calculate and execute this plot, Saren suddenly felt his cultivation base purify from the extreme pressure¡¯s release, breaking through to the second realm and reaching the battle prowess of a 6th Heavenly Body Refinement expert in an instant! Backed with newfound power, Saren¡¯s arrows flew straight and true towards Ren at lighting speed! Ren, having only thought to follow up onto his attack was thrown for a loop as he never expected Saren to pull this sort of stunt. Unprepared, the only thought able to flash through his mind was to take his brother down and end the spar in a tie! Clutching his sword tightly, Ren¡¯s eyes flashed with a hint of madness! Placing everything into this one last blow, Ren pulled his sword back before launching it straight towards the still in mid-air Saren! Having placed his all into his sword, Ren''s soul unexpectedly strengthened, his cultivation base purifying into the purest possible form and allowing him to reach the 6th stage! Their attacks bypassed one another with only a negligible inch between. Saren dropped his bow in order to block Ren''s sword only to find himself lacking the needed power to block the all out attack. His blades didn''t even manage to halt the sword and were blown away with ease, allowing the sword to pierce through his chest and knocked him off the stage. Ren didn¡¯t fare much better, having taken three arrows to his arm and chest that sapped away the last of his energy. ¡°Damn¡­ I lost. I¡¯ll beat you next time, big brother¡­¡±, Saren muttered with a sword sticking out of his chest. Ren, only able to remain standing by using the last of his willpower, smiled with a pale face before falling, ¡°Good fight ¡­ Little brother¡­!¡± Master Mo, seeing Ren still standing, announced, ¡°As the last one standing, the winner is Ren!¡± Chapter 12 - Scene 4 - Xue Vs. Len Scene 4 - Xue Vs. Len The black robed maidens quickly dragged Saren and Ren off to the baths, allowing Xue and Len to step on stage. Len held her scythe behind her back, her hair covering her expressionless eyes as she waited for the fight to start. Xue stood across from her, her giant hammer leaning against her shoulder as she leisurely walked forward, her eyes under the mask blazing with excitement. Len looked down and murmured, ¡°Sister¡­ I won¡¯t hold anything back.¡± Xue nodded, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way!¡± Master Mo waved his hand, ¡°Begin!¡± Len dashes straight towards Xue, while Xue dashes forward as well. Their weapons crashed together, creating loud booms as they collided. Treating their weapons as if they were weightless, the sisters attacked and defended at a lightning speed. Xue, though a bit slower than Len, wasn''t falling behind enough for her sister to gain an edge over her. Not wanting to be stuck in a stalemate, the sisters backed off at the same time and started circling their foe. ¡®With Len''s speed, she could just whittle away at me¡­ I can¡¯t keep this up!¡¯ Xue thought to herself as she started twisting her hammer in an odd manner, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, causing the air around her began to distort as wind gathered in her surroundings. This was one of the most simple hammer arts: Lion''s Howl. It would send out a powerful wave of wind, but was slow to build up and would leave the user exposed while crafting the attack. Thus, Xue first turned the wind into a shield, allowing her to both attack and defend!Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Yet how could Len just sit back wait for her sister to finish building up her attack? A heroic aura suddenly burst out from her body, a smile appearing on her face as Len actually began to copy Xue''s movements! Yet instead of having a shield, the wind created every time Len moved her scythe became a blade that grew larger with every rotation! The onlookers were surprised to see their spar suddenly become a race to see which skill finished building up first, but neither sister slackened for even a moment. Using all of their cultivation bases, the two sisters focused they''re all, not backing down in the slightest. With a hint of madness in their eyes, they both shouted and released all the power they could gather! Their weapons flew through the air even as their cultivation bases purified at the exact same time! Xue¡¯s Hammer flew true, boosted by a powerful wind, while Len¡¯s Scythe melded together with a wind blade, creating a revolving crescent moon! The onlookers held their breaths as both weapons collided in midair only to lock in place with crazy amounts of wind wreaking havoc in their surroundings Shockingly the weapons remained in a deadlock until the wind dissipated and they clattered to the floor.Yet the moment the weapons fell out of the air, three needles pierced the sky, heading straight towards Xue! Alas, how could Xue not remember that her sister had picked up some needles? She had dodged out of the way long before the needles even left Len''s hand, and even caught one as it passed by! With a flick of her wrist, she sent it straight back at Len, who had exhausted her remaining energy and didn¡¯t have time to dodge! Although Len tried her best to get out of the way, the needle stuck her arm and sapped away her remaining energy, making her drop powerlessly to the ground. ¡°Damn¡­ I thought I had you¡­¡± Xue nodded, ¡°You probably would have if the last user of this hammer wasn''t also a master of hidden weapons!¡± Having used up 95% of her entire supply of energy, Xue was exhausted. Yet even then she stood proudly with her head held high as she walked toward her dear sister Len and picked her up in a princess carry to follow the black robed maidens. ¡°To the baths, we go, little sister~.¡± Side Story 008 - Medical Garden Within a garden that smelled faintly of medicine stood a fiery Rune and a crescent eyed Master Mo. Master Mo was pointing at plants and explaining what they were as they walked past them while Rune listened with rapt attention When they reached a particular plant, Master Mo paused and cladding his hand in Qi to pluck a wilted leaf off of a strange blue and black ringed plant. He placed the leaf within an iron bottle and held it towards Rune, beginning to describe the plant in detail, ¡°You see, this plant is called the Black Ringed Death and grows within rainforests. It¡¯s harmless when fresh, yet it''s wilted leaves contain a powerful poison that could kill any mortal without a proper antidote within half a day. That means it''s also powerful enough to bring extreme harm to the body of someone below the 6th realm of Heavenly Refinement, possibly even causing blindness and damaged nerves if not treated in time.¡± Without another word Master Mo moved towards a patch of soft blue grass, picking a few blades and placing it in the bottle with the Black Ringed Death,¡°Now this plant is called Blue Abyss, and grows in grasslands. Remember this well my apprentice, the Blue Abyss is a dangerous paralysis-type plant that can affect even experts in the peak of the Heavenly Refinement Realm! Now, what do you think will happen if you mix these two plants?¡± Rune thought before absentmindedly voicing her opinion, ¡°They¡¯ll make a more powerful poison?¡± Shaking his head with a smile, Master Mo added some water into the iron canister and began to infuse his qi into it. The bottle gave off a faint icy glow that faded a short while later. At this point Master Mo uncapped the canister, allowing a fragrance that made Rune¡¯s mouth water to explode out of the bottle. Taking a strainer out of thin air, he proceeded to pour out his strange concoction into two cups floating in the air. When finished, Master Mo took a drink from one of the cups without the slightest care, leaving Rune slack jawed. After finishing the contents Master Mo motioned to Rune, ¡°Try the tea disciple.¡± ¡°Tea?¡± ¡°I assure you, it tastes wonderful.¡± Rune gave her master a strange look that said, ''Isn¡¯t this poison?¡¯ Nonetheless, Rune trusted her Master and drank the questionable concoction without hesitation. The drink tasted like wild cherries and lemons mixed together, and as the mixture entered her system she could feel the liquid moving through her veins like flickering lighting, filling her with unknown energy.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Bewildered, Rune turned to face her Master, ¡°Why does this concoction fill me with energy, Master?¡± Drinking another cup full of ''tea¡¯, Master Mo eyed his garden, full of pride, ¡°You see Rune the path of poison is also the path medicine, the only difference is how you use it. You''re gifted as well as cursed, my apprentice. Your path is destined to be one of an Asura, and those who walk that path are destined for slaughter and revolution.¡± Listening to her Master talking about this ''Asura¡¯, the question which had bugged Rune for quite awhile once again rose in her mind. With a questioning gaze, Rune spoke slowly,¡°What is an Asura, Master? And how do you know that is my path?¡± Master Mo gazed into his tea and sighed, ¡°There have been many Asuras throughout the fables of history, all of which brought mass slaughter and revolution while walking on their paths, be they mortal or cultivator. As for why I know about your path, the Gods spoke to me in a dream. With that knowledge, I thought of giving you this tea in hopes that once you grow stronger you always remember that poison can also become medicine.¡± Rune stood there confused, ¡°How do they know I''m an Asura?¡± Stroking his beard Master Mo answered thoughtfully, ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me, but I can only give you the knowledge that every Asura that has existed on this plane was always driven by some form of vengeance.¡± Standing quietly Rune mumbled, ¡°Is vengeance really a bad thing?¡± Hearing Rune¡¯s question, Master Mo stood thoughtfully, occasionally taking sips of his tea and not responding for a long time, ¡°Many people voice that vengeance will only bring sorrow to those that seek it. Others say vengeance only brings upon more vengeance. I, on the other hand, say that those who seek vengeance are the only ones to figure out its worth. Will it harm your heart if you don''t achieve it? Are you preventing another tragedy from happening? Can you exist with your hatred? These are the questions one must ask themselves. I do not know about your past disciple, and I cannot control your future. I can only guide you on your path of cultivation. ¡° Master Mo poured another cup and handed it to Rune before walking away, ¡°Now come disciple, let us see what what your siblings are doing.¡± Rune didn''t move, instead of pondering her master''s words, about her fragmented memory, and about her vengeance. As Rune stared at her cup, her eyes flashed and eerie green, her blood boiling like lava as she thought about that faceless boy within her memory, ¡®This hatred cannot be quelled without a bloodshed! He must die!¡¯ ¡°Are you coming, disciple?¡± The wrath in Rune¡¯s eyes dissipated like mist as she hurriedly followed after Master Mo, yet a faint flicker of rage burned ever so quietly within her soul. ----- Idea: Rune Walks together with Master Mo in the Medical garden. At this point I wanted to show more interaction between master and disciple while fixing/ tearing out the walls this is what struck to me as something fun to write. Chapter 12 - Scene 5 - Vince vs. Rune Scene 5 - Vince vs. Rune Vince and Rune stepped up to the platform. Rune¡¯s eyes were shining with fighting spirit, while Vince held a smile that was not a smile. He didn¡¯t want to fight Rune, but if he backed down without a fight he would be showing disrespect for her. His eyes suddenly lit up as he readied an axe in each hand. Rune smiled as she beat her gauntlets together. Once the two were ready, Master Mo weaved his hand yet again, ¡°Begin!¡± Vince immediately threw his axes one after the other, launching all nine through the air to cut off all of Rune¡¯s escape routes. He had gone all out in the hopes of finishing this quickly, but to his shock, Rune hit his axes out of the air with a blinding speed Rune instantly counter attacked by punching out and ball of fire shaped like a fist flew towards Vince, filled with explosive power. Vince placed one of his hands on the ground and a small wall of earth rose up, blocking the fist. With his other hand, he used the power of gravity to control his axes, recalling four and attacking with five! Rune punched the incoming axes out of the air but was forced to dodge out of the way of a few, but moved forward in an attempt to get closer to Vince the whole time. Rune emitted a sudden burst of mana as she channeled a hollow spear of fire, filling the insides with a poison that solidified on the spear tip. The magic spear spun at a high speed and shot through Vince''s earthen wall as if it was mere paper. Rune pulled off the maneuver the best she could while dodging the storm of axes around her, and almost let out a cheer when she saw her flaming spear heading straight towards Vince. The fire swept through the hole like a line of fire and madly expanded moving straight towards Vince! ¡®Great control Rune,¡¯ Vince thought with a playful smile, ¡®yet it¡¯s not nearly enough.¡¯ This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Behind the wall and hidden from Rune''s sight, Vince had long been done with his preparations. Three axes spun in a strange pattern around him, manipulating gravity at high speeds to create a vortex. In the middle of the vortex, feeding off of the force generated by the other three axes to increase its own speed to a frightening level, was a single axe aimed directly at Rune. At the moment Vince was holding it back with his gravity magic, but the moment his magic released the axe''s built up pressure would burst in an instant, shooting it out at a blinding speed Thus, since Vince was busy finishing up his own preparations, Rune had been able to create her flame spear so easily. The moment Rune''s flame spear penetrated his earthen wall, Vince dispelled the magic holding his axe back. The weapon shot forth like a cannonball, slicing through Rune''s attack like it was tofu and blasting fire and poison in all directions. Though Vince was able to expel the flames with ease, the strange poison within flew straight at him! Using the last of his magic reserves he tried to block it with the remaining axes, alas too much of the poison got through and landed on his skin. The poison seeped into his pores and caused a numbing sensation to spread through his body, leaving him paralyzed. Unable to do anything, Vince fell to the floor. However, Rune didn¡¯t have time to dodge the rapidly approaching axe, as she had never expected Vince to explode with such power! Gritting her teeth, she gathered the overflowing flames and poison surrounding her body in both hands, spreading them out into six layered sheets and hardening them in an attempt to stop his attack! Madness danced within her eyes and with pure luck, the axe smashed straight into her shields. Alas, Rune¡¯s magical shields weren¡¯t good enough.Even then, the shields managed to hold the axe back a bit before being shattered. By the time the ax had reached the last barrier, it had only lost five percent of its speed. The axe mercilessly broke through the last of her shields, running straight through her chest and throwing her off her feet! If this had been a real axe, no doubt he chest would have exploded into a gory mess of flesh and bone. As the dust settled, the spar''s result became clear. Vince struggled to stand but was up nonetheless. Rune, however, was passed out on the floor. Master Mo nodded in approval and opened his mouth to announce Vince''s victory when he saw the boy topple over in a dead faint. Master Mo shook his head with a small chuckle, "The victor is Vince," and moved to treat the boy''s poison. When he was done, the black robed maidens appeared once again and took the two siblings to the baths. With eight of the nine siblings gone, Master Mo turned to Nena with a smile, "So," he began, "What have you learned from watching your older siblings?" Chapter 13- Scene 1 - Entering Sanou City! Chapter 13- Scene 1 - Entering Sanou City! Nena thought to herself and said, ¡°They all fought hard? And they are all really strong!¡± Master Mo smiled wryly, ¡°That¡¯s not the point Nena. The point is that you don¡¯t have memories from your weapon like they do. Which means even if you have monstrous talent, you must strive to work harder than the rest of them or they will leave you behind! You don¡¯t want that, right?¡± Nena shook her head fiercely, her mind filled with determination, ¡®I don¡¯t want to be left alone again! I must work harder!¡¯ Nena bowed to her master and swore, ¡°Disciple will work harder!¡± Master Mo nodded. He had seen countless geniuses waste their talents, becoming nothings that were easily surpassed by those with lesser talents. Judging from how the other eight dotted upon her, he feared Nena would become one of those nameless talents that didn''t live up to their abilities. He would have to tell her siblings to let her grow up as a person, lest she became a spoiled princess. After resting a day, the siblings broke through the last wall of the first realm cultivation, entering the second rank. Thick black goo was expelled from their bodies, making them smell worse than the slums. From now on it would take them longer and longer to rank up, even if they could now refine energy with ease. On the next day, Master Mo called the nine siblings to the bow of the ship. Having already grown familiar with the place, it didn''t take long for the siblings to arrive Entering through a massive door, the siblings found many black robed men and women controlling a formation that piloted the ship. Master Mo was too busy to do it himself, so he gave his trusted friend Merrick control.So even though the formation looked impressive, Merrick was still in charge. The people in black robes only controlled minor things, like upkeep and speed, all the little things needed to make sure the ship was in tip top shape. Or at least, that''s what it should have been. All Merrick really did was plot out the ship''s course, shoving all his duties onto those in black robes so he could continue tinkering...If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Master Mo and Marley were staring out of the massive windows when the siblings arrived. Master Mo, noticing them approaching, turned around and smiled, ¡°Come, my disciples, gaze upon the place you shall call home.¡± The siblings walked up to the window just in time to see parting clouds reveal a massive mountain range that stretched over ten thousand kilometers. The mountain range was strange in that the outer reaches were nothing more than hills. While the deeper you went in the hills got taller and more spaced out, causing them to appear like ripples. Forests and lakes spread around the openings; there was even a wide river running through the valleys, connecting the surrounding lakes. Further inside in the mountain range, the top of the mountains were tall enough to vanish within the clouds! Countless buildings and immortal caves were scattered around the outer layer of the mountain range. To the west, about 100 km out, there was even a lively city named Sanou that covered 200 km alone! To the east was a scared, torn land that was rocky with mountains that stretched on endlessly. Numerous deep pits and traps covered the area, and wild beasts roamed throughout. To the south, if they could see it, was a vast ocean of trees that were larger than three grown men. A huge elder tree grew in the midst of the forest. And to the north that was blocked by the cluster of mountains, spanning a large grassland filled with farmers and other country folk. Connecting all these places to the mountain range were four long dirt roads. Surrounding the mountain range were powerful restrictive spells, making so that no one without a seal of approval would be able to enter unless they passed through one of the four doorways. The only way was to enter within the four doorways that were ninety feet long and forty feet wide. Master Mo saw how all of their eyes were glittering and coughed, ¡°You remember what I said before, right? My disciples.¡± The siblings snapped out of their stupor and nodded, all speaking in unison, ¡°Disciples will try their best in the exams!¡± Master Mo nodded as a sect master he couldn¡¯t coddle the nine; therefore he would make them work their way up within the sect. With Master Mo¡¯s order, the ship moved away from the Sect, advancing towards the city and landing three km out on the city outskirts. The siblings had already changed out of their blue robes and into ordinary clothes. Master Mo had given each of them a total of 100 blue gold coins to use in the city while they waited for the trial to start. The siblings almost fainted from the vast amount of money held within their hands. Heavens! With the much money, they could easily feed themselves for four to five years! To make sure the nine didn¡¯t get into any unseen trouble, Marley went with them as a chaperone hidden in the shadows. Though Master Mo didn¡¯t tell them this bit. After dropping the siblings off, he reminded them to not be late and to take the Lizard¡¯s Express to the sect a week from now. He even gave Vince a small medal and told him to show this to the Lizard Master, who will know what it means. Chapter 13 - Scene 2 - Entrance Scene 2 - Entrance Master Mo¡¯s ship had a bewildering formation placed upon it so that no one on the ground could see it, thus the siblings could say their goodbyes without worry. After the siblings departed, Master Mo¡¯s ship sped off to the sect, dropping Marley, who had changed her appearance into that of a beggar''s, off along the way. The siblings quickly walked out of the trees and traveled down a path where they met a group of travelers heading towards the city. The nine chatted as they walked, blending into the crowds as they looked forward to what the city had to offer. With Qi backing them, the siblings managed to reach the city by the afternoon. The city¡¯s jet black gates, though styled with lightning ember, weren''t as large or as ornate as the sect¡¯s, yet they held a charm of their own. The gates seemed to blend into the black stained white walls around them, but if one looked closely they would be able to tell that those black stains on the walls were actually dried blood! The siblings were dazed by the scene as if they were country bumpkins... which they were. They actually stood outside the doors for so long one of the guards coughed to awaken them from their stupor. The guard then pointed behind them, and they turned around to see a line of grumpy people standing with scowls on their faces. Vince smiled helplessly and led his siblings towards the guard that coughed at them. When close enough the guard opened his mouth, speaking lines he had probably said a million times before, ¡°State your business, travelers.¡± Vince took the lead and spoke with the man, ¡°Sir, we are here to take the Sectless Sect''s exam.¡± The guard nodded and replied, ¡°That¡¯s a fine reason. I wish you good fortune! Actually, my younger brother, Yao Pendragon, is in the sect as well. If you see him when you pass the test, please tell him that his older brother misses him. Tell him to come back and visit sometime! It¡¯s been almost a half a year and I haven¡¯t heard hide nor hair from him. By the way, the fee for entering the city is two silver per individual.¡± Vince gave a gold coin to the now stunned the guard, though he quickly recovered and gave Vince his change. Vince quickly counted it, not caring that the people waiting behind were starting to make a ruckus. It was the correct change so Vince thanked the guard and added, ¡°If we see your brother, Yao, we¡¯ll tell him to come visit you.¡± The guard nodded thankfully to the siblings as they entered the town. The streets were clear and the smell of fresh bread floated through the air. Various other interesting smells stunned the siblings, with Sol, Luna, and Nena almost running out to visit the shops only to be stopped by Saren and Xue. ¡°Don¡¯t run off anywhere! We have to find a place to stay at before can go visit the town,¡± Xue lectured. The three pouted under the gazes of their older siblings as Vince led the way down the street. After buying some fresh bread from a nearby shop, he asked the shopkeeper for directions while handing the glazed honey loaves out to his siblings. While they were talking, Sol noticed a short girl with tied up brown hair and amber eyes shyly hiding behind the large man who had given them the bread and peering out at him. She was covered in white flour and blushed intensely when Sol noticed her. He gave a boyish grin and waved at her, causing her face to redden like an apple and hide behind the large man at the counter, not daring to peek another look at him. Sol scratched his head, wondering what happened. ¡®Why was she being so shy? Did she make the yummy bread? Can she make me more?¡¯ he thought. While he was distracted, Vince and the large man had finished their talk. He followed after his siblings to leave, but turned back to wave at the girl, ¡°Let¡¯s play sometime! Thank you for the bread!¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The girl stuttered, ¡°I-i-f my dad allows it!¡± Laughing heartily, the large man and patted his daughter''s head, ¡°Come by tomorrow, in the afternoon, sonny! My little Dela needs to get some fresh air, ha-ha!¡± Xue and Len chuckled inwardly, how could they not see that that girl, Dela, was smitten with Sol. It was love first sight! Alas, Vince gazed out distantly, thinking about the past and seeming to remember similar scene; when he met Rune for the first time. But just as quickly as those feelings of love arose, he buried those thoughts deep within unmoving ice. Rune gazed at Vince¡¯s back, her thoughts wandering after seeing the expression of a young girl in love. Would Sol be like their elder brother and become a rogue who ran away from love? The question of why someone so strong and so dependable hadn¡¯t made a move on her yet riled her up almost as much as the thought of the person she wanted to kill. With a small shake of her head, those thoughts were thrown away and the chest called her heart was once again covered in large chains and locks covered with thorns. She would have to wait for the day when he became ready to move forward. After burying their feelings, the two led the way, side by side, to an inn the bread shop owner recommended. Although the siblings had been cultivating for a while and their bodies had been strengthened, they were still a little tired from all the walking. The sun hung on the horizon when the siblings reached the inn. Vince took charge once again and asked the man at the counter, ¡°Do you have a large room left? My siblings and I wish to stay here tonight.¡± The man looked at them with a judging stare, snorting coldly inside, ¡®These commoners what to rent a large room? Ha, these country bumpkins are all the same. Time to put them in their place!¡¯ ¡°Sir, it will be fifty silver for a night¡¯s stay, two more silver for baths, and another three silver for dinner! Are you sure you have the money to pay? If not then stop wasting my time and get out!¡± The man at the counter was sneering coldly, ready to strike out at these commoners. He was so caught up in his desire to berate and kick out these country bumpkins that he didn''t even notice Vince set three shining gold coins and thirty shimmering silver coins on the counter. ¡°We¡¯ll be staying here for six days, and will leave on the seventh. Here¡¯s the money you requested. Can you have someone show us to our room?¡± ¡°Just as I th¡­¡± The man stopped midway and changed his tone of speech in a flash, yet Vince had already noticed the crappy nature the man hadn¡¯t been bothering to hide and gave him a cold look. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± A man with gray hair and an extremely large build came out from the back, making the skinny counter man start sweating in terror. The skinny man choked on his words, ¡°N-n-nothing Boss I was just saying, just as I thought! This Sir would indeed be a man of great¡­¡± The Boss cut him off with a smack to the head, ¡°Enough bullshit!¡± He then bowed to the siblings, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my employee''s actions. Because of that, please stay here for free of charge as long as you¡¯re in town!¡± Vince and the rest didn¡¯t like the skinny man¡¯s character, but admitted that this boss was a capable man when it came to dealing with a mess. Vince smiled, ¡°Thank you, Boss, for your kind words, but we should pay for our stay. Your apology is already enough. After all, we all have to eat.¡± The boss nodded, instantly taking a liking to Vince; he had such a generous air around him. ¡°Very well then. Derk, take these guests up to their room before I beat some sense into you!¡± Scared out of his wits, the skinny man named Derk quickly led the siblings to their room. Before heading to bed, the siblings ordered a good meal to eat and all took a bath, having taken a liking to feeling clean. Chapter 14 - Scene 1 - Cloudstar Chapter 14 - Scene 1 - Cloudstar After getting everything settled and placing a few more beds in the room; the siblings cultivated till dinner time. A bell rang out, signaling that dinner was served, causing the three youngest siblings to rush down the stairs from the third floor to the second. The older children followed after them. Sitting at the table, the nine siblings ate like wild wolves, eating plate after plate of chicken, rice, noodles, juice, and various vegetables. The dishes were well made and the siblings enjoyed their meal to the fullest, as maids had served them everything on the menu. The Boss smiled and asked if they required anything in a timely fashion, which made Derk question his boss''s intentions. How could he know that his boss had good eyes and could see that these bunch of children were cultivators. After serving so many youths such as these, he had learned to recognize those with power. He treated them with respect, and even if he made a loss it was merely a small matter if these siblings became famous later. Having once served famous characters, his shop¡¯s fame would rise to the heavens! After they finished eating the boss smiled and asked, ¡°Sirs and misses, if you would be so kind could you sign your names in this book? I knew from a glance that the nine of you are all cultivators, and when you gain fame in the world I wish to proudly say that this inn had once given you good service!¡± Vince thought for a moment and didn¡¯t see anything wrong with it; after all the boss did give them good service and even had a good character, so what was the harm? ¡°Alright, everyone signs the book and thank Boss¡­ actually, we¡¯ve never heard your name. What is it?¡± The boss laughed. This kid¡­ ¡°Haha, this one''s name is Tao Li! Thank you kindly for signing.¡± ¡°Big brother, why don¡¯t we have a last name?¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Nena suddenly dropped a bombshell, making the warm atmosphere drop dead in an instant. Indeed, they are brothers and sisters, yet they didn¡¯t have a last name! They all grew downcast; no one had an answer, no one knew what to say. That is until Len spoke up in a quiet manner, ¡°Mother called us her stars that hang above the clouds¡­ why not let our last name be Cloudstar?¡± The other eight siblings played with the name inside their minds and spoke it slowly; whispering it¡­ toying with it. They said it together with their own names and instantly fell in love with it. Ren laughed, his eyes shining brightly, ¡°In the memory of our late mother, let our last name be Cloudstar! Whoever agrees, say Aye!¡± Laughing even with sadness in their eyes, the siblings toasted in the memory of their late mother, all shouting, ¡°Aye!¡± in unison. Tao Li gazed at the youths with a slight smile upon his lips, ¡®Ah what wonderful siblings. I hope they can pass the trials ahead of them.¡¯ After signing their names in the book, the siblings finished up their meal and went to cultivate till midnight, when they went to sleep. --- Everyone was fast asleep except for Rune, who was sleeping in the same bed as Vince. Eventually, she whispered close to Vince¡¯s ear, ¡°Do you think Mother would like our last name? I think she would¡­¡± She took a moment of silence then said, ¡°Hey, Vince... I miss her so much. I still can¡¯t believe she¡¯s gone, you know?¡± Her lovely green eyes blinked, brimming with tears. Seeing as he didn¡¯t respond, she meekly added, ¡°Vince, why do you always feel so distant, do you¡­ do you hate me?¡± Hearing Rune talk in such a way, Vince couldn¡¯t hold it any longer and turned around, holding her close to his chest and giving her a shock. Putting his chin on top of her head, he whispered softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry little sister... I¡¯ll try to always be there for you. No matter how far apart we are. Just stare up at the stars and know you''re not alone. And above all else I will never ever hate you, I promise my life on it!¡± Rune didn¡¯t know how to act after hearing his words, yet she slowly slid her hand behind his back with a smile. It was a charming smile that could light up even the darkest of nights¡­ it was a smile that seemed like a star. ¡°Thank you, Vince¡­ I needed that. Just let me stay here a little longer¡­ Sorry for being so selfish¡­¡± He was almost compelled to kiss her forehead but managed to resist the urge,¡°Sleep well little sis. I won¡¯t let you go¡­¡± The two slept soundly, lying in the other''s embrace throughout the night. Chapter 14 - Scene 2 - Love of Bread After taking a bath and getting dressed, the siblings broke up into groups of three and began to explore the city with excitement. Sol led Luna and Saren towards the bread shop, his face covered in a wide smile. Bread! Wonderful fresh bread! Just thinking about it made his mouth water. Even though the food at the Inn was good, its bread just didn¡¯t anything for him since he had tasted that godly bread. He had to have it again, perhaps slathered in honey or filled with jam. Saren cursed his elder siblings for making him take care of these two demons on his own. Luckily it seemed they were only after bread so it would be alright¡­ He hoped¡­ After taking a few turns, the three followed a mouth-watering scent of fresh loaves until they entered a bakery bustling with business. They watched as the small girl, Dela, lifted massive wooden peels with her tiny arms, placing and removing bread within with ease. She was so wrapped up in her work she didn¡¯t notice Sol and his siblings until she finished wrapping and displaying the newest batch of bread for all to see. *Droll* Dela saw the three siblings staring like hungry wolves, and let out a charming laugh that warmed the hearts of people around her. Waking up from their stupor, the group of three grew embarrassed, not knowing what to say. Suddenly Dela''s father came out of the back and laughed when he saw their embarrassed expressions, ¡°Haha! Dela, go get cleaned up and then you can go out and play. Don¡¯t worry, I can sell the bread by myself!¡± Dela smiled and happily ran into the back, glancing at Sol before closing the door behind her. When the door closed, the large man¡¯s smile turned solemn, ¡°Hey you three, come here!¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. The three siblings wiped the drool from their lips and moved towards the shopkeeper. Only now did they notice his features, as only food was on their minds yesterday. The man had long, unkempt, grizzled brown hair, a long messy beard, peach blossom eyes, bronze skin, and a body full of chiseled muscles Finally, they had noticed the large man''s hidden aura¡­ He was a cultivator! And a powerful one at that! The three suddenly felt an immense pressure. Seeing the large man¡¯s originally warm face become cold chilled the three down to their bones, ¡°If anything happens to my daughter while she''s out with you... I''ll break the three of you. Even if you have Master Mo behind you, I¡¯ll still crush all the bones in your bodies. So make sure she has fun today, okay?¡± With that last sentence the pressure on Sol suddenly increased, clearly, this question was directed at him. Gritting his teeth, Sol almost fell to his knees but managed to hang strong under the immense weight pressed upon him. His gaze was strong for his age, ¡°I swear on my love of bread that she¡¯ll have a great day today!¡± The large man stared at the young boy in front of him with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He had exerted the strength of the Fifth stage of the Heavenly Body Refinement on Sol yet the boy could still stand! With a sweep of his divine sense, he could tell that Sol was only at the Second stage of the Heavenly Body Refinement realm. Finally, the large man''s eyes flashed with approvement, as if he had found a comrade. He released the pressure placed upon them and said, ¡°When you see him tell Master Mo that Elder Sam wants a to have a few drinks with him when he has time. It¡¯s been a long time since we men had a good drink haha! Here, take this. It''s on the house.¡± He gave each of the siblings a large loaf of bread filled with cream and lathered in honey. They quickly thanked Elder Sam and began to eat like wolves, cherishing each bite. Just as they finished off their delightful bribes, Dela came out. Her previously tied up hair was now just as messy as her father¡¯s, but unlike his hers curled around her like waves. She was dressed in city clothes that seemed boyish for a girl her age, but despite that Dela still had that girlish charm about her. Seeing this, her father raised a brow, ¡°You going to that place again? Oh, you want to show off eh? Hahaha, like mother like daughter! Have fun you four!¡± Dela smiled brightly and pointed forward, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll show you around town!¡± Then her eyes met Sol''s and immediately broke out into a full faced blush, ¡®Ugh he must think I¡¯m so un-lady like¡­ Why did I dress up in boy clothes again, ugh¡­ Well if I didn¡¯t then the people there would have made fun of me¡­¡¯ Chapter 14 - Scene 3 - The Beggar Scene 3 - The Beggar Just as Dela was moping, Sol moved closer to her, tilting his head in a questioning manner, ¡°Will we be going to places with yummy treats?¡± Luna moved to the right of Sol and nodded her head, ¡°Yah! Where are we going? Are we going to more places to eat?¡± Dela glanced her face to Sol and instantly turned red, ¡°So close! To close! A maiden''s heart can¡¯t take this much stimulation!¡± Saren crossed his hands behind his head and thought about what Elder Sam said... or was even an Elder? Anyways, he quickly came to the conclusion that this so-called Elder Sam could crush him and his siblings with a mere pinky finger if he wanted to. ¡®But since he allowed us to accompany his daughter he must be trying to get on our good side¡­ The thing I don¡¯t understand is, how did he know about us being disciples of Master Mo? I feel uneasy¡­ we have to tread carefully, who knows what dangers lurk in the light¡­¡¯ If this so called Elder Sam knew who they were, then who else had this information? ¡°Hey big bro, we¡¯re going! Catch up or we¡¯ll leave you behind!¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Saren awoke from his thoughts to find that the rest of his group had moved far ahead. He immediately broke into a sprint with a yell, ¡°Wait up you little devils!¡± Elder Sam watched as the four disappeared into the distance, and then turned to the beggar who suddenly appeared in front of the shop. With a wave of his hand Elder Sam placed a sound barrier around them, cutting off the noise from the surrounding crowd and insuring that no one could hear their words, ¡°You know I would never let my Dela hang out with people I¡¯ve never met before. She¡¯s young after all and could easily be tricked¡­ I didn¡¯t follow your orders to allow them to experience The Pit because you''re his daughter, Marley. It¡¯s just that my little sweetheart is smitten with that kid Sol, that¡¯s all!¡± The beggar smiled faintly and placed a few silvers on the counter, ¡°Some bread for this old woman? I¡¯ll take the one filled with red jam, after all Elder Sam makes the finest bread in the area.¡± Elder Sam snorted, ¡°Enough with the praise; if you¡¯re old then I¡¯m ancient. Here.¡± Giving her loaf of bread filled with jam he continued, ¡°Go on your way troublemaker. Tell that father of yours to stop by here and bring those old farts for a visit. It¡¯s almost time for the Ruined Lands to open again.¡± The old beggar shook from excitement as she munched on her bread, ¡°Many thanks for the information, Elder Sam. I shall pass it on. As always, Elder Sam makes the best bread. My thanks.¡± Elder Sam nodded and watched the beggar hurry after the group of four children the four who left. As he watched the beggar leave, Elder Sam¡¯s solemn look quickly reverted back to his salesman¡¯s smile, ¡°Come one, come all! I sell the finest bread in all the land!¡± Chapter 15 - Scene 1 - The Pit Chapter 15 - Scene 1 - The Pit Walking along the streets four had eaten all sorts of delicious food from the various vendors lining the sides. The stall owners seemed to be in at the three siblings bottomless appetites moving with a swiftness. The four traveled for a while twisting and turning on the path, enjoying the surrounding until they went to a certain street in which Dela smile mischievously, ¡°We¡¯re here! Remember that this place is a secret so don¡¯t tell anyone!¡± Of to the side of the street lay a dark alleyway that didn¡¯t sit with Saren, yet nonetheless the three siblings followed Dela into the dark alleyway. Walking for a few hundred meters the cheerful surrounding grew quite. At that point, Saren couldn¡¯t take and ask, ¡°Where are you taking us?¡± Dela stopped at Saren question and turned around placing a finger on her lips with a wink, ¡°A place to test strength!¡± Without another word, Dela ran towards a close by the door that was crude and rusted etched with faint runes. Dela knocked on the door with a secret beat pattern; after the 18 knock the door opened up to reveal a man cloaked in black. He spoke in a monotone voice, ¡°Entry is permitted. Please step inside.¡± He moved out of the way as the three siblings pondered about what was going on. Dela told them to follow her, they had their doubts and asked what this place was. In a hint mysticism, Dela said with a glow in her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s a secret! You¡¯ll understand when we enter.¡± A little further in they saw a lone spiraling staircase leading downwards carved out of stone. Dela walked in confidence down the stairs without much of a choice the three followed suit interested. After about one hundred steps they reached the bottom of the stairs. The siblings began to hear a faint cheering almost as if it was a crowd. Walking along the underground path the closer they got it an excited crowd cheering at the top of their lungs! The surroundings made the siblings open their eyes wide; the ceiling had floating crystals that lit up the area. With a smell of exotic food and wine hanging in the air and the crowd that gave off the air of warriors around them gave them pressure. But the most eye opening scene came from the large pit in the center of the room who held to warriors facing off in combat. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Yelling full of bloodlust was a middle age man who fought tooth and nail against a lion-man who roared in ecstasy eyes glowing a savage red. The sound of the two men for a mere moment overtook the excited crowd before they crowd sent a wave of cheers becoming even more frenzied. Shocked, the siblings watched on as the beast man from the lion race was kicking and punching toe to toe against the human man. Their faces were bloody; eye¡¯s red with blood shot, as smiles covered their faces beating each other bloody. Sol yelled with stars in his eyes, ¡°Go lion man! You can do it!¡± Seeing her brother go for the lion man''s side Luna coldly snorted rooting for the other side, ¡°Kick that lions butt uncle!¡± The two twins cheered in awe as the fight became more intense with the fighters taking larger and larger risks. Finally, the Lion man saw an opening and landed a clean punch squarely on the other man''s chin knocking him straight out. An announcer with a loud voice counted down from 10, ¡°3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ Ladies and gentlemen the winner of our bloody fight is! Mai the warrior who hails from the Kingdom of cats!¡± The lion man grinned waving his giant hands to the crowd. With a helpful hand, Mai helped his opponent onto his feet. Shaking hands they exchanged words of praise. Then they walked to their respective tunnel entrances. Saren who had been quiet all this time spoke up, ¡°Did you guys notice?¡± Sol had a smug look while Luna was in a sour mood they both said at the same time, ¡°They¡¯re cultivators!¡± Saren nodded in response, ¡°Very good. But have you noticed where Dela went.¡± Suddenly noticing this point Sol and Luna searched around to no avail until Saren spoke up, ¡°She went over there to that desk guy and showed an iron metal most likely she came to¡­¡± Interrupting his words the announcer spoke up, ¡°Ladies and gentleman! Two crowd favorites have appeared tonight to fight! The Maiden of Wrath, EmberShine! And in the other corner is our substitute Bread Maker! Give a yell of welcome to these two fighters!¡± Two figures walked out of their respected tunnels taking fighting stances. A girl in her late teens wore a serious expression across her face. She wore simple clothing that was stained with dry blood; her eyes were cold brown and her hair short. This was EmberShine! In the other corner was someone the siblings already knew¡­ It was Dela! She stood looking calm; holding her hands behind her head without a care in the world. Although Dela¡¯s Amber looked relaxed her eyes shone a fighting spirit. If the siblings knew what EmberShine was thinking they would know the girl cursed her luck for fighting this monster. Still, EmberShine gritted her teeth and readied her stance holding her hands close to her face opened handed she stepped forward on the dark brown stand; holding her hands in front of her ready for the dong to ring. Seconds pass as the two stare down the crowd on the edge of their seat growing silent awaiting the clash about to come as excitement filled the air. It came off as electrifying. *Dong* Chapter 15 - Scene 2 - Bread Maker Scene 2 - Bread Maker The bell rang and the two collided in a flash; the instant they closed the distance to one meter. Dela stood on her hands suddenly; kicking out with the force of a lion straight towards EmberShine, who was a second late to attack only allowing her to defend with her arms. With a bang EmberShine was sent siding all the way back to the wall; as soon as she stopped she rolled to the right, narrowly dodging Dela¡¯s full force kick that left a light imprint on the wall. EmberShine saw her chance then and attacked her flank; alas she only grazed Dela¡¯s arm. Dela¡¯s eye flashed with bloodlust sending a brutal counter attack with another monster kick onto EmberShine side. EmberShine had then blown away again to the other side of the pit smacking into the wall with a thud. Dela smiled charmingly, but for EmberShine it was almost demonic to her, ¡°Come on big sis you better give it your all, after all, I got someone to impress.~¡± EmberShine replied without words instead she ignited her magic on her hands and feet, an explosion of scattered embers circled around her limbs shining a pale ghostly aura. Getting on all fours EmberShine moved with a quickness as she dug her nails into the ground, eyes on fire she jumped in mid air and sending a right sidekick in mid air towards Dela''s face. Only Dela wasn¡¯t flustered in the slightest, ¡°Oh Oh! Big sis, you¡¯ve improved your magic application! Still¡­ It isn¡¯t enough!¡± The haughty Dela gathered an intense power in her left hand that glowed a light white mist, that made EmberShine pale, but nonetheless went through with her attack, ¡°Eat this new attack! Flaming Slash!¡± ¡°Ha! Is that it? Impact!¡± Fist and leg collided with the wind and fire scattering in all directions colliding around the barrier, exciting the crowd to their feet. As the dust was about to settle a shout could be heard inside, ¡°Is that all you got big sis? You still lack training!¡± Then in the next instant, the crowd saw a body fly through the air full of bloodstains, it was EmberShine! Flying sideways she smashed back into the wall with a foot imprint on her stomach yet again! If she was a normal human she would have been turned into a mist of blood from Dela¡¯s attack, she only got minor body injuries thanks to how the arena was set up. Coughing up blood as she sat there staring scornfully at Dela, getting back up wiping she wiped her face with her sleeve and charged back at her like a wounded wolf that didn¡¯t know retreat! With a smile, Dela readied her stance, ¡°Haha! This is why I like fighting you big sis, you never give up. The perfect kicking bag to relieve stress! Oops little sis let her inner thoughts out please ignore little sis words k~¡± In mid charge EmberShine was stunned by Dela¡¯s word which in turn turned to fury, ¡®That¡¯s what you think of me you little shit! I¡¯ll show you k!¡¯ With renewed energy, the two fought against each other at full strength, but it was obvious Dela held the upper hand for the entire fight and soon after EmberShine was defeated from a kick squarely hitting her gut again. It was as if saying no matter what the result would be the same I will kick you in the stomach! After the count of ten Dela was announced the winner.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. After the count of ten where EmberShine couldn''t move a muscle, Dela was announced the winner. EmberShine had a streak of blood come flowing down her mouth as she lay on the ground, ¡°Damn you Bread Maker as tough as usual.¡± Dela reached out her hand and helped EmberShine up, ¡°Not bad big sis! You¡¯ve gotten much better!¡± Determination filled EmberShine eyes, as she grabbed Dela¡¯s hand, ¡°I¡¯ll train harder and beat you next time Bread Maker!¡± After finish talking, EmberShine left the pit walking towards the exit. Dela waved to the awestruck crowd that woke up from their daze and began to shout, ¡°Bread Maker! Bread Maker!...¡± In a crazed chanting manner. Dela grabbed a fresh towel after entering the tunnel from the female attendant; cleaning the sweat off of herself, ¡°Whew it¡¯s been awhile since I fought! I wonder if I awed Sol he~he~.¡± Such thoughts pass through the girl''s head remembering the story about how her mother meet her father in this very pit. It made Dela blush madly thinking such thoughts; she walked out of her chamber and walked towards the outer area. Before she entered she told the attendants to take Sol and them to private seats; only for Dela to see Luna and Saren sitting in their seats with complex expressions. Walking up to the two of them the siblings noticed her approaching; Saren was the first to speak up, ¡°Nice show of skill Dela, It impressed us quite a bit... More so for Sol. He got so excited that he went to compete. Let me guess this is a famous battle pit?¡± Dela was glad that Sol liked her fight, yet when she heard about him going to fight she grew worried. Would he be alright? He¡¯s a cultivator, yet it seems he just started? Countless questions filled her soul making her worry endlessly. Finally, she couldn¡¯t bear it and asked Saren, ¡°How long has Sol be cultivating?¡± Saren answered her honestly, ¡°Less than a month.¡± Dela almost fell over from shock, heavens! Sol wanted to fight inside a battle pit and he only had a month of cultivating experience! He¡¯s seeking death! Worried Dela started to move to the counter only for her worst fears to be realized. She saw Sol walk out onto the pit floor wearing an excited expression on his face. Opposite to him was a youth bandaged all over his body covering most of his face leaving his two eyes and mouth open. The youth wore a holey dirt covered black robe with a calm expression. Dela gaze grew fearful for Sol, ¡°That''s one of the top ten fighters in the battle pit! Why is Sol fighting him!¡± A battle pit was a strange thing. It allowed both fighters to fight on the same level of battle power regardless of current cultivation level which what made a challenging experience. Wits, battle prowess, and technique were all the deciding factors in a fight here. The matches were well liked for starting out cultivators allowing them to build battle experience; since the likelihood to die was very minimal. Which is why Elder Sam allowed Dela to fight in such a place; so she could build up her experience as a fighter in a safe environment, but still, allow her the danger element she needed. The matches were always up randomized in a way that matched up against opponents of different levels and then in the ring would restrict the two¡¯s powers to the same level. Even Dela herself was at the mid seventh stage of the first realm which was considered pretty good for her age. Yet even for her, she had never fought one of the top ten so why was Sol so unlucky? She didn¡¯t know the reason was that of Sol¡¯s God weapon! Actually, afight wasn''t picked randomly but, combat ability! How they measured it secretly was the battle aura of the person held not his cultivation base! Chapter 15 - Scene 3 - Eclipse Chapter 15 - Scene 3 - Eclipse Eyes sparkling full of awe Sol stood up in his seat cheering, ¡°Dela is so cool! I want to go fight like her!¡± In the heat of the moment Sol moved without thinking, unfortunately, his older brother and sister didn¡¯t notice that he had already gone to the signup desk. Boiling in excitement the blood rushed to his head blood he wasn¡¯t thinking! Moving towards the desk that Saren had pointed out before; he hastily asked the woman standing there, ¡°Hey auntie! I want to fight as well! How do I join?¡± The graceful lady at the desk mouth twitched in an odd way, did I say something wrong? Who cares! I want to fight! ¡°Little boy¡­ do you have the money for the entry fee money of thirty silver?¡± He was shocked at the amount thinking about how many yummy dishes he could buy with that money! In the mist of his thoughts, the Auntie chuckled at him¡­ Shocked at how he was treating her he thought, ¡®How dare she laugh at me I¡¯m strong now!¡¯ Gritting his teeth Sol forcefully take out thirty silver coins as tears almost come out of his eyes. But thinking about his big brother Vince he held them back since he remembered him say, ¡®Men don¡¯t cry!¡¯ The auntie held back her laughter despite Sol¡¯s best attempts to act manly as she gave him a small copper badge. Feeling wronged at how he was being treated this way he became angry after all was a cultivator! ¡®She laughed! At me! Again! I feel so humiliated!¡¯, With tears brimming in his eye he forced out a cry, ¡°Auntie is mean! I gave you the money! Now when can I fight!?¡± Auntie pointed words a doorway laughing away at this childish boy, ¡°Enter that doorway where we¡¯ll measure your battle power. I wish you the best of luck umm what was your name again little boy?¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Sol ran away from at that point into the from yell as I run into the room, ¡°It''s Sol CloudStar! Remember the name for I shall become the greatest warrior the world has seen!¡± The Auntie smiled and nodded as she stared at the back of the little boy, ¡°Good! Show me a good fight then! I¡¯m rooting for you Little Sun¡­ Ha-ha!¡± ... Entering through the door the little boy clearing his eyes from tears saw a large man standing before him asking the boy to place his hand on the pedestal. Not thinking about it much Sol placed his hand upon the stone; instantly nine lights shone which shocked the large man thoroughly. He said in a rough voice, ¡°Hey we got a rank challenger here! Tell that youth Eclipse we got an opponent here.¡± ¡®Rank challenger? Are they strong?¡¯, thinking such thoughts as he was led along a passageway Sol¡¯s blood began to boil each step he took his body was full of energy ready to fight! With his mindset and heart attuned for battle, he waited until his name was called. In which he walked out into the opening seeing his opponent for the first time. Giving him a strange look Sol studied the youth in front of him. Covered in bandages from head to toe he looked more like a mummy than a cultivator. Along with his wild unkempt blond hair, wearing an old dirty and holey black robe stained with blood that smelled. With a single whiff, Sol could know the exact smell that came from him the weird all too well. Blood. But Sol wouldn¡¯t turn tail and run from a weird cosplayer just by a mere smell. With a respectful tilt of his head, Sol got into a battle stance ready to fight, ¡°Let¡¯s have a good match!¡± When he raised his head he could finally notice the mummy¡¯s boy dark orange eyes held a wrathful expression speaking with a voice trailed full of fury, ¡°You think this is a match little punk? This is a battle sochildren shouldn''t be here get out of the ring! There is no room here for a hairless child.¡± In anger Sol yelled inwardly, ¡®I¡¯m young man, not a boy!¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s fight bandage Boy!¡± Instantly the bandage boy''s eyes grew a new level of cold he stared daggers at Sol, then he turned laser gaze at the announcer, ¡°Enough waiting around start the match, so I can beat this runt into the ground!¡± The announcer unmoved by the bandage boy¡¯s cold words announced without fear to the crowd, ¡°Ladies and gentleman in one corner we have the 7th place fighter currently in our ranks Eclipse! In the other corner, we have a challenger from the unknown lands who surpassed the ranker test! Place your bets this is sure to be an exciting match!¡± Fighters prepare yourselves! Fight in three! Two! One!¡± As soon as the dong sounded Sol moved forward towards the bandaged boy full of fighting intent he would show this cosplayer the meaning of pain!, ¡®He might be a little taller but still, I can win!¡¯ At the time Sol had all the self-confidence in the world to beat that smirk off bandage boys face. That is until he was blown away into the wall of the pit like EmberShine before him although the only difference was it was a fist straight into the face instead of a kick. Chapter 16 - Scene 1 - Overpowering Scene 1 -Overpowering ¡°Weak¡­ What a weakling!¡± Eclipse said loudly for all to hear. Eclipse eye¡¯s shown disgust at his opponent, ¡°How dare he? With that lack of skill challenge the pit?¡¯ It sickened him. Just as Eclipse was about to walk out of the ring the announcer yelled, ¡°Wait! What¡¯s that in the dust?!¡± As the dust settled a figure stood tall; blood flowing down his face from a wound on his forehead. It was Sol! His hands up to his face created a shadow that covered his eyes. A voice heavy with emotion resounded through the bloody arena, ¡°I cannot be weak... I mustn''t be weak¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose anyone ever again! AHHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Sol ran at full force planting each foot into the brown sand yelling at the top of his lungs, yet Eclipse wasn¡¯t moved in the slightest by how Sol was acting. Seeing that Eclipse hadn¡¯t moved Sol let loose a fearsome punch! Now close to his opponent Sol used the memories of his weapon to throw a punch full of destruction shooting forward like an arrow; all his determination into this one punch he would break through! Eclipse eyes narrowed slightly as he moved his head in a strange manner dodging by mere inches, he counter attacked by throwing a punch into Sol¡¯s gut. Though it didn¡¯t connect as he expected, with a smile Sol¡¯s hand opened up at that moment and grabbed at the back of Eclipse¡¯s head! With a pull of momentum, Sol lifted his leg and ruthlessly smashed his knee into Eclipses head! Yet, how could one of the top ten in the pit not expect this tactic? With just his right-hand Eclipse quickly blocked in front of his face stopping Sol knee right in his tracks. ¡°What fearsome arm power!¡± Thought Sol. Gripping his knee still, Eclipse held Sol easily in which he ruthlessly continued his previous attack by punching Sol stomach with his free hand. Sol flew backward by two meters landing flat on his back. All the wind was knocked out of Sol at that moment if this wasn¡¯t the area his internal organs would have been heavily injured from that attack. Despite the lack of air, he rolled on instinct, as soon as he moved a foot smashed straight into the ground where he once was. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Eclipse eye¡¯s turned vicious, ¡°Is that all you got? Little punk? Let me put you out of your misery!¡± As Sol tried to recover his breathing Saren, Luna and Dela were extremely worried. Saren turned to Dela, ¡°Why are they not calling the match? Clearly, my younger brother is outmatched!¡± Dela shook her head, ¡°The only way to call a match is for one person to admit defeat, be knocked out, not able to get up within ten seconds. We can do nothing to help Sol; we can only cheer him on.¡± Luna gnashed her teeth as she yelled, ¡°Brother! Don¡¯t lose! Remember our promise!¡± Saren yelled with a sharp tone, ¡°You¡¯re a man right! So fight like one!¡± Dela watched on. All her attention was focused on Sol; watching her man desperately fighting a losing battle. Dela had this inescapable feeling of longing in her heart whenever she saw Sol, each passing moment watching him get beat up caused her heartache! Relying on his weapons memories from his weapon Sol was able to dodge with difficulty trying to recover his breathing; still, his internal energy was in disorder. Sol wasn¡¯t at the level where he could fully tap into the memories of his weapon, yet how could defend well enough. Eclipse kept up his onslaught of attacks; finally, he noticed Sol¡¯s strange movements and how he moved with second thoughts as if his mind was conflicted. Eclipse flashed a grin coming to an understanding. He moved back stopping his onslaught and laughed coldly, ¡°Ha-ha... Are you using your memories from your weapon to dodge huh? You''re just using them what a small fry! You¡¯ve yet to comprehend them and make them your own haha! What a joke and you came to fight? Let¡¯s see how you handle this!¡± Sol had finally regained control of his body; while Eclipse berated him. Sol boiled in anger over what Eclipse had said; after all, he knew it was true. Master Mo told them once that it would be a long time; before they could even hope to make the memories within their weapons their own. That was the tradeoff of strong weapons. Still! Sol wasn¡¯t about to just lie down and admit defeat! Sol yelled back, ¡°Who cares that you know I¡¯m using memories bandage boy! I rather die on my feet than live on my knees! Then lose to you without giving it my all!¡± Disdain and contempt were shown upon Eclipses face. Who did this punk kid think he was? Some hero? Ha! Then where were these so called heroes when his clan was wiped out on the day of bloody eclipse? Where was his justice when his father and mother died to protect his life? What about the other children? Where was there justice? They only had Aunt Moonlight to protect them! Chapter 16 - Scene 2 - Beatdown Scene 2 - Beatdown Pupils contacted, Eclipse exploded into madness as the light flickered off of his body; a limit released he stopped holding back. Shooting forward Qi ran off his legs, increasing his speed by Thrice. Qi gathered atop of his fist, everyone could guess that the wanted to finish off Sol with a fearsome punch! Sol''s face paled, but instead of consenting defeat instead of he ran at Eclipse head on, it seemed he wished for mutual destruction! Ripples in the red sand scattered around the two as they neared each other. Shocking the spectators that opened their mouths in awe thinking such thoughts as ¡®What kind of fight is this?!¡¯ Only a few opened their eyes wide including a certain black robed expert whose eyes danced with moonlight. Eclipse was faster than Sol despite using his weapons memories to move by a hair and ruthlessly smashed Sol¡¯s face into the ground scattering the sand in shockwaves creating a meter-sized hole! Thankfully both of their cultivation bases were the same in the ring otherwise Sol wouldn¡¯t be just heavily injured in this exchange he would have had his head turned into a bloody mist of brain matter! The crowd already knew who was going to win but were surprised by Eclipse sudden ruthlessness he never acted in such a way before in the ring. Normally he would play with his opponent and not bash them so bad. This time Sol stayed down at that point knocked unconscious. Not missing a beat the announcer counted to ten Eclipse declared him the winner. Although Eclipse walked away the winner he felt feeling bitter about remembering his own helplessness. Weakly a voice came from behind him, ¡°Next time I won¡¯t lose; bandage boy...¡± Eclipse eyes opened wide. He had used around 90% of his full power, yet Sol still didn¡¯t black out! Eclipse stopped only for a moment and then kept on walking, after all, he won so there wasn¡¯t a reason to stick around. His mind fading, Sol passed out and that point a few guards came and carried him towards the tunnel.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Eclipse walked away laughing for all to hear; it was a laugh of someone who found something interesting, ¡°Ha-ha¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting, boyo.¡± Though as soon as he entered his tunnel he clutched his stomach with a low whisper, ¡°Nice punch by the way¡­¡± Holding his stomach he could feel that his internal organs had shifted out of place somewhat. Most people didn¡¯t notice that in the final exchange between the two Sol¡¯s had indeed landed a punch! Eclipse snapped his fingers which a few of his bandages on his stomach became loose showing a cube-like tattoo. Pushing his hand on his stomach he pulled ¡®off¡¯ the cube from his skin which became a 3-D object. Opening the top of the cube he put his hand in retrieving a small pill which he ingested. As soon as the pill hit his tongue it instantly turned to liquid running through his body helping to heal his minor internal injury. To help the process along Eclipse sat down at the end of tunnel cross-legged and began circulating the healing energy of the pill to recover his injury. ... The crowd talked to each other over the fight they saw with Eclipse and Sol having such thoughts as, ¡°Overestimating his ability. Poor child. What a weakling.¡± Dela didn¡¯t have such thoughts and moved together with Saren and Luna rushing towards the desk where Dela flashed her metal, ¡°These two are with me we¡¯ve come to check on Sol¡­ Can you let us enter?¡± The women knew Bread Maker¡¯s character very well and allowed her through. Watching their fading figures the women thought, ¡®That kid got knocked out cold it¡¯ll be a pain to keep him, it¡¯s best for someone to take him away.¡¯ Sol lay on the bench bruised and battered with a black robed person standing over him when the three walked in. The three couldn¡¯t see his or her face and were instantly on guard. With the restrictive spells in place, no ordinary expert could enter! Only those allowed could enter; the pit didn¡¯t want a bad name for itself for not keeping their fighters safe after fighting. Luna spoke up loudly her spear in hand, ¡°Who are you! What are you doing to my brother?¡± The black-robed expert turned to them, what they saw was a complete shadow blocking its face; the black robed person said in a voice that couldn¡¯t be distinguished between male or female, ¡°Here feed him this when he wakes up; it¡¯ll heal his injuries within two days.¡± The black robed person then tossed out a small glass container towards them. Saren caught it out of the air. Without another word the black robed person left without a sound disappearing at high speeds outside the tunnel they came in tunnel. Chapter 16 - Scene 3 - Recovery Scene 3 - Recovery The black robed person speeds faster than sound even if the group wanted to catch the black-robed figure they couldn¡¯t. Instead of worrying about the mysterious figure Dela turned her attention to Sol and fell to her knees crying over him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sol! Why did I bring you to this place to show off? I¡¯m the worst!¡± Dela¡¯s tears came genuinely seeing so Saren petted her head shaking his head, ¡°I¡¯m the one who should feel guilty I let him run off, as a big brother I didn¡¯t watch him close enough!¡± Saren made up his mind and picked up Sol to carry him away back to the Inn, ¡°Come we¡¯re going back to heal his injuries at home.¡± Staring blankly at Saren, Luna and Dela followed after him eventually he led the three out and into the road giving his unconscious little brother a piggyback ride. The boss of the Inn didn¡¯t say anything and even offered the siblings to call a doctor to look at Sol¡¯s injuries. Derk''s eyes laughed in ridicule but didn¡¯t dare say anything for fear his boss would thrash him. A doctor came soon with at the boss''s orders and looked over Sol. The doctor was an old bald man full of wrinkles hands shaking. It unnerved the siblings about this man but alas when he saw Sol he went to work straight away taking out tools to diagnose the patient''s current condition. After an hour the old man nodded his head and turned to Saren, ¡°It¡¯ll take one month for the lad¡¯s injuries to recover naturally. You¡¯ll friends lucky to be alive if he wasn¡¯t cultivation he would have died already!¡± Seeing the doctor''s expression Saren held out his hand with the pill bottle inside, ¡°Will this heal him faster?¡± The doctor¡¯s moved his glasses to get a closer look, his eyes became wide as his body began to shake like a leaf. He quickly regained his composure grabbing the bottle he checked the pill more closely. Staring at it in different angles for a bit the old man finally nodded regretfully returning it Sarens hands, ¡°I¡¯ve studied alchemy along being a medical doctor, I¡¯ve handled such a pill before and know with no mistake it¡¯s a third tier body restoration pill! If you let the boy ingest it I guarantee you that the patient will recover within two days. The only problem is the boy''s unconscious and can¡¯t take the pill. Only once he wakes up will he be able to take it.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. With a thank you to the doctor, Saren paid the old man a few silver then sat in silence with his sister overlooking their brother. Dela decided to stay with them till late afternoon came by, she helped them change the bandages every few hours. Fearing that if she didn¡¯t help they wouldn¡¯t let her see Sol again the guilt of knowing she caused this was eating her up inside. Would the siblings hate her? She didn¡¯t want to be hated by Sol¡¯s family. The three took turns in silence caring for Sol by the hour as described by the doctor to check if Sol¡¯s breathing stayed stable finally it came a time where Dela had to regretfully leave or her dad would worry where she went, ¡°Um Saren no¡­ big brother Saren! So ummm¡­ Even though it¡¯s my selfish request will you allow me to come over and help take care of Sol? I¡¯ll come back tomorrow when I¡¯m done making bread! ¡± Gazing up from his book Saren nodded in approval, ¡°Sure it isn¡¯t your fault my stupid little brother went off to fight without studying more. Do as you please.¡± He already knew that Dela seemed smitten with Sol and never meant to hurt Sol in the first place. Actually, it surprised him that she still liked Sol, even though he got thoroughly thrashed by that bandage boy, ¡®What a strange girl indeed.¡¯ Dela happily thanked Saren and waved at Luna before walking out of the Inn back towards the bakery, tears flowing down her cheeks she walked in silence. Twenty minutes later when Dela left, the party of Xue, Len and Ren walked into the room. Comically, Ren struggled his way up the steps his veins popping near the skin in his arms and forehead. He carried a staggering amount of items ranging from clothing, trinkets, magical items and other junk divided between his hands. Seeing his brother in dire straights Saren held the book close to his face letting out a small shicker. He wondered who he should pity more? The half dead Sol or Ren reduced to a shopping mule? Ren breathed a sigh of relief as he gently placed the items on the floor, for fear as not to incur his sisters¡¯ wrath. Then the three saw Saren and Luna expressions and saw how battered Sol was as he lay in bed knocked out cold. Xue and they ran over sacred until Saren and Luna told them what happened. The siblings drew sighs of relief after knowing the full story; still, even if they knew Sol would be alright they were worried. They were siblings of after all, of course, they would be worried! Rune shortly walked in and entered the room together with Vince who was carrying the sleeping Nena on his back. They saw how everyone was acting around Sol. Instead of panicking Vince tucked in Nena quietly in her bead; while Rune asked in a stern voice that was soft as to not wake up Nena. ¡°What happened to Sol? Spill the beans little brother...¡± Saren quickly told both Vince and Rune what happened and the two had relief Vince then told everyone, ¡°Everyone get some sleep it¡¯s been a long day and I¡¯m sure Sol will wake up as the doctor said in a few days.¡± Chapter 16 - Scene 4 - Craving Strength Scene 4 - Craving Strength Two days quickly past and each day Dela came to take care of Sol together with Saren and Luna. The siblings were worried about how to feed Saren in this time. Luckily Dela showed the siblings a cheap fruit that would dissolve on contact with the skin. With it, they could feed Sol allowing his body to get nutrients to enter the body by placing it near the stomach. In the afternoon on the third day, Sol awoke while Dela was wiping his stomach. Even if the fruit was useful it still left a mess of seeds, juice, and leftover skin that wouldn¡¯t dissolve. Startled Dela''s face was dyed red as she hastily moved her hand away. The room was silent since Saren and Luna went to go eat lunch they had Dela watch over him alone. Sol broke the silence, ¡°How long was I knocked out?¡± His voice was hoarse when he noticed this he saw a cup of water. His eyes gleamed reaching out for the water. Alas, his body contorted wrecked with pain, his vision doubled it felt like every bone in his body was broken. Seeing Sol try to move Dela held him down by his shoulders softly, ¡°Sit down! You got hurt pretty bad in the fight!... Here let me help you...¡± Dela reached out and grabbed the cup of water lifting Sol¡¯s head with her other hand. Slowly she poured the water in Sol¡¯s mouth allowing him time to drink. Using his eyes he motioned for her to stop when he finished half the cup, Dela moved the cup away holding back her tears she uttered, ¡°Sol I¡¯m so sorry I shouldn¡¯t have brought you to that place¡­ I...¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With great effort fighting back against the pain, Sol moved his left hand which stopped Dela from talking utter contempt for himself filled his eyes, ¡°It was my fault Dela I thought that that little meager amount of power made me powerful.¡± Sol grew silent for a moment catching his thoughts then gazed at Dela his eyes clear, ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself over what happened it isn¡¯t your fault, no I should be thanking you for showing me how weak I still am in this world. not yours.¡± ¡°Sol...¡±, Dela fiddled with her hands not sure what to do and felt defeated by his gaze. Opening and closing his hands his eyes began to slowly blaze with passion, ¡°I now know that I have a long way to go to become strong. And therefore I will never become conceited again! Ack!¡± Yelling out loud as he promised himself not to become conceited pain wracked his body, ¡°ow-ow-ow-ow it hurts¡­¡± Sol hurt himself from moving his body causing it to shudder in pain, startled Dela held him back down, ¡°You can¡¯t move dummy!¡± Yet despite the pain wracking his body, his soul felt like a blazing sunlit mad for the desire to gain strength. Seeing his expression Dela gave a bright smile at Sol, ¡®Instead of feeling down on his loss, he keeps shining with determination. Not many people could come out stronger for being defeated, as expected of the man I fell for.¡¯ Dela suddenly thought about the pill the black robed person had given them and told Sol to take it saying it would help him heal faster. Without hesitation, Sol nodded opening his mouth as Dela gave him the pill and then some water to swallow it. The pill when ingested slowly spread inside Sol¡¯s stomach. Its soothing effect spread across his body in a warm glow, which in turn the pain in his body started to slowly fade away to a dull ache. Sol smiled, it was a boyish smile with charm to it, ¡°You know Dela? I think you¡¯ll make a fine wife someday! Haha...¡± Dela''s face became instantly became red again, quickly she ran down the stairs without turning back. She was still just an eleven-year-old girl, how could she face him after he said those words? Chapter 17 – Scene 1 - Dreams Chapter 17 ¨C Scene 1 - Dreams At this time various when the siblings were exploring the city various young experts from around 1000 km had started entering the town. From common to noble birth had entered the city with one goal in mind to take part in the Sectless Sect exams! All walks of life came to overturn their fate, kin from clans on the verge of ruin, war orphans wishing for a better life, criminals on the run, the rich wishing to expand their power. All types of origins crashing against each other hoping to attain a spot to become a disciple of such a legendary sect! Five days before the beginning of the Sect Exams, a fateful trio walked through the entrance leading the group was a certain missing princess from a certain country proudly walking with her two ex-soldiers Jao and Jayce. The certain princess walked with a smile on her face, ¡°So this is the city eh? For a city, it¡¯s even grander than our kingdom capital...¡± |J|A|O|X|X| Sometime later a young man in his teens dress in casual clothing and a female escort walked through the gate full of an air of arrogance of a prince, ¡°So this is the City you own Tomas no. Your name is Master Mo now isn¡¯t it? Can¡¯t wait to pay you a visit~¡± Moving her glasses up the secretary announced, ¡°Prince Drake. I have already arranged a place for loggings.¡± With a smile, the black-haired prince turned his cold eyes that could freeze a lake towards his assistant making her slightly shiver, ¡°Ah~ Nai always a blessing you''re on the top of the game. Let''s get going then shall we?¡± |V|G|A|N|E| On the next day, a short girl stood in front of the gate starting with her peach black eyes. The guard in charge looked her up and down; medium-long spiky, green hair, sporting a blue-black tribal headband where a few locks of hair hung over with the rest pushed back. She wore a casual brown cloak over her body. Her face was cute, the average type of cute that you couldn¡¯t really find a fault too, yet nothing really stood out. The guard question the girl, ¡°What''s your business in the city young miss?¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Gazing up the guard the girl was expressionless, ¡°The Exams Mr.¡± |T|H|I|E|F| Various youths kept entering the city setting their eyes on the exams even up to the last day not knowing each and everyone one of them was being monitored in a dark room filled with various scentless sect disciples. A middle age man lifted the glasses on his face and sat back, ¡°Judging by the cultivation levels of the entries this year it¡¯s going to be a pretty exciting examination for this years 13 zodiacs.¡± Unknowingly to all the potential examines the Sectless sect already had recorded all their information using a hidden formation that read cultivation levels! Playing with the keys in front of him the middle age man nodded, ¡°Judging by the data we¡¯ll use the ¡®Maze of illusions¡¯ for the test this time around! Hue hue hue with such talents I wonder how many will be alive by the first day! Ke Ke Ke!¡± Laughing disgustingly was the man in charge of the first test self-proclaimed Game Master Sao! At this point, an expressionless youth walked up to the crazed old man, ¡°Um Elder S--¡± Turning around with a furious expression Elder Sao yelled at the young man, ¡°What Elder?! I¡¯m Game Master Sao, not some old fart I just turned 179 this year!¡± Wiping the spit off his face the expressionless faced young man gave a slight bow, ¡°My apologies Game Master Sao.¡± With a sour mood Elder, Sao turned around and kept on typing on a wide keyboard, ¡°What is it, disciple? I¡¯m putting the final touches on the Mazes code it¡¯s been awhile since it¡¯s been revamped.¡± Bowing his head the disciples bowed slightly, ¡°Game Master Sao, Sect Master Mo, Sect Master Celia, Vice Sect leader Evergreen and Vice Sect Leader Bu this time have entered a few youths into the mix this time and they want you too--¡± The Old man turned around angered veins popping from his face spit came flying at his disciple in waves, ¡°Those brats want me to help those youths pass easy! They go too far! This old man will kick their ass in time in shape next time he sees them humph! The Test is always fair and just to those who risk their lives and--¡± A charming voice came out an interrupted, Sao¡¯s hatred speech, ¡°This is why I told you we should¡¯ve just came in person Elder brother now that disciple has to take such abuse because of you.¡± ¡°Hmmm Indeed, give that disciple some cultivation supplies as an apology¡±, a wily old man nodded his head. The one standing in front the two talking waved his hand and gave a youth a bottle of pills, ¡°Consider this as payment for this old farts abuse.¡± The expressionless youth''s eyes opened wide, ¡°Sect Masters and Vice Sect leader! Disciple greets you many thanks for the gift.¡± Bowing his head the disciples took the back and got out of the crossfire between the four. Showing a displeased face the Sao showed displeasure, ¡°What do you want youngins to know that I¡¯m not making the test any easier for them I have you--¡± Holding his hand up Master Mo shook his head, ¡°This isn¡¯t the case Game Master Sao, We merely wish you make to actually make the test even harder for our picks!¡± Eyes shining the old man grinned, ¡°Oh? If it¡¯s that then this Gamemaster can increase the difficulty just give me the list to kil¡­ challenge!¡± Chapter 17 - Scene 2 -Makuo District Scene 2 - Makuo District On the fifth day in town Xue, Vince and Ren walked the town together exploring the sights. While the three girls Len, Rune, and Nena visited the marketplace to buy some cute clothes for themselves. The first group wandered around over various shops eating anything they saw along the way that interested them. Afterall cultivating made one hungry. Ren was leading them forward to a place that smelled faintly of iron and with each step, the smell grew stronger until they reached a certain gate that read ¡°Makuo district¡±. Rens¡¯ eyes shined with anticipation, ¡°Hey I heard up here is the Makuo District which is five km wide and is full of Smiths! Wanna check it out, guys?¡± Vince and Xue nodded in response and so the three walked down the street towards Makuo. It wasn¡¯t that far of a walk to get to so it wouldn¡¯t be trouble to spend some time here. Diving into the district they crossed into the place where the cities smiths gathered to hone their skills and compete against one another with blood and iron. As they passed through they saw seven figures dress in red pass them by with arrogant and aloof expressions. It was the same look that the nobles had given them in the old kingdom; the one that stepped over commoners body and soul. Whoever was on the path quickly got out of the way for fear of offending these seven. Naturally, the three siblings got out of the way to avoid trouble brewing going it a stall on the side and grabbed some food waiting for seven red robed people to leave their sight before continuing. Despite the itch to pick a fight with that one swordsman in the group, Ren resisted the urge to fight, after all, there wasn¡¯t a point to fight when their goal today was to sightsee the city not to fight seven arrogant nobles. Heading deeper into the Makuo District, the various smells of metal, coal, and smoke that filled the air thicker then the clouds and blacker than the night streamed from hanging pipes on the buildings heading towards the sky. The siblings could almost taste the metal it in the air as the heat began to pick up in the area making them sweat a little. The banging of hammers on metal rang forming the sounds of thunder crashing upon the earth, taking a look around Ren¡¯s notice he could see the sound being amplified by the walls, and most of the time there wasn¡¯t any rhythm just the striking of chaotic metal that was grinding and mashing against each other.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Yet every once in awhile the beat of iron fell into a strange sort of song. At times the clinks made your blood boil as if one-hundred thousand foot soldiers were marching in unison. At others, it felt like a melody full of vulgar. The banging seemed to move Xue¡¯s heart it¡¯s terrifying and exciting sound, played in a manner that played with her heartstrings. The fragmented memories inside her head seemed to smile longingly her eyes grew distant almost falling into a trance as if fate played a prank on the ears and for a few moments... It moved various emotions within as the chaotic song played with passion. Suddenly remembering a certain fact Ren turned to his brother and dazed sister, ¡°Hey Big brother, Little Sis I just remembered I heard a rumor wanna hear about it?¡± Vince asked tilting his head, ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± With a sparkle in his eye, Ren continued, ¡°I heard the people who actually that enter the heart of the smithing district say they could even feel their bodies being tempered by the residue strikes from smiths hammering away! Do you think it¡¯s true Big brother?¡± Putting a hand on his chin Vince thought about it, ¡°It might be some sort of natural formation if that¡¯s the case with many people gather with one mind in soul on something it has been recorded of such phenomenon. We should check it out another time though before we reach the center it¡¯ll be late afternoon.¡± Feeling downcast Ren nodded his head, ¡°Right we wouldn¡¯t want our siblings to worry about where we¡¯ve gone. So let¡¯s visit it sometime later together!¡± Xue had already awoken from her stupor and gave a sight smile of approval, ¡°Lets.¡± Walking even deeper the temperature rose to the point that the siblings started to circulate qi though their bodies to cool themselves. New pipes could be seen releasing steam in an attempt to cool down the heating by a few degrees too cool metal and houses alike. The clanking of gears could now be heard all over around the colorful shops and buildings. Different races that siblings have never seen before walked in and out of shops along the wide street. Dressed in a variety of colors the three stood with eyes wide taking in the atmosphere. This was the charm of the Makuo District, where races all over the realm gathered to mingle and trade metal works. Leading the way Ren stopped along the stores starting at the large assortment of swords with a bright expression plastered across his face. While Xue and Vince took a fancy towards the strange mechanisms resembling animals; puzzle boxes, weapons, and other objects that moved by gears littering the stalls. At this point, three siblings had traveled far into the district and it seemed the father into the district be even more lively than the entrance. Then it happened. Chapter 17 - Scene 3 - Sky Blade Scene 3 - Sky blade When the three were picking out some mementos at a corner shop for their siblings, Ren started acting strangely his eyes glazed over he stopped dead in his tracks. The world around him became silent, all the constant banging of metal turned to nothingness, the high pitch steam that came in waves turned to but a whisper. The world seemed to slow down for Ren where he stood a strange melody began to play. Turning his attention towards the sound the song seemed to pick up the pitch as if it was happy to be noticed. One step over another Ren started walking and seeing Ren¡¯s strange behavior Vince and Xue put back the trinkets they were looking at and followed after their brother. They tried to snap him out of it but it was no use; the couldn¡¯t break Ren away from the enchanted sound that affected him on a profound level to his subconsciouses. Slowly, Ren walked forward towards the song that entranced him, no¡­ that called to him. Xue and Vince begrudgingly followed Run wary of what had gotten into him. They passed a few blocks before coming up onto a seemingly ordinary shop. A seemingly old run down building that was overshadowed by the other more colorful buildings. Most likely, the siblings wouldn¡¯t have noticed it if Ren wasn¡¯t walking towards the building. On closer inspection, the two could see its features of this one-story building. The buildings brown paint was chipping on the walls it was faded and lacking in brightness. In front of the building, it only had two cracked pillars for aesthetics. Though with the paint and cracks on the pillar¡¯s it made it less catching for the eye. It seemed crude and rough as the door creaked something fierce when Ren pushed the door open. Surprisingly the inside of the place was a clean shop. Various swords hung upon the walls some were normal, some of them had strange designs and others had various sized holes in them¡­ If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Ren slowly walked toward a large straight sword that in comparison was dwarfed by Nena¡¯s great sword. It had various curves that were simplistic in its design. Running down the fuller and edge was the design of a gold majestic wing. The rest of the blade was entirely colored green; everything seemed normal for a blade besides¡­ The various holes covered the blade in a strange and complex manner. Ren reached out his hand to touch the blade when a shout was heard from the back. ¡°Who be ye entering my shop? Eh? Didn''t yar parents ever teach ye never to touch something that didn''t belong to ye?¡± A door leading to the back opened up a fat and a short muscled man walked out with a gourd of wine in hand. He reeked of wine, coal, and metal it was a strange scent that made Vince and Xue who were wary of this place oddly calm. With a weave of the fat man''s hand; the sword that Ren was reaching for flew to him into a green sheath. When sheathed the blades song Ren heard was cut and he awoke from his stupor, shaking his head he tried to get his bearings. The fat man waited for Ren to find his words, after all, he was quite interested why Ren reached out for that sword of all the others. Ren traced his blurry thoughts, slowly he stared at the sword the fat man was holding and started to pant heavily, ¡°Mister I wish to buy that sword please!¡± He then bowed his head deeply at the fat man who was thinking thoughtfully his peach eyes staring at Ren. Taking a swig of wine from his gourd the fat man asked Ren a question, ¡°It appears ye already have a sword judging by thy small trinket hanging from yar pants. Why would ye crave this sword boyo? Upon yar answer, I shall not even consider selling ye this sword.¡± (Author note: A small vulgar joke) Rens'' eyes lit up as he began to recall what he heard, ¡°I heard the sword call for me¡­ Its song was what had drawn me in. It was filled with longing for the sky¡­ To be free and unrestrained as master and blade danced upon the clouds¡­ The blade name is Othin the sky blade!¡± Chapter 17 - Scene 4 - Legendary City of Metal, Talhaearn! Scene 4 - Legendary City of Metal, Talhaearn! *cough* The old man choked on his liquor before exclaiming, "H-How does a brat like you know the name of this blade?!" Of course, the fat man would be shocked only he and his bastard of a master knew about this blade''s name! Long ago his master told him thar he had stumbled upon the blade by chance while walking through a discarded forest. A blade so weird and unusual structure that looked like it would breakin single exchange! It merely sat on his shop walls as a decoration as a reminder to himself not to make shit weapons. Even other customers never gave the sword a second glance towards this flimsy blade of green. Although not many people visited the shop in the first place for it to really matter¡­ He really did need to redo the shop''s exterior he was just too lazy to do so¡­ Anyways who would want a blade full of holes? When people could a better hard blade that was more stable than this weird blade, would seem to break on the slightest impact. Many a time the fat man had thought of throwing the blade out and put a better piece on the wall only to remember his master words before he left. ¡°Ah, my fat apprentice your master is off to adventure again! Keep watch of the shop and remember to keep that blade on the wall. If someone ever guesses the blades name sell that accursed item to them for free immediately! No exceptions!¡± The fat man laughed long and hard seeing his chance to get rid of this cursed blade; making his long beard shift up and down atop his fat stomach. It made the three siblings weirded out making them inch back closer to the door startling the short man, ''If this smuck leaves who knows when the next one will through these doors! I¡¯d be stuck with this shitty sword for the rest of my life at this rate!'' ¡°Take the sword young one since ye have heard its song it is destined for ye!¡±, In a hurry, the short man sent the sword to Ren with a flick of the wrist, in which Ren caught the sword instinctively. As soon as he touched the sword Ren could feel a gentle aura in the blade that made his mind feel clear. Ren bowed towards the short man he and then strapped it on his belt, after all since he hadn''t bonded with the sword to resize it. Vince tilted his head slightly trying to understand why the short man would just give Ren the sword. On the other the hand Xue felt a hazy feeling in her borrowed memories; the sword seemed familiar, yet strangely foreign. Despite that Xue felt genuinely entranced by the familiar swords¡¯ weird design intriguing her curiosity. She then spoke to the short man, ¡°Senior how was this blade made? Did you make it? Or did it come from the land of smiths the free country of Talhaearn?¡± Her eyes shined despite the fragments she could give a vague guess where the sword originated from. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The fat man focused his eyesight on Xue hiding his joy to get rid of such a crap blade, ¡°Oh? Ye know about the holy land of smiths Talhaearn? Aye, it may have come from that place or maybe not? Truth be told even thy master does not know the origin of the blade with its... Unique design. But an eccentric from the holy land of us smiths might have forged the blade though I wouldn¡¯t know anything bout dat. Only accomplished smiths are allowed into the cities library of semantics. Is the little lassie interested in the trade of being a Smith?¡± When asked the hammer connected to her screamed in anticipation full of excitement wishing to forge weapons of war once again! The question provoked her blood into boiling making her hands subconsciously itch wanting to wield fire and shape metal! In midst of such emotions, Xue''s eyes turned wide, she had never felt this way before about smiting never once in her life. Why was it now that her body was craving a good forge to wrestle metals unknown to test her skill!? Although surprising to her, she didn¡¯t refuse these sudden thoughts that came from her hammer since it was interesting, ¡®Is smiting really that fun? I wanna try it now¡­¡¯ She nodded slowly in affirmation. Seeing Xue nod her head the fat man smiled; even if he couldn¡¯t see her eye face and a girl he didn¡¯t mind.Throughout the years of recorded history, there have been women smiths that have become legendary for they had overpowering talent! Only that their numbers were few, after all which girl even if they have monstrous talent would want to spend her life in a forge when she could just be pampered by her man? The fat man laughed, ¡°Haha! That''s the spirit! If you plan on learning how to Smith then the best place would be the sectless sect!¡± Xue was a little surprised about this; she just nodded in agreement, ¡°Many thanks, I shall check it out when I go there.¡± The three departed saying their goodbyes to the short man and then resumed spending the rest of the day exploring the Makuo District. When they went home they learned that Sol had woken up and that Dela had run away blushing madly. Luna''s eyes narrowed at her brother she was suspicious of her brother doing something to Dela. At this point and with Sol being too dense had a questioning face, all he had said was that she would make someone a great wife in the future what was wrong with that? The siblings sighed until it wasn¡¯t until Ren whispered to Sol what his words meant in simple terms. At first, Sol was calm then after thinking about Ren¡¯s words, he faces blushed bright red with steam coming from his head, ¡°That means now I have to¡­ to marry her!?!?¡± Ren and the rest were about to say something until they saw Sol¡¯s eyes shining, ¡°That means I can eat bread whenever I want! Ha-ha!¡± The siblings didn¡¯t what to think, this little brat¡­ Is all he cares about is food? Shutting their mouths together they left the sparkled eyed Sol to his bread fantasies to cultivate on their beds. Sol thought to himself seeing his siblings'' reactions asked himself, ¡®Did I say something wrong?¡¯, although he didn''t think too much about it and went back to sleep he body still felt heavy despite recovering to ask. As the nine cultivated the night quickly passed by and on the sixth day, a day before the examination began the siblings ran into trouble¡­ Chapter 18 - Scene 1 - Eating Out Chapter 18 - Scene 1 - Eating Out On the last day before heading to the Sectless sect; the siblings decided to spend time together in town before examination day. Sol after ingesting the pill had recovered about fifty percent of his strength, barely allowing him to move normally. So the band decided to rent a large carriage to accommodate them for the day, before leaving Dela showed up and insisted on joining the siblings on their outing to the restaurant. They were half unwilling to accept since they wanted it to be a family thing. It was only when she told them that she knew the directions to the place on the top of her head that they allowed her to come along. They headed for a famous restaurant recommended to them by the inn owner twenty km¡¯s away. The carriage made it fast travel and by noon they reached the restaurant; surprisingly there were many people inside at this time of day. Vince headed towards the counter with a hint of worry; the place was almost packed to the brim with people. Reaching the head of the line the man who was allowing people in was already shooing people away. Clearly, they were at capacity. Vince went up and met the man at the desk dressed in fairly fancy clothing, in which the man with a mustache looked upon Vince and his siblings'' appearance. Gazing at their clothing and lack of jewelry the man grew displeased with what he saw about to shoo them away. ¡°My dear¡­ customers as you can see we are at full capacity and can¡¯t accept you unless you have a reservation--¡± Despite being looked down upon Vince gave a smile that made eyes seem like crescent moons, placing his hand in front of him to stop the waiter continuing. With a simple action Vince placed his hand on the table in front of the man and left a single gold coin, ¡°I¡¯m sure you have our reservations correct?¡± Slyly sliding the coin quietly towards the shocked waiter who couldn¡¯t believe these poorly dressed people had such cash quickly understood the meaning. With a smart nod, the waiter smiled and took the bribe returning to his usual neutral expression as if he¡¯d done this before. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The waiter snapped his fingers in which another waiter appeared at the scene at a moment''s notice, He gave a small quick look to his sides shiftily making sure no one saw him take the gold coins away. He smiled at Vince and ordered a man to take these guests to the second floor. A female waiter led them upstairs to the second floor; where there were few tables left for them to eat at. The siblings noticed that the people sitting around eating had better quality clothes which made the girls'' faction slightly depressed. Thinking they had done a good job shopping getting good clothes that came as warm and easy to move in even at a discount! Only now did the girls realize that the forgotten about clothing appearance, alas the money was spent nothing would be gained from being depressed. No one sitting at the other tables paid attention to the group; they kept chatting excitingly while eating and drinking fine wine. Be it about the state of affairs; a birthday, a successful hunt and even roaring about his good brother getting married. With such a happy atmosphere the siblings felt that this was pretty good and sat at an empty table was an awaiting waiter walked up to the group, ¡°Here dear guests, check our menu and order want you wish to order!¡± The nine fiends began to start to drool as the gazed through a list of items. ¡°Elder brother I want this it looks yummy!¡± ¡°Can¡­ I¡­ Order¡­ this?¡± ¡°Vince these noodles look pretty good and cheap!¡± In a cheerful mood, Vince smiled at his siblings and nodded, ¡°Alright, alright you gluttons brother understands. Miss waiter I wish to order¡­¡± One after another Vince listed off the items his adorable siblings wanted with a wide smile, as the waitress furiously tried to keep up with the ever-increasing list of food order. When Vince finished talking the waitress sighed in relief, ¡°Is that all Dear valued customer?¡± Gazing at the expectant faces around the time Vince nodded, ¡°That¡¯ll be all!¡± Without another word the waitress walked to the kitchen with wide eyes, ¡®Dear heavens what are these little monsters ordering over most of the menu! Are they cultivators?¡¯ Dela without no shame at all sat down next to Sol blushing faintly perhaps thinking of what Sol had said to her a few days prior. The male siblings snickered while the females held their hands to their heads sighing inwardly; with the exception of Sol and the younger children Luna, Nena, and Saren. In the older kids, hearts watching her act with such boldness seemed pretty funny to them when Sol had just said recently if he married her he¡¯d get to eat bread all day. Sol, on the other hand, was oblivious to how siblings were enjoying a good show; only the embarrassing words he had said to Dela and his sibling rang in his mind. Making the air between the two was awkward as they couldn¡¯t seem to find the words to say to each other. Chapter 18 - Scene 2 - The Khoa Clan Scene 2 - The Khoa Clan Clearing his throat Sol tried to clear the awkward air, ¡°I¡¯ve been out for a while what did I missed while everyone was out? Sorry again that I made you guys worry...¡± Luna sat on the other side of him pouting, ¡°Darn right you should be sorry! I didn¡¯t get to go shopping with our big sisters!¡± Vince laughed heartily, ¡°Haha¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it, little bro! A man should do what he thinks is right, just remember though what might happen next time to the people around you. Now let share what we did in town together. Len, I remember you and Xue dragging Ren hell and back in shopping right?¡± And so they had a wonderful time recounting the things they did in town; everyone was filled with laughter enjoying the food. Nena was excitingly telling everyone what Len and Rune were doing yesterday, talking about the pretty necklace they picked out for Len. Nena said, ¡°And then big sis Len¡­¡± A loud bang was heard suddenly while they were wolfing down their food; just then Nena was halfway through her story. Everyone in the room stopped eating and stared at the open doors leading to the first floor; seven robed figures walk through the entrance with the woman waiter in tow sweating bullets. The leader of these seven was a tall handsome young man with curly black hair around the age of sixteen. Currently, he had foul expression plastered on his face as he strolled into the full room full of arrogance. Everyone sitting on the floor was inwardly filled with disdain, how dare these brats ruin the atmosphere! Their expressions with the exception of the siblings turned pale, once they saw the red robes and the symbols on them fear began to creep in their eyes. Seeing the surrounding peoples expression Vince whispered to Dela, ¡°Hey you know who these guys are?¡± Dela leaned her head back full of disdain, her eyes filled with contempt and ridicule, ¡°Ah. Those idiots from the Khoa clan thinking they''re some big shit again, didn¡¯t they learn their lesson from last time? Just some new hatchings by what I take it, only the one standing in front of the group is barely worth his weight in salt at the HBR 4th stage. The rest of them are the peak of the third and under, don¡¯t worry about them they''re small fry let''s just continue eating our meal Sol say ahh~.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Dela began feeding Sol who didn¡¯t resist in the slightest; he was too weak to lift his arms much. ¡®Being fed by Dela wasn¡¯t so bad¡¯ he thought to open his mouth for another bite. The young man leading the group gnashed his teeth, ¡®Why the fuck are all the tables filled, didn¡¯t this establishment know that I the young master of the Kora Clan upon would eat here today! I made sure to leave a reservation when my father hears about this he¡¯ll have the owner''s head for this loss of face!¡¯ Seeing their young master so frustrated by seeing all tables filled with people; one of the youths behind him finally built tried courage to stop their leader only to be hit ruthlessly by the man. Ren frowned at the scene and so did a few others. He grabbed the hilt of his sword on his belt; only to be stopped by Vince when he placed his hand out to block Rens¡¯ movement. The leader berated the youth that he had struck, ¡°Fool! You how dare you try to stop me? You''ll make me lose face! I¡¯m already in a bad mood because of Taoist PrupleCleave and now this!¡± The man in red searched around looking for a table until he saw the ten youths sitting at the table enjoying themselves while he was talking. He grew angry at them, how dare they ignore his grand presence! They were seeking death! He stormed over in an arrogant nature at the ten, quickly followed by the six youths. He rage was building up with each step he took. As soon as he got within three meters from them he yelled, ¡°I the great Boren Kora tell you, peasants, to screw off and relinquish your table, this is our table now! If you don''t leave right this instant don¡¯t feel bad for us being impolite!¡± Saren said a few words smiling, ¡°Now, now there must be a nice place for your people''s standard; Oh! I know the place where the trash can go. Len help me out; what''s that place trash is stored at?¡± Len normally faint presence flared with arrogance her eyes cold as she stared at the leader with disdain, ¡°That would be ''the dump'' little brother.¡± Saren smiled nodding enthusiastically, ¡°Thank you, big sis! You heard us trash, why don¡¯t you take your group of trash and casually FUCK OFF TO A DUMP!¡± Saren and Len had like-minded personalities they were arrogant to the point that made their own siblings embarrassed by their behavior. If the siblings were to say what type of arrogance that was they would say it in a manner like so. Saren was a sharp-tongued youth and had the eyes of a wild man; who allowed no one to get the better of him, whether it a battle of words or in a fight. Whilst Len arrogance was breed into her bones, she wouldn¡¯t dare let anyone step on her pride. Though no one ever did since Len lacked a presence, to begin with so her arrogance never really flared up. The Boren expression changed to various expressions from shock, to disbelief, then to anger, and finally settling into madness. ¡°You dare to step on my face? I¡¯ll fucking kill you, I''ll kill every one of you filthy insects!¡± Chapter 18 - Scene 3 - Confrontation Scene 3 - Confrontation Boren grabbed at a small cube hanging from his waist and pulled a sword from within. The blade held a faint light as he rushed at Saren with the intent to kill him in one slash. Alas, how could the rest of the siblings watch their brother be killed, pushing away from the chair in a flash Rune appeared in front of Saren. In midsts rushing she equipped her gauntlets, in a shocking manner she angled her hand to catch the blade! The madman Boren sneered, ¡®Would dare catch Silver level battle weapon with their hands? Stupid woman! You seek death! Be cut in half by my Silver rank sword!¡¯ Boren¡¯s thoughts were quite sound since anyone dressed that shabby wouldn¡¯t be able to get their hands on a gold ranked weapon let alone a greater demon weapon. Without hesitation, Boren picked up his speed intending to slash Rune and Saren together in one swing. With a cold snort, Rune reached out her hand confident in her abilities. A sinister smile full of anger appeared on Boren¡¯s face right before his blade made contact with Rune hand, ¡®Tch a beauty will die today, I thought the sect master said they were monsters. Not stupid!¡¯ ¡°Die!¡± Speaking will ill intentions his blade made contact with Rune¡¯s hand the blood he thought to see didn¡¯t happen shocked him greatly. The glare in Rune¡¯s eyes overflowed with anger as sparks of green frames came from them; she held the blade in a death grip standing there like a statue ready to erupt with untold wrath. At this moment Boren began to sweat inwardly, ¡®How could she catch my blade! Impossible unless she has a gold ranked weapon! No matter this will be an easy fight!¡¯ With just one hand Rune held the weapon in an iron grip that no matter how Boren tried to move his blade free it wouldn''t budge an inch. She smiled evilly as she began to bent the sword thanks to the strength of her gloves at a ninety-degree angle towards Boren. Everyone behind her had already begun to move except for Nena who her head in curiosity, Dela, and Sol who was too weak currently to fight Gripping his chair handles in powerlessness ate away at his mind with the recent words Vince has spoken to him. Someone was trying to kill his family, yet he couldn¡¯t move! It tore at it his mind that because of his recklessness he couldn¡¯t join the fight, each one of them was sworn brothers and sister who would fearlessly fight to the death for their family. Before the rest of the red robe men and women could back up the Boren they were quickly being suppressed by the seven. The people eating at the table around them were shocked by how they reacted to the people in red; didn¡¯t they know who they were messing with? It was the Khoa clan! Seeing that everyone behind him was put into sorry states the Boren said in a shaky manner losing his arrogant composure, ¡°Don¡¯t you know how powerful our clan is? I Boren Khoa am the clan heads son! If you dare touch a hair on my head my clan elders will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!¡± Rune stared at him with a strange look in her eyes that said, ''If you''re not ready to die, don¡¯t pick up a sword!'' With a smile playing the villain Boren waited for Ruen to just slightly loosen her grip on his new deformed sword.At which Boren took this chance to pull out a dagger using the peak of his cultivation base and he lunged at Rune with a murderous smile sending off the intention to kill! Vince saw Boren acting strangely and then rushed at him, no matter how chaotic the battle had become he always kept an eye on Rune. He let go one of the red robes after beating his face in knocking him out, ¡°I won¡¯t allow anyone to hurt her on my watch, yet she¡¯s too far away! Vince yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Rune!¡± Rune eyes widen before coldly snorting, despite the lapse of judgment his strike was too slow! With a single movement, she reached for the dagger intent on crushing Boren¡¯s hand and the dagger together! Boren¡¯s felt that the time was right and left go the dagger before he lost a hand, exactly like he imaged it the dagger was crushed like a paper ball as sparks flew. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Rune didn¡¯t stop though fully intent to end Boren''s life her eyes flared up an evil green. Her other hand reached out intent on tearing out Boren''s throat out in one swift movement. Borens smiled swiftly before changing his face to be filled with fear as he ran away from her grasp,¡®Good this should be enough!¡¯ Boren screamed at the top of his lunges towards the rest of the red robes, ¡°Retreat! We¡¯ve stepped on a den of tiger tails!¡± Rune eyes were bloodshot with the intent to kill the little worm in front of her and now he wanted to run? As if she¡¯d let him, ¡°You want to flee? Die!¡± At this moment she began to gather magic her elbow ready to unleash her wrath and kill the one in front of her. Then a figure appeared in front of her, ¡°Rune stop! You¡¯ll hurt the people here if you unleash that spell!¡± Vince held onto her body to stop her from setting the place ablaze. Thankfully with his voice of reason and him holding onto her tightly made Rune mind turned blank as she gazed at all the people around her with fear in their eyes. The room was shocked! Heavens a mage was in their midsts about to cast a spell indoors?! They would have been dead from the untamed residue energy! They didn¡¯t think this little girl would be fierce to kill! With an uncaring attitude, Rune gazed at the fleeing Boren she wished she ended his life in a bloody said cooly still within earshot, ¡°Our master once told us that should always remember our bottom line¡­ And you, a piece of trash has crossed it! I¡¯ll remember to settle this score another day keep your life nice and warm for one day I shall burn it to the ground!¡± Keeping the act of fear Boren ran away with his red-robed men and women in tow, ¡®Ah as expected of monsters they really hold a grudge! I really hope Sect Master can protect me. Was it worth it to take the offer to provoke them?¡¯ The people from the Khoa clan trembled in fear as they dragged awaywith the two unconscious people, Vince and Saren had thrashed into the ground. The people watching were silent didn¡¯t know what to do; after the Khoa clan left the boss of this establishment spoke up to everyone on the second floor. He wasn¡¯t the boss in name only he took control of the matter swiftly, ¡°Customers about this mess and interruption we are sorry for this intrusion. Please go back to enjoying the rest of your meal. To make it up to you we shall take off twenty-five percent of your meal.¡± The people cheered who didn¡¯t want to save money? They raised their glasses towards the boss and to the group praising them. Everyone then sat down again and resumed their meal still the mood wasn¡¯t as bright as it was before. Luna''s eyes shined full of wonder, ¡°Wow big sis you were so cool amazing! You were all like.¡±, Striking the pose of Rune holding her head high and arrogantly she recited what her big sis had said in a deep voice, ¡°I¡¯ll remember to settle this score another day keep your life nice and warm for one day I shall burn it to the ground!¡± Rune held her head with a headache cheeks red with embarrassment, ¡°God that was so embarrassing! What came over me!¡± Ren chimed in eating a now slightly cold piece of chicken, ¡°What are you talking about Elder sis?That was so cool you totally crushed his hand! Humph! He dares raise a sword to my big sister Rune he¡¯ll get what he deserves!¡± The siblings laughed at Ren¡¯s remark beginning back some of the atmosphere lost and finished their meal with no more distractions. Surprisingly despite a few people still scared of Rune a few of them brought a few drinks on the house for the siblings. Apparently many people sitting around them didn¡¯t like the Khoa clan for their arrogant attitude. For the rest of the day, they traveled around the town in the carriage with Dela as their guide. Soon night came around they were in a park that was a good distance away from the inn. Through the thicket of trees, a large stone pathway led all the way to a hill from the nearest road that was a mile away.They came upon a large hill that was nestled within a dense forest of trees. Weirdly enough the hill was devoid of trees in the surrounding area by one hundred meters. Exiting the carriage the group joined a crowd of people stargazing in the sky. For a few hours, they stayed watching the shooting stars in the sky. Finally, when they grew tired they went back towards the inn, the elder siblings carried the little ones back and laid them down in bed. At this point in time, Saren pulled Vince out to talk about something privately since the rest were cultivating at this time and didn¡¯t pay attention much. With bewilderment, Vince asked his little brother, ¡°What is it, little bro? WHy pull me out here to talk about¡­ Is it about the fight we had today? Don¡¯t worry Master Mo can shelter us against anything the Kora clan would pull on us.¡± Saren shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s that but isn¡¯t that my dear brother¡­ If you would let me be frank and listen to me fully this small fight might have a deeper meaning.¡± Vince¡¯s eyes widen and then expressed his concern, ¡°You don¡¯t thank that fight was¡­ Intentional? Impossible! Who would plan against us when we just entered the city!¡± Taking a deep breath Saren closed his eyes and then began to speak, ¡°I believe that fight was to serve as a test to see if we had to will to fight against others set by¡­ Our dear Master Mo.¡± ¡°What?¡± |X|T|O|F|X| Vince lay in bed as the words spoken by Saren just recently resounded in his mind trying to make sense of it all. He turned his head to the soundly sleeping Rune you held his hand as usual before going to sleep. There wasn¡¯t really any sad moments today, in fact, it was exciting for the siblings despite the fight it came off as a fun day. While Rune slept without worries, Vince stayed up for a while thinking about the discussion he had with his too smart for his own good little brother. Master Mo wished to use the kora clan as a service to sharpen him and his siblings into warriors? How could he gather that much from the little information given? Alas, Vince couldn¡¯t see the reason and made the decision to not talk about it with the rest of their siblings he only wished Saren was wrong and that these fun-filled days could last forever... But the thing he knew for sure about his dear little brother Saren was¡­ As long as he had enough information¡­ He was always right. Chapter 18 - Scene 4 - Bastard Son Scene 4 - Bastard Son In another part of the city in a very expensive looking mansion, seven people in red robes were kneeling down being beaten senseless by an old man with a horse wick in hand. ¡°YOU FOOLS HOW DARE YOU LOSE OUR KHOA CLAN FACE!!! YOU DISHONOR YOUR ANCESTORS!!! YOU COULDN¡¯T WIN AGAINST SOME BACKWATER CULTIVATORS!!¡± The old man lashed out ruthlessly with words and lashing once again at the seven trembling youths. Various wounds covered their bodies from steel-tipped whisk ends. One by one they fell down crying in a pool of their blood and tears Except for Bolen who despite the most punishment brought down upon him. A back littered dozens upon dozens of criss-cross marks despite his bloody back he didn¡¯t utter a single sound, instead, his head hang low devoid of emotion at the old man punishment. With a cold humph the old man snapped his fingers and had the servants carry the seven youths away to heal their wounds. Yet just before leaving earshot, Bolen could hear the elder voice, ¡°Tsk, as expected of bastard trash born from muddled blood. Why does your father even keep you around?¡± Gritting his teeth in the shadows Bolens eyes had already become bloodshot orange, ¡®Just you wait, old man, when I become the head of the Kora Clan and make all those who looked down upon me we discussed will pay.¡¯ The old man was thinking outwardly saw Bolen stop for a moment smiled evilly, ¡°Oh? Have something to say, boy? Please, by all means, speak your mind!¡±Without a hint of hesitation, Bolen smiled at the elder, eyes squinting like two crescent moons, ¡±Not at all elder, this little one thanks elder for his just punishment. I shall take my leave now Elder Shi Lee.¡± ¡°Mhmm very will you may go tend to your wounds since you love the punishment so much no one may help you apply the medicine. Or they will face the same punishment!¡±Stolen story; please report. Still smiling without faulting his mask Bolen bowed,¡°Understood Elder! I will now take my leave!¡± Not paying attention anymore to this bastard son; Elder Shi Lee turned his attention to a book nearby and began reading. Shooing the fly away with his hand in which Bolen took this time to leave; entering the hallway with a shadow cast over his eyes, ¡®This bastard¡­ Just you wait! Like those who led my mother to death; my father who did nothing to stop it and those two brothers who orchestrated it all¡­ Will pay the price!¡¯ Clutching his hands tightly by his side Bolen walked back to his room, ¡®Ahhh Sect Master Mo I will endure as you requested! I hope those monsters can help remove those bastards from the clan!¡¯ Servants watched from the shadows walking as he walked past without giving him a single glance. Bolen didn¡¯t care though he walked alone for so long that he had become numb to it, soon enough he reached his room. He opened the door where an unexpected figure sat inside a chair too big for her small body; with an appearance bored out of her mind until she brightened up like a puppy, ¡°Big brother you¡¯re back finally! How wa-- you''re injured! Who did this to you! Here lay down little sis will help apply some healing cream!¡± A warm smiled appeared on Bolens face seeing the 11-year-old girl with brown hair and brown eyes acting so flustered healed his heart a little, ¡°I¡¯m fine Lulia I just need a little res--¡± His vision became blurry despite being a 4th H.R.E. his body''s vitality hadn¡¯t increased much higher than a regular mortal''s body. He lost control of his body as he fell on his bed face down unable to move weakly he said, ¡°Don¡¯t help the Elder forbid anyone from helping m-- OW!¡± Lulia paid his words no heed, ¡°Big brother should just be quiet, and let little sis take care of you! Humph! The Elder wouldn¡¯t dare hurt me or papa would beat him!¡± Bolen sighed deeply closing his eyes, ¡°Ah I can¡¯t win against you, I promise to play with you Lulia when I wake up¡­¡± The little girl pouted, ¡°That¡¯s right! Little sis is always right! It¡¯s good you know this big brother and--¡± Seeing the sleeping expression of Bolen, Lulia stopped talking and began applying the healing cream with care written across her face. |P|R|I|D|E| BAck in the room with the Elder Shi Lee stood a large man standing at attention. Turning his head slightly towards the man Elder Shi gave a stern gaze ¡°Orin, I want you to get back our face by bringing the heads of those who dared to stand against our great Khoa clan. You understand if you fail right?¡± The cold-eyed elder nodded pleased, ¡°Good! I better see results or your punishment will be ten times worse than that foolish bunch led by that bastard!¡± Chapter 19 - Scene 1 - Chance Meeting Scene 1 - Chance Meeting The birds were chirping in the morning, the air was pure, nice and warm. The light faded into the window suggesting that morning had come. The light beams landed on Luna''s face poking her awake. She pouted in bed, she could just move her head and avoid the cursed sun coming down upon her. Begrudgingly instead she got up from her warm soft bed; her hair a mess as a cowlick stood up to defy her. ¡®Curses!¡¯, She thought to stare into the mirror her hair was a mess, strand of hair standing up to defy her. She scanned around the room and noticed everyone was still asleep. Grinning she slowly tiptoed back to her bed trying not to make a sound. She reached under it grabbing a change of clothes and headed for the showers. ¡®Ah, the showers!¡¯, A sudden thought picked up Luna¡¯s mood up quite a bit, before cultivating she was a natural heavy sleeper now that she started cultivating she had too much energy to stay in bed. Now having an annoying amount of energy, she had to find some way to find bliss now that dreams were cut off from her. So the next best thing dawned upon her in her time of need it was¡­ The bathhouse. With a huge smile plastered on her face Luna headed towards than in¡¯s huge bath for women, when she first saw how big it was she inwardly yelled with joy. In haste, Luna dashed straight into the bathhouse with the might of a tiger that was given wings. Opened the door hot air bath where steam gathered, hitting her face refreshingly as she grinned even more widely when the fog cleared to show the bathhouse layout. The floor was made out of black and white cultured stone with a very earthy impression of yin and yang. The stones were placed in such a way that when someone gazed upon it they would feel a sensation of calmness. The bathhouse walls were made out of expensive light colored wood that gave off the scent of lilies. A warm light in the ceiling had the perfect light ratio that wasn¡¯t too bright or nor too dark. Luna wondered if the boss owner was filthy rich from the decorations and layout. Shaking her head she wasn¡¯t here to think how rich he was. She was here for the bath! She took a shower before entering the bath; she remembered how unruly Marley was when they entered without taking one. It left a deep impression on her to never do it again. She wore a towel wrapped around her waist, testing the water with her small delicate feet and the water was just right. Without another thought jumped slightly into the chest-high water submerging herself from head to toe in the water without hesitating. Letting the warm water caress her body for a while Len arose from the depths raising her arms wide, ¡°Ah~! This is bliss~ I wish I could enjoy this every day~¡± ¡°You think so to eh?¡±, A charming voice suddenly appeared behind which startled Luna like a rabbit turning around she jumped back into the water holding her towel tightly around herself. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. As the steam cleared, Luna got a good look at the voice behind her; and it surprised her who stared back at her. It was a girl with fox ears, short hair that was shaggy that curled into itself. Her tail was swinging left and right in a mesmerizing manner. The color of her fur was black and orange; her fur extended down in a tribal way on top of her small arms with flecks of white. She was short like Luna, the only difference was she had a bigger chest which made Luna subconsciously touch hers in defeat. That wasn¡¯t the only thing she had noticed about her. The fox girl had scars running up her legs in a very jagged manner. Luna tried not to stare at them and looked at the fox girl straight in the eyes which were narrow and a type of deep ocean blue. Then Luna relaxed her shoulders after sensing no hostility from this fox girl, ¡°Hello¡­ Do you wish to join me¡­? Oh right! Where are my manners my name is Luna and your name is?¡± Fox girl blinked her narrow eyes at Luna, ¡°You''re not disgusted by me? Don¡¯t you know what my kind is?¡± Luna tried thinking hard, yet came up with nothing, ¡°Nope! Can I touch your ears? They look so fluffy!¡± The siblings never saw people from the beast race or heard of them; the city they were in before smelled so bad that no beastman would ever settle there. She laughed the fox girl laughed hard for a good while and Luna was starting to get annoyed. Finally, the fox girl stopped her laughing, ¡°Ha-ha-ha~ I¡¯m sorry for laughing, it¡¯s been so long since I saw a human with pure eyes besides my grandpa and the Village. My name is Raeki Nyui, but please call me by Taoist name Emberflake.¡± EmberFlake jumped into the water like a wild child splashing Luna with a wave of water. She then surfaced shaking her fur; water flew all over the place hitting Luna with even more water. When EmberFlake was done shaking, she moved towards the clearly agitated Luna, ¡°Hey what''s your Taoist name Luna?¡± Wiping the water from her face Luna thought about Raeki''s question, ¡°What¡¯s a Taoist name?¡± Raeki got close to Luna¡¯s face showing a shocked expression, feeling her personal space intruded upon Luna pushed her back a bit, ¡°Too close.¡± Raeki wasn¡¯t bothered by the push and instead sat next to Luna in the bath, ¡°You''re a cultivator right? I can tell by the energy in your body and you never head of Taoist names? I guess big sis can fill you in on the details since you don¡¯t know.¡± Luna was very picky about the thought of age ever since she the eternal battle with Sol about who was older and started bickering to the point that their siblings treated it as white noise. Luna growled, ¡°Who says you''re older?¡± EmberFlake proudly puffed out her chest not intimated by Luna in the slightest, ¡°I turned age twelve a month ago.¡± Luna felt thoroughly shocked to her core, Raeki was older? She felt total and utter defeat to this fox girl that she didn¡¯t know what to say. EmberFlake grinned knowing she won from Luna¡¯s expression, ¡°Haha~ Little Sister a Taoist title doesn¡¯t mean much at our level of power, It¡¯s just a name you go by in the world of cultivation.¡± Luna somewhat understood Emberflake words and nodded her head, ¡°I got it, though I haven¡¯t yet decided on one when I do though I¡¯ll tell you so thank you¡­ Big Sis...¡± Those last words made her cringe why must she have another big sister! The heavens are unfair! And she was even more powerful than Luna. She could tell that here cultivation level was higher than hers! Luna felt depressed that she couldn¡¯t see through EmberFlake at all defeating her in all aspects, just who was this fox girl and where did she come from? For a while, the two made some small talk while bathing blissfully in the bathtub and found that that the two of them had many things in common. Even though Luna hated the idea of calling another girl big sister she begrudgingly had to admit that EmberFlake wasn¡¯t so bad. She just wished she was a bit younger that''s all¡­ Maybe by a year or two? The two got out and dress; saying their goodbyes the two went their separate ways, who knows when they¡¯ll meet again? Chapter 19 - Scene 2 - Departure Scene 2 - Departure Time passed by and the siblings were riding a carriage towards the lizard express; at this time the injuries Sol¡¯s had healed and Dela had given Sol a loaf of bread and saw them off. A few of the siblings were laughing at how Dela treated Sol making both of them blush. Dela hurried off back to the bread store she waved her hand saying she¡¯d come visit them later when they were settled in. None the wiser of the siblings they were being tailed by Orin in another carriage following behind him. Seemingly both of the parties couldn''t sense a hobo was also tailing them in the shadows of the back alleys. Jumping from wall to wall undetected in the middle of the day... An hour passed in a blink of an eye; the siblings exited the carriage finally reaching their destination, the dragon express. The entrance was a grand giant black stone gateway that held a huge majestic Ironwood door. Countless lizards were carved around the door and outer walls in a mystical formation that was pleasing to the eye. The walls stretched around for about two km in a circle, its location is inside the walls close to the east side entrance for easy access. With no surprise, many people were lining up to the giant gates for a simple reason. For the Sectless Sect Examinations! Various hundreds of youths hung outside the doors waiting to enter inside to get a ride. Luna was a little stunned by how many people were here she remembered EmberFlake saying that a few people would be coming, but she didn¡¯t expect think this many! The nine got in line to wait around till the express doors opened up it seemed that it would take another hour before the dragon express opened. So the siblings waited around cheerfully talking with each other as the rest of the crowd was eerily quiet. |M|O|U|S|E| Orin had a plan to kill off the nine. He thought first to do it in the inn at the dead of night only to be stopped by an anonymous note that said to leave before he regretted it. The note was stuck in the ground by a knife in a show of force. He wasn¡¯t a night type of fighter so he moved away far enough to stake out the inn; after all, he couldn¡¯t head back after some note for fear of the elder''s wrath. Nothing really happened which made him sigh out in relief. Morning came and he decided to instead kill them in broad daylight when they decided to leave town. Unfortunately, when he saw them moving towards the east gate he knew they were trying out for the sectless sect. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Gritting his teeth he decided to bribe the owners to get on the same lizard as them and kill them lightning fast, then leave without a hitch by using one of his sandstorm scrolls. That is until a hand came out from the alley and grabbed him without a sound; dragging him far away from where no one could hear him scream. Currently, Orin was tied up in the back alley with a knife to his neck. If someone saw the sight they would be thoroughly shocked! A seemingly normal hobo was mugging an eight-stage heavenly body refiner. Weirdly enough outside of a two-meter range, no one could hear the man''s plea for help. The muddy filthy hobo grinned at the worm squirming in front of her,¡°I¡¯d figured the Khoa would send somebody after my cute little junior''s before they had a chance to grow. Didn¡¯t I warn you not to come after them at this point? Ah... a frog who¡¯s at the bottom of a well; I¡¯ll make this a quick and easy since I need to get back to the hatchings.¡± Orin at this point was sweating bullets as fear crept in every inch of her body at the pressure this hobo protruded had made him go stupid. Despite imminent death but Orin tried to act tough only in hopes of surviving, ¡°Y-y-you dare kill me, filthy women! Humph, you dare threaten the Khoa clan do you know what you''re--?¡± The hobo took the dagger in her hand and ruthlessly cut off his head in a flash. The man head rolled away as a pillar of blood shot out to the sky. Yet, not a drop of blood landed on the hobo who stood there stoically without remorse. Opening up her cube of holding she took out a large vial of black liquid, pulling the stopper where a faint stench of decay started spilling out. Tipping the bottle downwards the liquid began to fall drip by drip onto the corpse where the hobos'' eyes twitched in disdain, ¡®Why couldn¡¯t I have an affinity with fire, instead I have to use this disgusting creature.¡¯ Soon the hated noise of crunching could be heard as small teeth appeared on the ¡®black liquid¡¯ grinding into the body making a hair chilling sound of crunched up flesh and bone. Blood spilled all over the blocks as the terrifying creature kept eating piece by piece, chunk by chunk until not a speck of Orin remained. ¡®Ugh Now for the worst part¡¯, Scrunching up her nose the hobo hated the sucking noises made after all the meat and bones were consumed. As the creature sucked any and all blood soaked into the ground; not long finishing its ¡®meal¡¯ the creature rolled into a huge ball mass before shrinking smaller and smaller. It shrank back to its original size then it lazily rolled over to the Hobo who held the face of disgust, ¡°In you go.¡± The slime-like creature entered the bottle with a grinning smile seemingly content, the hobo noticed a blood-red crystal and cube left behind the slime and picked both of them up. ¡°The only thing this creature is good for!¡± Picking up the cube and crystal the hobo headed out without a sound back to where the siblings were waiting. Chapter 19 - Scene 3 - Entrance Fee Scene 3 - Entrance Fee An hour had passed since the siblings had gotten in line, and within that time shocking sight appeared behind them. There were thousands of other youths now waiting in line behind them! As time passed the mood picked up as the youths chatted amongst themselves; a mix of emotions electrified the air; the excitement, confidence, awe, wonderment, and nervousness blended in the air with various emotions. The sun was out and hot making youths sweat; luckily by some foresight the siblings brought some water and other refreshing drinks inside Vince and Rune rings. Making the surrounding youths envy the siblings that surrounded them wishing they had such expensive rings. *Dong Dong* A loud bell resounded through the crowd making them grow silent. With a short pause, a woman wearing desert style clothing flew in the sky sitting in the Lotus position on a sand cloud. A warm expression plastered on her face, the women gazed warmly at the youths beneath her, protruding a dense amount of mana around her being that made the crowd of youths gaze in shock. I brown-haired youth in the fount shouted loudly in awe, ¡°A Sea Qi Stage Cultivator! It¡¯s really a Sea Qi stage cultivator!!!¡± Another youth denounced the first man''s claims with a growl, ¡°No nitwit that''s a Filament Stage Magician.¡± Numerous whispers filled the crowd, they were completely mind blown in that they were seeing a Filament Stage Magician! Only a few in the crowd didn¡¯t seem excited at all, even though Master Mo had told the siblings about what a Filament Magician is they were still in awe. With varying degrees amongst them of course, Master Mo had even told them the difference between and Magician and cultivator were. Saren remembered the information as clear as day, ¡®So this is what a person''s aura is like after breaking through the Heavenly Refinement Realm or Core formation. A person would undergo a huge transformation after breaking through. At this moment in time there were six types of cultivation; elemental-type, beast-type, weapon-type, tool-type, rule-type, and unique-type. ¡°Now what happens if someone has different types?¡±, Saren had once asking Master Mo if it was even possible. To which Master Mo replied. ¡°Master Mo had explained to them that in this case, they would fall into being called a dual, tri, or quad, penta, ect¡­-type. Or if two or more types combined together they would then fall into the unique-type a mutation it would be more like. For a Magician, after forming their core they enter the Filament Foundation, with the exception besides how the two cultivated would name; say a Sea Qi Cultivator or a Filament Magician. And the difference between the two was that Magicians can only use external types of energy such as shooting a fireball. While cultivators can only use magic internally such as turning their body into water or hardening their body with earth.¡± Pulling back from the memory Saren also remembered that it was known that dual training of both QI and Magic was ten times harder to master both styles of power as it took too much time for an average-type talent to learn them together. Only the genius-types would type attempt such a fleet, which is why Master Mo had forbidden Vince and Rune from Cultivation currently for this very reason. Since they had a dual affinity for elements with a third on the horizon it would actually which would take fifty times longer to reach the Filament stage if they spread their training to include mastering Qi. He wanted them to build a strong foundation in magic before trying to use both styles of powers. It would then be much easier to then train magic as a primary and cultivation as a secondary. Saren wanted to pull more information from his memory, but at that moment the FIlament Magician roared thunderously, her voice covering the entire area, ¡°Hello Newbies! I am Mal and I shall be your guide to the sectless sect. Remember the fee for being allowed into the test is eighty gold and to ride is twenty, those that don¡¯t have that kind of money. I approve of you to¡­ SCREW OFF!!!¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Everyone in the crowd thought at the same time, ¡®What a bitch!¡¯ But didn¡¯t dare say a word; for fear of being kicked out. While the siblings thought to themselves scared silly, ¡®Master is a cheapskate!¡¯ Even though master Mo had given them each a hundred gold they had used half of that if not a little more. Thankfully their master had given Vince a small metal so he was in no worry about price. He trusted his master in this matter. The line moved at a fast pace and eventually the nine stood in front of a youthful man; who had just turned away another youth who was short a few silver. These guys are real cheapskates like their master! Feeling Bad Nena handed the crying youth the few silver he needed; the crying youth with orange hair thanked Nena and was able to cross over. He said something along the lines that he would never forget her kindness. Vince shook his head at Nena nativity for adding one more enemy to fight against but didn¡¯t stop her from giving away some of their money. Afterall they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about entering since they had the metal given to them by Master Mo. Once again Vince led the party towards the youthful man who stood there laughing, ¡°Haha~ not many people have a pure heart as you little kid. Alas, I am not so kind as you, one-hundred coins each please!¡± Calmly, Vince placed the small metal on the table and said to the young man in front of him cooly, ¡°Show this to your boss, he¡¯ll understand what it means.¡± The young man visibly shook his eye¡¯s wide and fearful, ¡°Your entry is waved, honored guest! Continue forward towards the left path, all the way till you reach door one. Tell the old man sitting they tell him that Brand sent you he¡¯ll understand.¡± With a slight bow, the young man handed the metal back to Vince, ¡°Please enjoy your ride!¡± ¡°Thank you. The eight behind me are my siblings they are also coming with me there¡¯s no problem with that right?¡±, Vince replied. The man nodded fiercely, Vince noticed that he was sweating buckets, ¡°There are no problems! You all may pass!¡± While the siblings went on ahead without a care the few people behind them were stunned, before a few people behind those people poked them awake. Even the young man seemed to have grown stupid for a minute. Walking towards the large building marked with a huge number one that was carved straight into the Ironwood door. Sitting to the side was dark-skinned; skinny to the point of being bones, an old man smoking a long pipe. His hair pepper with black and white strands mixing together that hung outside of his wrapped up hat and beard. Upon closer inspection, the siblings could make out what this person was wearing. It was the same type of clothing that the Earth apprentice was wearing only less vibrant and more worn for wear. The old man was making profound smoke clouds of animals more vicious than the last; with a wave of his hand, the smoke dissipated from the air. His gray eyes stared at the youngsters before him. Vince moved ahead of everyone and bowed to the old man, ¡°Junior greets senior! Brand sent us we hope that we can get a ride to the sectless sect.¡± With a nod the old man smiled, he held his long pipe in hand as enchanting smoke clouds came out. He stood up from the lotus position and placed his free hand on the door. With a slight touch, the massive door creaked and opened to reveal a giant sleeping lizard! The thing was utterly massive spanning three hundred meters! Its entire body was a golden shine striped with black and orange in a chaotic mess on its back. A bright orange mane covered the neck of the lizard almost like a lion. The head of the lizard had various spikes protruding from its head, with steel-like scales covering the lizard from head to toe. Making Luna assume it was bred to be a moving fortress, she then noticed a long scar that ran down its head all the way down to one of its two tails. Suddenly as the siblings were in awe over as the creature opened its massive eyes and staring at the ten figures with curiosity . The siblings stood in awe at the massive creature as the lizard stood up; it¡¯s massive frame towering in size to reveal its four powerful legs attached to its body with five large claws protruding out. In human tongue the lizard slithered, ¡°Massster.. It¡¯sss time again?¡± With a nod the old man jumped up and landed on top of the lizard''s head. Then he turned around and sat on the lizards head. He motioned towards the youths still in awe to the left of the lizard where a latter fell down to the side that was connected with a large saddle full of seats. The old man smiled at the shocked youths enjoying the scene at how awe-struck they were. Keeping his grin that showed his white teeth in contrast to his dark skin, the old man said his first spoken word, ¡°Climb.¡± Chapter 20 - Scene 1 - Travel Stories Scene 1 - Travel Stories The ground shook and thundered while clouds of dust were kicked up into the sky. A massive, speeding lizard ran down the dirt road, shooting past like a cannon. On top of this particular, scarred lizard sat three hundred youths in their seats. However, these lizards were powerful beasts and this amount of weight wouldn¡¯t slow them down in the slightest. Saren sat calmly, reading a book, seemingly not the least bothered by all the wind. Next to him, on his right sat Nena, enjoying the scenery and laughing loudly in glee during the whole ride, while passing by the lands. To his right sat Vince, who had developed motion sickness and had been throwing up in a bag, whilst Rune helped him by rubbing his back. Ren sat a few seats over to the left, snoring and sleeping in a lazy posture, saving his energy for the test. Xue and Len, on the other hand, enjoyed the breeze as it rushed past them, as they sat on both sides of Ren. Finally, yelling in an excited manner, the twins were seated to the left of Vince. Their blood boiled, waiting to test themselves, and this chance would finally allow them to run wild! The city always felt restricting to them and this would be the first time that they would visit a sect! After a few minutes, Nena stopped laughing and calmed down, even though the wind was blowing fast it didn¡¯t the passengers. Luckily, the ride was stable thanks to a support formation seal, built into the saddle. She then turned to Saren, who was reading his book, ¡°Hey big brother, what are you reading?¡± Saren, without turning towards her, replied, ¡°The theory of war and tactics.¡± ¡°Oh. Can you read it to me?¡±, Nena¡¯s eyes sparkled, gazing upon the book. However, Saren glanced up at Nena, while sighing, ¡°You''re too young for this book. What about I read you that story of the maiden and the demon king instead?¡± Nena pouted a bit, but nodded her head, as it was one of her favorite books since coming to this city.Stolen story; please report. Even though it was windy, it wasn¡¯t to the extent that you couldn¡¯t hear the person next to you or seven seats over. Saren nudged the pale looking Vince, receiving the book; Vince once again relieved himself of his stomach inside a vomit bag of holding. Flipping the book, Saren noticed where he had last left off, at the beginning of chapter three. Clearing his throat Saren began to read. ¡°In the decaying castle, deep within the earth, lived a demon king who had recently slaughtered an entire kingdom for their greed. In his arms was the pure-hearted maiden from the destroyed kingdom. He had only kept her alive for it was love at first sight, that warmed his heart made of stone. Alas, pure hatred now radiated within her eyes; her mother the queen and her father the king were slaughtered by this demon. The heroes, put on stakes, lay outside the gates of the fallen kingdom. Hundreds of thousands of innocents were enslaved by the demon king under his massive armies. The maiden grieved greatly over this and in many attempts tried to kill the demon king. Only to be met with laughter and a smile after every failed attempt. This counted as the 9432nd assassination attempt. Maiden tried her best to invent new ways to kill the demon who had taken everything from her; be it swordsmanship, poison, games, wits or traps. Sadly, nothing seemed to work, When he drank the poisons that Maiden put into a large wine barrel, he looked her right in the eye and grinned. The demon king with no regard would chug down the whole barrel that was made of more poison than wine. No matter what type of game she tried, be it war or board game, she could never match his strategy that was too vile for her. In a battle of wits, she seemed to always lose no matter the topic; she even had usage of the demon king''s study, alas, his knowledge was too profound. Even with traps that should undoubtedly kill anyone who¡¯d dare try their luck. She had legions of demons working at her disposal, given to her by the demon king. He would just crush anything she put in his wake with his overwhelming power! The only thing that seemed to be working was her swordsmanship; by fighting the demon king herself. He would lower himself to her level and use only a wooden sword, while she used a demon-killing longsword. Her skills would sharpen every time they fought and she would gain new insights into the way of the sword. However, whenever she got stronger, so did he..¡± With a whisper, the demon king placed his lips next to the Maiden''s ear, causing her to blush uncontrollably, ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my prize now, my dear Maiden.¡± The demon king had made a bet with the Maiden that every time she failed, he would get a single kiss from her. She thought it was weird for the demon king to only ask for a kiss, but didn¡¯t think much about it when she agreed with it. Since, if the Maiden ever once won against the demon king, she would be allowed to take his life. Pulling the maiden in close by her supple waist, the demon king feasted upon her lips with little to no resistance. Who could blame her? This was the 9432nd attempt.¡± Chapter 20 - Scene 2 - Blue Thunderbolt Scene 2 - Blue ThunderBolt Saren finished the rest of the chapter and by the people around them were listening in on the story. Many of the girls looked away with various expressions, while many male youths seemed to have gained some type of profound enlightenment. Nena blushed deeply at the mention of the kiss¡­ It was just too lewd for her tastes. She asked Saren while hiding her face, ¡°Why would the Demon king keep the maiden around, Brother? As I see it, she¡¯s someone who will eventually kill him with her constantly improving swordsmanship.¡± Saren pondered over her question a bit wondering why Nena would speak this way. Normally a youth her age would ask when the demon king would meet his end. Yet despite her young age, she sided with the demon king? She saw some things way too weirdly, normally a girl her age would hope for a hero to rescue the maiden. With a shrug, Saren said, ¡°Little sis, sometimes love is stronger than logic. The demon king had fallen in with love at first sight. An untainted flower in a kingdom of greed and lust, it entranced him how something so pure could be born from such evil.¡± Staring into the sky, Saren continued, ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know if I would make the same choice as the demon king. You know? Would I keep a dagger to my throat to enjoy happiness? Or was it to pay back the maiden for all her suffering he put her though? Guess we¡¯ll find out in the next chapter. What do you think Nena?¡± Nena thought for a bit before saying, ¡°If I was the demon king¡­ I would have killed the maiden; not to protect myself, but for my family and friends who are depending on me as a ruler.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Vince sighed when he heard Nena answer. It was the exact same answer given to him by his father when he held his blade in the sky, about to strike down Rune. Rune touched his arm, which startled him greatly, as she worried about him, ¡°Vince, you ok? You seemed sad all of a sudden¡­¡± With a bright smile, Vince laughed off Rune¡¯s question, ¡°Me, sad? Haha! Nah, I was thinking about what we¡¯ll be able to eat in the sect! I hope it¡¯s even better than the city food!¡± Rune was about to follow up with another question when Vince threw up again in his bag, ending the discussion there. Saren and Nena bickered about who was right and who was wrong for the rest of the trip; some youths around them even joined in the discussion. Since there wasn¡¯t much to do until they would reach the sect. |B|L|U|E|+| The speed of these giant lizards was indeed fast and soon, one hour had passed in a blink of an eye. Letting down youths near the huge gate, which was made of black wood with strange runic symbols that made a pulsing formation. Two large dogs, about fifty meters in height, sat at the sides of the entrance; standing tall and proud with large brown eyes and a golden mane. If you didn¡¯t know better, these dogs would look like golden retrievers¡­ With spikes coming out of their wagging tails, releasing small powerful gusts of wind. A young, handsome man with long, yellow tied up hair and a blue tattoo of a thunderbolt on his cheek sat lazily between the two dogs. His robes were loose, showing much of his bare chest, that showed a chiseled rock-like frame. Whilst eating an apple, the young man waited for all the youths to dismount the lizards. When the youths all dismounted, the blue tattoo-man got up and bowed to the lizard number one, ¡°Many thanks, Elder Beast-Smoke, for your hard work!¡± The old man sitting on the lizard grinned, puffing some smoke which roared like a wild animal. Elder BeastSmoke then turned around and lead the rest of the lizard riders back to the city without a word. Lazily, the youth with the thunderbolt turned to the group of youths, cracking his knuckles with a grin, ¡°Hehe~ So you youngins are the fresh meat who wish to join the sect, eh? Follow, youngins, and don¡¯t wander or you will be kicked out and banned from the sect!¡± Chapter 20 - Scene 3 - First Examination Scene 3 - First Examination With a click of his fingers, the doors opened up behind him, showing a lush pathway of trees and between them lay a stone path. Turning around, thunderbolt walked casually with both his hands behind his head. It seemed he didn¡¯t care if the youths followed behind him as he only led the way. The majority of the youths hesitated a tad bit before following him in, with the exception of a few individuals didn¡¯t miss a beat. On the twisting and turning path, they walked along for a good thirty minutes before it broke off into a wide open area. The youths gazed in awe of a giant Greek-like temple. The pillars and walls were made out of the purest white marble; though quite plain, the whole building had a calming effect on those who gazed upon its simple glory. With two people guarding the entrance, they saw thunderbolt and paid their respects, ¡°Greetings, elder brother Thunderbolt Shu!¡± Nodding towards the two, he responded in kind, ¡°Mhmm, good work juniors it¡¯s time to open the trials again open the door.¡± The massive doors opened, revealing a large, brightly lit, open, flat room with a single small stage in the back. Shu walked forward and jumped gliding towards a small stage, lazily he sat on the stage pulling an apple out of thin air. Shu gazed at the crowds with half closed eyes and then ordered with a booming voice that every contestant could here, ¡°Every one of you stand within the center of those squares those who do not will be disqualified!¡± Everyone obeyed him and did as they were told; they didn¡¯t want to anger this man. Besides, the squares were a meter long and two meters apart. Even placed so there were many more squares that could be filled, 7/10th to estimate. Ten minutes later every contestant stood at attention waiting eagerly for the next order; at this time Shu had finished three apples and sat up lazily. Musing to himself, ¡®Oh~ There is a lot of hidden dragons, swimming in a pond of fish this year.¡¯ Still sitting down, his body was now more directed at them; his voice boomed amongst the crowd of youths full of arrogance, ¡°Yo youngins! Now that you''re all settled in, I can now tell you about the first of three tests. I¡¯ll be quick and only say it once so listen up!¡± Almost as if their lives were on the line, a majority of youths had serious expressions. Which made Shu smirk, as it reminded him of the past when he took the examination test to enter. Good times. Continuing without missing a beat Shu began to explain, ¡°The first test this time around is the labyrinth! Each of you will be sent to a different area in two¡¯s or three¡¯s. Know that the person next to you will most likely not be with you. To pass this test, you must rely on your wits, strength, adaptability, and courage. Each of you will be given a single silver talisman to start with. To pass this test, the minimal requirement is to have one hundred of such copper ones, ten silver, or one gold. To earn these, work together to kill the monsters below or tear out each other''s throats and claim ownership, your choice just follow your path!Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Next, only one thousand can pass this test and move on to the next stage, so gaining enough just to pass will not be enough. So strive hard! You can forfeit at any time, just scream out ¡®Escape¡¯ and you will be teleported out. Many judges shall be watching you progress at all time; if you do not have a single talisman of any kind you shall be forcefully kicked out and failed. You all have only two weeks to finish this goal. That is all, I wish you luck youngins!¡± With a smile, Shu waved his hands and suddenly the squares expanded another meter and opened underneath the youths. Making them fall into the dark abyss with no time to react! A few screamed a few laughed, a few had their killing intent flare up, and some remained silent. |J|S|&|N|S| Nena slid down the tunnel on top of a strange mat that locked her in place. Twisting and turning with glee she laughed, ¡°Hahaha~ This is fun~¡± Her blue eyes shone with a bright light at the sight of adventure, despite having a slight shiver of fear about what she was going to encounter. She composed herself remembering she had training every day; working hard six hours a day practicing swordsmanship with Ren. And then cultivating for six hours a day she reached the peak of 3rd HRM! She felt if Master Mo knew of her hard work he would be proud of her hard work! Keeping her thoughts to herself, she felt the mat suddenly shoot straight down at an angle, slowing at a certain point. It stopped in a large room that had well lit by magical-glowing stones Nena stepped outside to see the room was three hundred meters wide! In front of her were three pedestals each holding a medium sized sack on each of them. A kid with purple hair suddenly walked out his tube, holding his mouth; he looked like he was going to puke, yet seemed to hold it back in. After regaining his composure, he roared to the sky, ¡°What is wrong with that blond bastard! Not giving us any warning!¡± Nena stared at him when suddenly another youth came out to her right. The air around him was calm and collected. His hair was gray and spiky, with the tips being pure white and three strands braided on the left side of his head. His eyes strangely felt like an old man who had seen many wars and lived to tell the tale. He was clad in a gray combat robe with bandages wrapped around his hands. However, his composure, looks, and grace retained a youthful aura around him, making it hard to judge. His eyes went to the right, then to the left gazing right back into Nena¡¯s eyes. Nena didn¡¯t look away as she tilted her head a bit in a cute manner and pointed, ¡°You¡¯re strong, aren''t you, mage?¡± The youth nodded, his aged eyes narrowed at this little girl. How did she guess he was a mage so easily? It put him on guard instantly, ready to fight this little girl. Years on the battlefield had honed his skills to detect danger. Nena gave a pure smile and held out her hand, ¡°I¡¯m Nena, nice to meet you!¡± He got a better look at her and felt his danger alert fall, she reminded him of his younger sister he left in the city. He then spoke, ¡°How did you know I was a mage?¡± With a grin, Nena laughed, ¡°Your hair looks funny!¡± Despite the youth¡¯s better judgment, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Indeed, he had forgotten his hair now looked strange, as he had just awakened a while ago. He reached out and shook her hand; he had guessed that this girl was a little monster from her aura. He had met many monstrous talents before on the field of battle so he could tell. He wasn¡¯t that much afraid of this little girl though since he had slain many talents with his hands. Her hands were soft just barely having any calluses on her tiny hand. Nena felt his hand; it was large, strong, and callused from years of training. ¡®Just like big brother Ren haha~¡¯, she thought. ¡®Just like my little sister.¡¯, the youth thought. His voice was deep and manly for his age, ¡°My name is Jao¡­ Jao Striker.¡± Chapter 21 - Scene 1 - Day One Descent Scene 1 - Day One Descent The air contained a musty atmosphere, making it difficult to breathe, as it held a heavy sense of dread. Small gems were placed inside the cobblestone walls, as pale blue vines grew in the cracks that accentuated on the walls, the ceiling, and floor. The moss that laced the walls gave off a soft blue glow, while the small lights created enough light to clearly define the room and show its ancient features. While Nena and Jao were shaking hands, unbeknownst to them the purple-haired youth was grinning evilly, as his thoughts bounced in his mind and he quickly came up with a plan. He thought to himself, ¡®How stupid these two are! Make friends? Ha! Then they would need double the talismans. Who knows¡­? That Jao guy might backstab me! Maybe even that little girl as well? I better steal those backpacks before they can steal from me! Hahaha, I¡¯m such a genius! I wish I could see their dumb faces while I run away!¡± The purple-haired youth had already started to move toward the backpacks. A glint of greed flashed in his eyes as he went for the three backpacks, walking slowly and noiselessly behind the two. Suddenly, out of thin air, a silver talisman appeared in front of the three youths, as well as for the rest of the competitors. In a flash, the silver talismans flew towards them and stuck to the side of their left arm, branding them with the number ten in silvery ink. Information on how to remove and add talismans at will, flooded into all 3000+ contestants in just a brief moment of time. Shaking off his daze, Jao noticed out of the corner of his eye that the purple-headed youth was already halfway to the bags. His eye¡¯s turned cold, running towards purple-haired youth, unsheathing his sword in a flash. Jao was quick and silent, quickly pulling the thief back mercilessly. In a swift motion, he placed his sword on Purples neck, ready to slit his throat from ear to ear. It¡¯s red and black luster gleamed brightly in the room and the shadows cast seemed to be drawn toward it brilliance. Coldly, Jao whispered into Purples¡¯ ear, making the greedy youth¡¯s shake in his boots and his hair standing on end, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Purple was scared witless, ¡°I was just getting those bags for us! Honest!¡± Nena watched on and opened her mouth, surprising even Jao, ¡°Throw him out Jao. He¡¯s lying, don¡¯t give him anything.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. How could she not know he was lying? After all, he was guilty in her eyes from walking away without talking to them. He didn¡¯t even put them in his eyes! This type of man was worse than scum. Jao smiled turning head back to Nena, ¡°Why not just kill him now and take his talisman points? We split it even, 50/50, what do you say?¡± Nena''s eyes narrowed, Moving her hand to her waist, she pulled out her seemingly small sheathed dagger and pointed it at Jao. It expanded into the greatsword Solitude (Abyss form), the black blade gleamed in coldness, overshadowing Jao¡¯s sword aura. Jao¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, he never thought this little girl would pull a sword on him. And even a sword that could change its size¡­ He instantly recognized it was a powerful blade! At least a Gold level blade! Maybe¡­ it was even stronger¡­ Nena spoke with an icy coldness, surprising for her age, ¡°I¡¯d rather not stain my blade with your blood Jao¡­ Let the thief go, he is of waste to your blade. There will be more and better things to use your blade on than him for the trials ahead. Don¡¯t take his life and fall to his level or I shall look down upon you.¡± The air went deadly quiet between the two. One, a youth named Jao who had killed from a young age, that had killed countless people on the battlefield. Two, a girl who came from the slums, only knowing death, lies, and starvation. Two different ideals clashed when they differed in opinions. Jao stood motionlessly without a word, his eyes held shock from Nena¡¯s words and presence, as right now her aura had surpassed even that of his old captain! He laughed, he laughed at himself in which Nena tilted her head cutely waiting for his response to whether he was an enemy or an ally. That this little girl, at the age of his sister, could make even him, a warrior of the battlefield, bow his head with her strong charisma. He grabbed the thief ruffly in hand and walked towards the door, before shoving him outside. Coolly, he said to purple-hair, who had turned to him, ¡°Leave or I¡¯ll kill you. Thank the little girl that she saved your little life. Now move, before I change my mind and cut you down from where you stand.¡± Gritting his teeth, the purple-haired youth ran away and yelled back at them when he was a good distance away, ¡°If I get the chance, I¡¯ll kill the both of you! I swear on my name, Sid!¡± After his footsteps moved away off into the distance; Jao turned to Nena who was smiling at him. She strapped her sword to her back, shrinking its size to a long sword. Nodding her head in praise, she moved towards Jao with a warm smile, ¡°Hehe~ I¡¯m glad you listened to me~¡± Sheathing his sword, Jao scratched his nose; it was one of his bad habits he picked up in the army when he was flustered. Sighing, he moved towards the front of the small girl, ¡°You''re wrong about me, I¡¯m not such a nice guy. Still... I guess I can make an exception for you¡­ Now shall we check what¡¯s in those bags?¡± Her eyes glittered as she ran towards the bags. Jao also moved towards them with a smirk on his lips over her sudden change in attitude. Nena placed one of the bags on the ground and pulled out its contents for both to see. Chapter 21 - Scene 2 - First Kill Scene 2 - First Kill In the bag contained the following items with small descriptions for each of them. -Ten tier 1 potions (each) (heals minor cuts and bruises) slowly -Three tier 2 potions (each) (heals wounds and big bruises) slowly -One tier 3 potions (each) (heals heavy wounds) slowly -Two weeks¡¯ worth of food and water -One sleeping bag -Magic Compass (To locate other contestants regardless if they have a compass) Jao picked up a tier one potion and studied it for a while before nodding his head, ¡°Yup, this is indeed a healing potion. We used these when we didn¡¯t have enough mages on the front lines. These little vials have saved my life countless times!¡± They opened the other bags and found similar contents in them as well. After checking the contents of the three bags, they decided to split the supplies of the third bag evenly as a sign of trust. Nena got the other Compass while Jao got the extra sleeping bag. ¡°Keep the compass on your belt, Nena. We need to use it on the go.¡± Nena thought about it and nodded her head, understanding what his words meant; it would be best to keep that information on hand at all times. Making short work of the split, they started to move around the room to investigate their surroundings. They found nothing of value so they moved towards the door where Jao found something interesting at the doorway. Stopping Nena, he studied the frame in an interesting manner, ¡°I see¡­¡± Nana poked Jao in the shoulder, pouting, ¡°What is it Jao?¡± With a small chuckle, Jao pointed to some strange carvings along the doorway, ¡°Listen here Nena, this door has a protective spell that won¡¯t allow animals or low-medium level monsters inside this room. You can say this room is a safe zone. It¡¯ll protect any contestants from monsters and even protect other contestants from killing each other. We¡¯ll have to be on guard though; it won¡¯t protect us from sleeping gas or something similar. So we have to be careful when we rest or sleep in such a room. Lest we are poisoned with any of those methods; then dragged out and killed for our talismans.¡± Nena trembled in fear a bit but kept her face strong and her posture ready to fight at any time. With a laugh Jao rubbed her head and tried to calm her down, seeing how scared she was. ¡°Haha~ Don¡¯t worry, Nena! I¡¯ll try to protect you the best I can! Partner!¡± With a small blush of embarrassment, Nena nodded. Suddenly a loud scream came from outside the doors, from the direction the thief, Sid, had taken. Out of worry and a small sense of guilt, Nena rushed out of the hallway with a compass in hand. It didn¡¯t show the pathways, only the location of a few surrounding dots.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Running for a good few hundred meters, Nena saw a gruesome scene when she turned the corner, almost making her puke. *Sisss* A five-foot creature, covered in scales, was currently munching on a corpse. It had four lizard-like hands with razor sharp claws that were currently digging into a body, pulling out guts by the handful. Blood splattered and pooled around the body as the creature went to work in feeding its gut. At this point, Nena noticed that this body was indeed Sin. Furious that the life she tried to save was just killed in front of her, made her snort coldly. Unsheathing her blade Solitude, she unhesitatingly charged forth, forcing back the urge to puke as an all-consuming rage made her eyesight turn red with anger. She didn¡¯t really want Sid to die; she just wanted to scare him! A child¡¯s prank, that¡¯s all! She never meant for this to happen! With a roar, she dashed forward in blinding speed, quickly closing a ten-meter distance, killing intent surged around her as she swung her blade into the creature. The creature¡¯s head turned to show its ugly face with yellow eyes, split into two pupils each; its mouth had two rows of teeth that were three inches long. On closer inspection, bloody guts and flesh were hanging out its mouth. It wasn¡¯t ready for a surprise attack from Nena. Swinging her blade upwards, she cleaved the creature in half with ease¡­ maybe a little too at ease. A blade of wind and blood came into existence since Nena didn¡¯t control the weight of the blade, as her anger consumed her. With a boom, the blade of wind actually cut deeply into the wall by a few inches! The pressure blew the two halves of the creature apart, making them fly through the air. Truly, Nena¡¯s blade was powerful with just its shocking weight alone! A few seconds passed the air became quiet once more and at that moment Nena broke down and cried. She never meant for this youth to be killed! She didn¡¯t know he would be attacked and killed! Jao came around the corner just then, after hearing Nena¡¯s anger and the shocking boom that followed it. He was a little hesitant in following her since he could have just left on the other path and forget about her. Still thinking about his sister, he shook his head in disdain over such thoughts. He was a warrior! A warrior never runs from a fight only when he can¡¯t win! That was his warrior''s code! Walking closer, he saw Nena crying and covered in blood from the creature and the body of Sid as well as the giant sword slash that was carved into the wall. Judging by the scene, Jao could guess what had happened and that terrified him. This little girl caused this much damage! One swing of her blade had cut down the poor lizardman. Even he, an experienced warrior had no hope of blocking such an overpowering slash. Jao kept on his strong appearance and messed up the blood-soaked girl¡¯s hair again. Taking a towel out of his ring he held it out for Nena as he thought to himself, ¡®Man, habits really are hard to kill.¡¯ He spoke some word of encouragement, yet someone could clearly hear the shakiness in his voice, ¡°It¡¯s not your fault Nena¡­ These things happen all the time on the battlefield¡­ So, the only way to overcome these feelings of powerlessness is to grow stronger! In this world, only strength speaks!¡± You couldn¡¯t tell if these words were for him or Nena, as he was shaking in his boots. Surprisingly, Nena recovered rather quickly from blaming herself, after cleaning most of the blood off of her with the towel. She noticed in front of her a silver and copper talisman floating in the air. With decisiveness, she reached out and grabbed the two, a small flash occurred and, checking her arm, the number read 21 in a brighter silver color. Standing up tall, she turned to Jao, who had recovered mostly from his shock and awe. He didn¡¯t even ask for half of the talisman, ¡°Let¡¯s get moving Jao¡­ I don¡¯t want to be here anymore...¡± ¡°Alright!¡± A little while later, the two entered a difficult situation¡­ Chapter 21 - Scene 3 - Horde Scene 3 - Horde After killing a few more lizards along the path with ease, the two quickly gained another five talismans each. They kept a good pace and had long since left behind the body of Sid and the Lizardman. That¡¯s what Jao had called it for the inexperienced Nena, who asked him. They walked and talked along the narrow path set before them, ever wary. Jao stopped in his tracks, midway through his conversation, ¡°And that¡¯s how I beat the living daylights out of¡­ Hey, do you feel that?¡± Nena had already recovered from Sid¡¯s untimely death, thanks to Jao cheering her up, the two made progress through the ruins. Unnoticeably, the air pressure and heat around the area was getting hotter and hotter. The changes noticed by Jao were too late though. Turning the corner, they came upon a large room filled with red stones. Covering the walls and floor, they pulsated heat rhythmically. Terrifyingly, forty Lizardmen littered the grounds of the room, along with clean white bones and the scent of shit. Jao had told Nena earlier that if they¡¯d ever walk into a good sized nest of Lizardmen at their current power, they would most likely perish. Even with Nena¡¯s monstrous swing, how many could she kill? They stood in shock and didn¡¯t even need to talk. When they turned around, the path behind them was closed off by another wall. Unbeknownst to them, their path of escape had been blocked off and the two were knocked off their feet, for in fact, the room was starting to move! Jao¡¯s face changed ugly, cursing under his breath, ¡°FUCK! It¡¯s a random Labyrinth!¡± Jao had heard about these before, from a passing Tomb Taoist, that he had once met in a bar. The drunken man told the people, willing to listen to his woes, that a random Labyrinth had killed his entire party except for him, just a few days ago. For dozens of days, they were trapped inside and only by luck did he manage to escape from it. He said that a random Labyrinth seemingly had no set time in its change pattern and was able to move its parts around at any given moment. This particular Labyrinth type was designed to take all its rooms and turn them into puzzle pieces and then randomly put them together without any sense of order. ¡®Thankfully, we only have to survive for two weeks. If we had to find our way out it would have been ten times harder, thought Jao. The rumbling sound stopped soon after and unfortunately the passageway was still blocked behind them. Jao motioned Nena not to make a sound by placing his finger over his lips. It seemed luck was on their side that these Lizardmen were used to the movement and didn''t wake up.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Scanning the home of the Lizardmen, Jao started to formulate a plan, to have them escape with their lives. He saw that the door was opened on the other side of them, about forty meters away. Forty Lizardmen were blocking their path and he wasn¡¯t confident in killing all of them, even with Nena¡¯s powerful sword strike. He tapped on Nena¡¯s shoulder, motioning her to come closer, so he could whisper his plan, ¡°I¡¯m still new to my magic, Nena¡­ So it¡¯ll take me a little preparation for what I want to do. I¡¯ll cast two large spiky walls on both of our sides and make a pathway for us to escape. Don¡¯t get greedy and collect the talismans, we can just get more along the way.¡± Nena thought about it and added, ¡°I shall unleash a sword strike down the middle, to increase our chances. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Sounds good! Let¡¯s begin!¡± Jao placed both of his hands on the ground and two magic formations appeared underneath. The design was strange to her and Nena had never seen this type of formation before. Instantly, she thought about a unique-type! Jao took thirty seconds to complete and as soon as he completed it, he opened his eyes and yelled, ¡°Now!¡± Instantly, two massive glass walls appeared, shining brightly along the forty meter room. It opened a bloody pathway with his magic, piercing a good amount of Lizardmen. The blood shined brightly, dyeing the room a deeper crimson color as thousands of glass spikes pierced outward from the path. The magic was as beautiful as it was deadly. Roars could be heard from both sides, filled with pain and anger. The majority of the lizards that were directly hit, were pierced by the glass or heavily injured. However, those on the side only received minor wounds. Its power was simply shocking. However, such a great magic came at a great cost, making Jao almost completely expel all his mana. Nena didn¡¯t hold back in the slightest, gripping her sword tightly, she swung Solitude to the fullest of her current ability in a vertical manner. The air distorted slightly, as a blade of air swept forward, cleaving bodies into pieces and clearing the path of all enemies. Relief watched over Jao¡¯s face glad Nena didn¡¯t hesitate to kill what was in front of her; he felt more at ease being her partner. Nena ran forward, taking point; her boots made splattering and crunching sounds from the flesh, guts, and bones. The sounds didn¡¯t deter her, as she ran at the highest speed she could muster. Jao followed after her while thinking to himself that glass wasn¡¯t the strongest thing to make a wall out of; the only thing that would stop the Lizardmen would be the sharp spikes from the outer glass. Although, with their claws, it wouldn¡¯t be long before they broke through. As soon as they got to the five-meter mark, something occurred that Jao didn¡¯t expect would happen. He noticed a Lizardman¡¯s shadow, looming above them. Surprisingly, the creature had climbed up onto one of its dead companions and was targeting Nena! With the narrow space, Nena couldn¡¯t dodge at all! She didn¡¯t even know she was being attacked! Jao roared madly as he pushed Nena forward without hesitation. Instead of the attack landing on Nena, the claws dug deeply into his shoulder blade. Nena rolled forward in the air, somehow landing perfectly on her feet. She turned around in anger that swiftly changed into a feeling of shock. A startling image of a Lizardman stepping on Jao¡¯s back, raising a hand above its own head, the creature was about to pierce Jaos though his brain! Madness exploded out from within in her eyes, as Nena¡¯s sword size increased to the size of its original greatsword-form. The only thought on her mind thundered greatly within her head, ¡®Let my blade reach!¡¯ Chapter 21 - Scene 4 - Brother! Scene 4 - Brother! She didn¡¯t wish for Jao to die! She didn¡¯t want to feel powerless again! Eyes dyed with madness a sudden release happened in her meridian as it began to expand in size making her break into a smile. A breakthrough had occurred vaulting her into the 4th stage of HBR! Yelling at the top of her lungs, she slashed Solitude with all her power. Backed with the monstrous weight of one hundred thousand pounds, unrestrained horizontally with unimaginable power, she swung! She yelled out, before unleashing hell, ¡°How dare you try to hurt Jao! DIE!¡± The power of her sword carried her intent to kill, making glass walls explode in a thunderous boom. Glass shards flew by with blinding speed, piercing forwards unhindered. Lizardmen chunks were blown away with many tiny and large holes, showing all over their bodies. Even the ones that had had the same idea of jumping into the air to attack, had been skewered alive and were blasted away, turning into meat pancakes on the walls! The one lording over Jao didn¡¯t fare much better, as both halves were blasted away, spattering into the wall with unmeasured force. As the attack settled, blood and the glass shards could be heard falling down like large raindrops in the room. A colorful rainbow of blood came about. Everything had suddenly gone silent. Nena broke the silence with her trembling words, ¡°Are you¡­ Ok, Jao?¡± Jao didn¡¯t move which terrified Nena she didn¡¯t want to be alone! What she didn¡¯t know was¡­ Jao almost pissed himself from coming close to dying to the Lizardman! Then after hearing that terrifying blast afterward from Nena sword strike, it had actually directly knocked him out! Nena ran over, putting Jao¡¯s head in her lap since she couldn''t carry him well. She was weak after all. Even if she could use a one hundred thousand-pound greatswords, the blade only allowed her to wield it. Then a thought came to her. He must have passed out since he¡¯s still breathing! From the shock of the wound, she guessed. Rummaging in her backpack, she pulled out a tier two potion and poured it on the wound after locating it on his shoulder. The pain instantly awoke Jao, as he yelled from the sizzling pain that came from his wound. He even tried to get up but was surprisingly pushed down by Nena¡¯s small strength.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Nena breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Thank goodness you''re alright! I was worried you died! Don¡¯t move Jao, you¡¯re injured!¡± Jao was confused, trying to get his thoughts straight. The potion was not in the slightest bit hurting him now; in fact, the wound felt cool and soothing. ¡°... I lived?¡± He laughed. Jao laughed as the thought entered his mind. As if he heard a funny joke, his eyes wandered around at the massacre that Nena had brought upon the Lizardmen. ¡®What a monstrous little girl¡­ Good thing she¡¯s on my side!¡¯ thought Jao as he sat up, despite Nena¡¯s protests. Nena was about to speak when Jao held out his hand. He got on his knees without a word and bowed toward Nena, ¡°Thank you for saving me, Nena! I owe you my life!¡± Confused, Nena tilted her head, ¡°Didn¡¯t you save me already Jao? By pushing me out of the way, right? So raise your head! A man¡¯s knees are his gold and pride! So don¡¯t casually throw them away!¡± Jao raised his head, staring at Nena in shock. How old was this little girl again? Not even the age of eleven and still she had such a commanding tone! Grinning, Nena reached out her hand towards Jao, ¡°You said it yourself. We¡¯re partners! So we¡¯re equal! Now... Let¡¯s get out of here; the stench of blood is getting worse than the smell of the slums¡­¡± Grabbing her small hand, Jao had a sudden thought, ¡®I feel... Like I should follow this little girl... No! It¡¯s too early for that, as I¡¯ve finally earned my freedom! I shall wait and see before making my decision!¡¯ He exclaimed, ¡°Alright let''s go, partner!¡± Collecting the forty odd talismans and splitting them evenly, the two quickly made it out of the room and started walking. The two decided to search for a safe room located on the compass found a safe about a half hour away. Luckily the two didn''t run into any other monsters or contestants on the way here. Checking regularly on their compasses, they noticed that someone was inside the room, currently not moving. Nena and Jao hesitated to enter seeing that there was a figure inside. Nena turned to Jao, "We going inside?" Jao nodded in response, "Let''s go in. Since it''s a safe room we won''t have to fight and we can heal back to top shape and fight off the other contestant if they wanna start something." "Sounds good", Readying their weapons, the two entered the room ready to fight. Despite exhausting most of his mana and his heavily injured, Jao could still put up a fight. Turning the corner, instantly Nena recognized who the person was how could she forget that messy hair. Even in this sorry state with wounds covering all over his body that figure couldn''t be forgotten. Nena ran forward without another thought startling Jao, ¡°Ren? What happened?¡± Jao was about to stop her from moving forward until he heard her words. He lowered his guard a little, but was still a little wary. Ren looked up and smiled bitterly, ¡°It¡¯s a long story, sit down little sister. By the way who¡¯s your friend next to you?¡± Nena gave a charming smile to her brother, ¡°This is Jao! He¡¯s my partner!¡± Chapter 22 - Scene 1 - Mistakes Were Made Scene 1 - Mistakes Were Made Ren cleared his throat when Nena helped treat his injuries with a tier two potion, while the scorching pain had made him pale with sweat. He could feel the healing properties of the potion taking effect immediately; the cooling sensation lessened the aching of his wounds. Ren sat back up on the cold ground before Jao offered his sleeping bag, which Ren thanked him for. Nodding his head, Ren got comfortable, before speaking, ¡°Thank you little sis, and thank you for the sleeping bag, Jao. Since it¡¯ll take me a while to heal, I¡¯ll tell you about that accursed thief and what she did to me! This is how the story goes, it all started when¡­¡± |T|U|S|E|D| Ren chuckled as he stretched his arms, ¡°Heh, man that was crazy don¡¯t ya think?! That was a ride if I do say so myself!¡± Ren turned to his right to see a girl, shorter than him by a few inches, staring at him with curiosity. She had peach black eyes; medium-long spiky, green hair, sporting a blue-black tribal headband where a few locks of hair hung over with the rest pushed back. The girl was dressed in blue clothes that fit tight on her small figure, a long black scarf that went all the way down to her small butt. On top of her blue clothes, she had a fresh-new leather vest, shoulder and knee pads which, he guessed, were both made out of black iron. A dozen short daggers were placed diagonally from her shoulder to her waist, passing by her non-existent breasts. Her face was cute, the average type of cute that you couldn¡¯t really find a fault too, yet nothing really stood out. Ren noticed that the girl started to scan the room, naturally so did he. Soon, both their sights landed on the two bags in the center. He gazed back at the girl and she suddenly grinned at him; not knowing why he placed his hand on the greater demon sword he had named, -Night Star- a few days earlier. Ren was ready for a fight! Even if it was little girl¡­ With just this thought, he subconsciously lowered his guard a tad bit. This was his first mistake. The seeing girl Ren¡¯s carelessness instantly took the inch and went a mile! With the flash of her hand, a small gray object appeared in front of Ren, even with his guard lowered, his -Night Star- glimmered an icy coldness, cleaving the gray object in half. This was his second mistake. As soon as -Night Star- touched the gray object, a bright white light instantly flashed from inside, followed by a loud bang. This little object instantly blinded Ren completely, immobilizing his eyesight, making him drop his sword, shutting his eyes and covering his hearing leaving him defenseless. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The girl clad in blue didn¡¯t miss a beat, as she ruthlessly stabbed a blade directly at Ren¡¯s neck. At this point, Ren would have been dead, if not for the room¡¯s restrictions of harming a person inside the said room. A blue wall of mana flashed, surrounding him on all sides and utterly blocking her attack. ¡°Ku!¡±, disdain filled the girl''s cute voice and gaze. She dropped her attack and ran full force toward the bags. With a quick motion of her right hand, she placed the two bags inside one of her rings and quickly ran towards the exit. At this time, Ren¡¯s senses came back from the shock of the gray object. Now, he was able to see, with double vision, that the girl had taken the bags. Anger filled his veins. That he had made such a mistake, underestimating his opponent! Still a tad bit disoriented, Ren rushed towards the fleeing girl, to take back what was his! This was his third mistake. As soon as he left the room, he tripped a wire on the ground, which in turn tripped another string that was attached to it, all the way to the ceiling. There, a knife was planted, with the string attached to the back of the hilt, going through a distinctive hole. When pulled, it released a small green object that was lightly attached to the outside of the entrance, coming at Ren like a green orb of death. Knowing the dangers of these little balls, he moved back inside by jumping back! Who knew that this girl was so cunning! Breathing a sigh of relief, Ren made his fourth mistake. He thought that he was outside the range of that little green object. How wrong he was... Suddenly the green ball was pierced by a needle and exploded in Ren¡¯s face, covering his body in a river of flames! A blue shield appeared instantly around him. Who knew that even then he would be blown back, tumbling five meters! Ren let out a sigh of relief that he didn¡¯t die! Cold sweat covered all over his body. No. He should have died! ¡®What a terrifying girl¡¯, He thought as he got up. Even with the shield surrounding Ren¡¯s body, he had gotten some bruises from hitting the ground from the kickback. If Ren had realized that he almost died two times in such a small window of time, he probably wouldn¡¯t have made his fifth mistake that day. He followed after the girl who had taken his bag. He¡¯d be damned to be laughed at by his siblings, for being played around with by this little girl! Chapter 22 - Scene 2 - Qi Art Scene 2 - Qi Art Carefully, Ren exited the room, making sure there were no other trip wires or traps before running right, towards the direction that the girl had taken. As luck would have it, Ren didn¡¯t run into any other traps. He quickly caught up to see the back of the girl who had almost killed him! Ren didn¡¯t underestimate the girl anymore; he now kept his pace fast and even placed his hand on his sword hilt. The girl turned at the end of the wall to the right, by now Ren was twenty meters away from her. He was so caught up in catching her, he almost didn¡¯t notice a very subtle string that flashed a small hint of blue from the wall¡¯s light! He was only a two steps way! Gritting his teeth, he managed to stop, just when the string started cutting into his jacket and faintly into his skin, making him bleed slightly. He stepped back slowly, looked around and found a lengthy sized vine, growing out of the wall, before cutting it off with his sword. Picking it up, he slowly pressed it onto the string that was now revealed with his blood and it was cut with ease. Leaving a cut that even he was amazed by! It left a smooth mirror-like shine. He then imagined what it would be like if he kept going, then suddenly thought about how lucky he was! Another cold sweat dripped down his face. Pulling out -Night Star- Ren¡¯s eyes showed decisiveness as he slashed his blade downwards, onto the bloody string! This was the perfect test for his blade! With ease, the blade cut through the blood string and the two halves fell down. It made Ren happy that he now had a way to proceed without much risk of harming himself. This was his sixth mistake; he got overconfident. Without much effort, Ren cut the sharp strings while running with -Night star- in hand, to the best of his ability. Still, this girl¡¯s craftiness was apparent to him; she had set up dozens upon dozens of sharp strings. Making Ren¡¯s pursuit much harder on him, as wounds covered his entire body. They were from the slightest touch from the sharp stings, even after cutting them! If he ran too fast, he would end up touching the strings either the bits that were falling or those that were stuck on the ceiling!Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. A few minutes passed by, as Ren finally managed to catch up to the girl again and was forty meters behind her this time! With a grin, Ren started running faster as he cut any string she had put behind her. With a cool voice that was a little furious, the girl yelled back Ren, ¡°You¡¯re a persistent little bug, I¡¯ll give you that. I, the great Karrin shall remember you, the insect that got on my nerves!¡± Ren was stunned by her words and then yelled back, ¡°I just want my backpack and a little revenge Karrin, come on! You know I¡¯m going to catch you!¡± Gritting her teeth, Karrin made a hand gesture and out of thin air one black and ten green balls appeared. With another flick of her wrist, a gooey string appeared and became attached to all the eleven balls, encasing them in an elongated cocoon. She wasn¡¯t done as she took out a thirty odd knifes and stuck them near the black ball, that was in front, like teeth. With eyes full of anger Karrin retorted coldly, ¡°If you wanna die so badly bug, I shall oblige you!¡± Karrin then bit her thumb and placed a strange mark on the gooey string, after which a roar followed as a blood-curdling screech came from the cocoon of string, knives, and balls! The mass of objects started to float in midair. At this moment in time, Ren had stopped running forward and kept his hand on -Night Star-, ready for anything! Karrin had a vicious look in her eyes as she roared with fury, ¡°Go, original Qi Art >>One eyed Leviathan<< Burn the world to ash!¡± (Author''s note: Yes another vulgar joke) The giant ball transformed into a massive, flaming head of a beast. The beast had one eye as black as the night, with knives as teeth, gleaming blazing fury. Its giant flaming body filled the entire hallway, its mouth wide open. The only thought this beast of flame had, was to consume everything in its path, which unfortunately was where Ren was currently standing. Sweat instantly drenched his back, as a claw of death seemed to grip tightly around his neck, making his breathing forced and shallow. Having a premonition of certain death, Ren sheathed Night Star and pulled out Othin, the blade he had found at the smith¡¯s place, and up until now, he had never dared unsheath it. For he feared it would suck him in again with its lullaby. Bracing himself for her attack, ¡®All or nothing¡¯ were the only words on his mind as he pulled out Othin. He didn¡¯t know any of -Night Stars-attacks so he could only go for one desperate move to defend against Karrin''s overbearing attack. He hoped that Othin¡¯s song this time would be completely different in his time of need. When the blade made contact with the air a song of tranquillity began to play from the blade blowing away his feelings of despair and certain death under a warm breeze, controlling the fear it submission Ren eyes glazed over. Qi began to gather. Chapter 22 - Scene 3 - Trance Scene 3 - Trance *Inhale* Ren¡¯s poise came into motion; the blade lifted up in a very relaxed manner, as he waited for his moment to do his all-out attack! 40 meters away¡­ Closing his eyes, his hearing was heightened, as the air around him changed in a subtle way, becoming denser. 25 meters... The air around Ren formed two currents of flowing air; one hot, one cold. They entered and exited Othin in a rhythmic manner, making various shapes around him. 15 meters¡­ Ren could feel the heat of the giant flame Leviathan bearing upon him when he was in a trance, becoming one with the two streams of air. These two forces combined together at the tip of his blade and ran down its edge with one side cold, and the other hot. 7 meters... The heat was now becoming unbearable for Ren, as the Leviathan was now in front of him, but facing death didn¡¯t seem to change his demeanor. He felt light, with eyes shining, understanding, breaking into the 3rd stage of the Heavenly body refinement! Exhale. Still, in a trance, Ren spoke words that were not his own, ¡°Sword art of the fairy king 1st stance >>Othin¡¯s eye<<¡± Ren¡¯s blade moved at a blinding speed, making a full moon motion, a square inside and then finally a slit down the middle. When the eye was completed, Ren¡¯s cultivation base of power was 80% used up! His face paled from the sudden amount of power spent while gritting his teeth as he motioned the ability to move forward, intending to face the Leviathan! A shocking explosion between the two abilities rocked the hallway, as the forces of wind and fire fought against each other for supremacy. The two magics tore into each other like lions over the body of a silver deer.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ren didn¡¯t wait around to see the outcome and started to run full tilt down the hallway as the two attacks clashed. The two attacks held each other at bay for ten breaths of time before the Othin¡¯s eye was pushed back ever so slightly. Until finally about thirty breaths time later Ren¡¯s attack was fully broken down by the Leviathan that seemed considerably weaker and had lost half of its mass. Ren didn¡¯t see this though, for he was scared shitless to even turn back! With having bought himself forty breaths of time, he ran full tilt! Twisting and turning left and right, Ren made his way forward. He kept up a good pace and had increased the distance by 350 odd meters. As the Leviathan made its way ever closer towards Ren¡¯s direction, fully intent on consuming him no matter how many twists and turns he took, the beast never lost his trail! .The gap, which he thought was good enough, was slowly closing between the two, for ten agonizing minutes as Ren ran away. The gap was now a mere 40 meters; He glanced back every so often to see that the Leviathan now grew weaker and weaker. Sweat poured down his body as he ran with everything he had. His breathing was ragged and his vision was getting unfocused since he had never run this fast before in his life. The only thought on his mind was, ¡°Faster... I need to move faster!¡± His cultivation base had climbed back to about half full and he focused all his energy on strengthening his legs. He didn¡¯t want to die in such a pitiful way! He didn¡¯t want to escape from the test, he would rather die! This was his pride and he would be damned to run away! Even with the added boost to his legs and the fact that the Leviathan was now ? its original size, it was still approaching ever closer towards him. His death was all but nigh in the eyes of fate! Then, it happened. The labyrinth started to creak, groan and then move around him! As the wide-open pathway lay out before him, starting to close right in front of him, a hint of insanity crossed his mind; gritting his teeth he ran forward towards life! He madly charged forward, even breaking his fastest speed yet, he roared, speaking his most inner desire, ¡°I SHALL LIVE, I HAVE TO DRINK MORE FINE WINE!¡± The stone wall was closing in on both sides and at his speed, he was going to make the gap before it closed in front of him within 15 meters! Yet, how could this fire Leviathan let Ren have his way? Opening its fiery mouth, all of its dagger teeth shot out at Ren! Ren had made it to the 2-meter mark when the daggers came, some slashed on his arms and legs while others passed by, harmlessly, in the air. One fatally struck his left butt cheek with a searing pain of heat, making him scream out in pain as he pulled it out. Narrowly, Ren made it to another side by the skin of his teeth, with just mere inches of free space. He turned around in time to see the stone wall shut right in front of the Leviathan, roaring madly as it crashed into the wall. Finally, Ren felt that the looming hand of death was finally off his neck; checking his surroundings first to make sure it¡¯s safe, as luck would have it, there was no one around him. With a breath of relief, he leaned on the wall and tried to sit down, only to be bitterly reminded of the fact that he had just recently taken a knife to the ass cheek. Chapter 22 - Scene 4 - A Girl Enraged Scene 4 - A Girl Enraged Leaning up onto the wall, he started cutting up his jacket with -Night Star-, knotting the clothing in various places around his body to stop the bleeding. Ren didn¡¯t want to escape, only to die from blood loss, which would be too embarrassing of a way to go¡­ After sitting for a few minutes, Ren got up and started walking using -Night Star- as a walking stick. A few hundred steps later, he found four slimes and six goblins, fighting about ten meters in front of him, trying to kill each other. He watched them go at it for a bit before deciding to kill them. He made this decision carefully since the only way out of here was to go forward; making it so he didn¡¯t have much choice in the matter. Brandishing -Night Star-, Ren charged forward with anger filling his veins, he felt powerlessness for the first time since cultivating after fighting that girl Karrin. It made him feel weak; he didn¡¯t like that at that moment, he wasn¡¯t in control of his life. He couldn¡¯t wait about for these two forces to be done fighting. He would be in charge of his own life! Never again did he want to feel weak. NEVER AGAIN! So Ren slaughtered the monsters in front of him, reaping their lives with his blade. His gaze unflinching, as the blood flowed down from the tip of his sword. He collected the six talismans that the monsters corpses dropped; apparently, not all monsters drop talismans. Ren made note of that as he went along his way deeper into the path set before him. Twisting and turning, Ren came to face another contestant, dressed in robes of royalty. It seemed this noble was broken down in a corner, muttering under his breath. He had lost his mind, it seemed, as the noble suddenly turned around with a deadpan expression in his eyes. The noble held a blood-soaked knife in his hand and charged at Ren ruthlessly, with no regard for his or Ren¡¯s life. Ren chuckled as he cut off the noble¡¯s hands with a swift sidestep and a downwards swing. Gray blood sprayed as both hands fell to the ground. The boy seemed to feel no pain as he kept staring at Ren with deadpan eyes, muttering nonsense before trying to bite him. With a flash, Ren cleanly severed the poor nobles head from his body. With a flick of his sword, gray blood spattered the wall; Ren¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest. He bent down and searched the body of the youth, only to find a messily tier one potion hidden within his boot. Ren stood up then and said a prayer, ¡°I wish your soul will be free in the afterlife¡­ May you be stronger in your next life¡­¡± Cultivation is the means to seek immortality, those not strong of heart and resolve are often eaten alive by the powers they seek. This youth never faced his demons, therefore, his soul was corrupted and was turned into a complete madman. Master Mo had told them on the road to seek power, one must live with thyself and be content with the choices thyself makes. One must strengthen one¡¯s soul to be powerful before trying to reach higher levels of power or be shall be consumed by it.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. On the path of becoming an immortal, between sanity and insanity there is a very thin line that separates the two and one must strengthen this line with much care. Only then, can one try reaching the peak of the cultivation world... After checking the potion, Ren applied it to the most serious places of injury; he didn¡¯t have enough to cover his body entirely, so he had to make do. |P|A|R|T|Y|) "And this is how I ended up in such a mess", Ren finished recounting his tale leaving out killing the noble who lost his mind. By now, after recounting his tale, most of his injuries had been healed to an extent that he wouldn¡¯t have problems fighting at full strength. *smack* Nena had tears in eyes as she hit Ren on the cheek, making a loud bang, ¡°FOOL! If you had died, how do you think the rest of us would feel! We lost our mother, and I don¡¯t want to lose you as well or anyone else precious to me!¡± Crying, Nena kept hitting the still wounded Ren, while he was still in shock over her words. ¡®Right¡­ When did I ever feel this prideful to such an extent that I would rather die than be laughed at by my siblings? They love me for who I am, no matter how bad I screw up, we¡¯re in this together and so I must understand my inner demons better!¡¯ Jao just sat there staring blankly at them before stopping Nena from hitting Ren again; after all, he was a wounded man. It was pointless to heal him if all Nena was going to do was wound him again... Giving each other space for a few minutes, Ren was the first to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Nena¡­ My inner demons got the best of me. It¡¯ll try harder to find inner control from now on; this I promise to you and the rest of our brothers and sisters. You have my word! Now, come here little sister and give your big bro Ren a hug! I¡¯ve missed you¡­¡± Opening his big brotherly arms, a goofy smile spread upon his lips, this was him. A person who liked to practice swordsmanship loved his family and loved to laze around. These were his principles to live his life! Nena wiped her eyes and ran into Ren¡¯s arms, burying her head in his chest. After a minute, the two broke apart due to Jao¡¯s cough. Both of them just laughed before Nena got serious again, staring at Ren with a very inspired gaze. Her words were filled with composure and high spirits, ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that, big bro! Make sure you never forget those words. Now moving on, I think we¡¯re ready to head out to kill some monsters!¡± The two youths nodded in agreement and soon left the safety room to face dangers unknown. May they be human or monster alike, they felt confident in their power. Soon, the three found a dozen or so goblins and slimes along the way and started killing them. Four contestants also tried to jump them and were forced to ¡®escape¡¯ when they saw the all powering force of Nena¡¯s greatsword. They gave up their talismans and bags in fear of losing their lives, which the three greatly benefited from. This one encounter gained them many potions. Ten minutes passed by and suddenly they felt that in front of them a major battle was taking place. Curiously, the three walked forward into the direction of the rumbling of the earth was coming from, which lead them to a very large room. A few moments passed before a giant 60 foot tall Cyclops with various wounds all over its body came crashing down from the ceiling, in front of the trio. With the beast, a certain girl with no regard of life came down, attacking the beast. She carried a scythe in her hands, along with a heroic air that gave off a terrifying bloodlust. With a seemingly familiar voice that Ren and Nena had heard before, the crazed girl eyes flickered a dense silver glow. The tall figure dressed in black robes shouted with utter rage in a distorted appearance, ¡°I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU BASTARD!!!¡± The girl was naturally Len Cloudstar. Chapter 23 - Scene 1 - Headshot Scene 1 - Headshot Stalking the hallways, a youth with a bow in hand notches back an arrow, a teardrop flickered murderous intent, on the upper limb in the light. In front of the youth, three blue wolves prowled 20 meters in front of him, moving ever closer towards him, cautiously. The two parties had already sensed each other¡¯s bloodlust long ago. This youth was, of course, Saren Cloudstar. His brown hair was tied up with a simple string, while his brown eyes gave off the vicious glow of an animal. He then closed his eyes and tapped into the memory of his bow, becoming attuned to his surroundings. Wind, distance, power¡­ all the elements of archery filled his mind. All his senses sharpened greatly before he opened his eyes to see the wolves now 15 meters away. Showing his teeth, Saren craving for blood grew intensely, increasing by a frightening degree. Raising his bow, he aimed at the central one. Arching his back, he pulled the string in the form of a crescent moon, so that the arrow lay ready to unleash hell. All of his bloodlust flowed into the arrow before his bloodlust condensed into the tip to sharpen it. His actions made the wolf pack¡¯s hair stand on end. Breathe in¡­ Breathe out¡­ *Soosh* The wolves wanted to dodge, but couldn¡¯t due to Saren¡¯s overpowering bloodlust! The arrow traveled far and true, entering the right eye socket of the centermost wolf perfectly, killing it in an instant! With no break in between and whilst letting the arrow fly, he pulled another arrow from his quiver and shot again in the span of one second. The arrow hit the wolf to the right squarely, right in the nose; burrowing straight into its brain, killing it. Now the fight was one on one, a fight between wolf and man. Saren didn¡¯t shoot this one; instead, he put away his bow in his sack. Pulling out both his battle knives that hung like key chains on his waist, enlarging them to normal size. He motioned with his hand in a mocking manner to the last wolf, taunting it to come at him.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The desire for his blade to bathe in blood increased by each second he waited. That is until the wolf couldn¡¯t handle the pressure anymore and charged with wild abandon. With a smirk, Saren ran forward, welcoming battle head-on. With a wild smile, he laughed almost sounding deranged, ¡°Haha! Let¡¯s fight!¡± Clashing, the youth and the wolf traded attacks, but soon it became clear that he continued only to toy with his pray. Cutting and slashing the wolf¡¯s body up with his two battle knives, blood stained the walls. Dripping blood all over its body, with an eye missing, a good chunk of fur was gone, revealing its ribs on the left side of its body. Organs and the intestines were flowing out on the ground, getting snagged on the moss and roots; the wolf¡¯s right ear was missing and the right front leg was limping. With the remaining eye, a person could see that the emotions inside were fear, anger, and helplessness, turning ever more into insanity. The wolf cursed inside, cursing its luck that it had to fight this evil human! It was the one who was supposed to play with its enemy; he should be digging into this human¡¯s guts! He should fear me! ME! Howling angrily, the wolf cried to itself over its bad luck. Saren noticed this with a grin from ear to ear, as he motioned to the cornered wolf, ¡°Come on! Show me your last struggle in life¡­ Let me taste the last flicker of your soul before I end it!¡± With a brave howl and despite the wolf¡¯s wounds, the beast charged with the highest speed it could muster. Even Saren was startled as he narrowly dodged the wolves final attack, just barely missing razor-sharp teeth. In the wolf¡¯s final moments, it finally had landed an attack using its claw, on the his sleeve showing the number 47 in a notable shine of silver. Jumping on the barely alive wolf body, Saren held it down and slowly stabbed the wolf in its remaining eye. Twisting the blade left and right as the wolf howled in agony . Blood splashed onto his face, with a displeased expression, Saren removed his battle knife when the wolf breathed no more and kicked the corpse in front of him. ¡°What a weak creature¡­ I¡¯m disappointed...¡± Letting out a breath of air, Saren got up, leisurely collecting the three copper talismans changing his number to 50. Collecting his arrows, he moved forward with his bow in hand and walked along the hazy blue pathway, his only company that followed him was silence along the pathway. He missed his siblings already. Chapter 23 - Scene 2 - An arrow to the knee Scene 2 - An arrow to the knee Time passed by for Saren, along the way he killed few more wolf packs, bringing his number up to 59. After finishing off the last wolf by tearing its heart out, the Labyrinth started to creak and groan around him. The walls began to close and open, moving inches or feet at a time. A minute passed before the twisting came to a stop, Saren, not in the least bit shaken, kept himself together. Pulling out the compass strapped to his belt, he checked his surroundings. Finding, to his surprise, to the right of his position, one light being surrounded by five lights, closing onto its position. Curious, he moved forward through the narrow passageways for a good few minutes; until he came upon a girl up against the wall with five contestants surrounding her. Green hair, black peach eyes, and a black scarf; if Ren was here right now he would first cough blood, then cut her down where she stood. The girl was of course none other than Karrin! She stood there, breathing heavily; as she was still exhausted from running away from Ren. Without being able to catch her breath, just now the one contestant in the middle had sneak-attacked her when her guard was down, wounding her left arm. Quickly, he hid behind the wall as not to be seen by the youths; clearly, the larger group had formed a pack to hunt off other contestants, in an effort to score easy points or to fight off tougher opponents. As the saying goes, a pack of weaklings will always try to take down a sky tiger if their numbers are high enough! The leading youth seemed full of smiles while the ones around him seemed cold and cunning. He wore noble¡¯s clothes and in his hand a fancy sword laid with gold and precious stones. He gave off the aura of being some rich snob that needed to be gutted, thought Saren. Playing with the tip of the blade in hand, the noble smiled, ¡°You have two choices to pick from, girl. You give me all your potions and 80 percent of your points and maybe I¡¯ll allow you to join my team . Or..¡± His blade glistened in the blue light, reflecting his murderous eyes. Karrin spit on the ground, she chuckled whilst holding her arm, ¡°Or you¡¯ll kill me? HA! If you have the skills, come! I¡¯ll cut off all your little members and feed them to you! Come! You band of whores! ¡± The noble frowned, motioning with his sword, he pointed forwards towards Karrin, ¡°Guess that¡¯s the end of negotiations huh? Kill the wench!¡± With his order, the four youths moved in, at a fast pace, pulling out daggers. They rushed toward the lone Karrin and at this time Saren began to prepare his arrows.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Gritting her teeth, she was prepared to fight, even with just her right arm! Taking a knife out of thin air she held it out in front of her, ready to fight. She was pissed inwardly though; these bags of scum had gotten the jump on her. They had managed to injure her arm, making her currently unable to perform her string arts. Never mind that. She was angry at herself for such a slip-up; to her, she was always the one who did the jumping not the other way around! She was still exhausted from running away from that damned swordsman! She really prayed he died a horrible flaming death for putting her in this shitty predicament. As the four savage youths approached Karrin, four arrows flew out in rapid succession from the shadows, piercing into the contestants¡¯ weapon hand with shocking accuracy! Blood splattered as the four fell to the floor in pain. One must know, getting shot in the hand by an arrow fucking hurts! A lot. The noble he¡¯d scared wide-eyed, fearfully backing up behind a wall for cover, exclaimed: ¡°Who the fuck are you? Don¡¯t you know who I am! How dare you meddle in noble¡¯s business?!¡± Casually, Saren walked out from his end of the hall, coolly scanning the scenery around him, ¡°Who am I? Who am I? You piece of shit noble, ask me? The great me? How dare I meddle? I dare a lot actually! Haha! I¡¯ve always hated nobles you know? You lot just speak on and on with your borrowed power from your ancestors¡¯ actions. You order us into death for simple things; if you want to kill, expect the same thing in return! I¡¯m going to enjoy gutting you like the pig you are.¡± Notching back an arrow, Saren waited for the shocked noble to speak, ¡®Come on, bitch! I don¡¯t have all day to wait. Make a sound so I can kill you!¡± Saren opened his ears and aimed his bow at a stone sticking, waiting for the noble to squeal. The noble couldn''t take it anymore and angrily yelled, ¡°You...!¡± *Soosh* The arrow flew, bouncing off the walls perfectly, directly piercing the noble¡¯s gut, whilst making a dinging sound! ¡®Shit.¡¯ thought Saren, angry at himself, ¡®Lucky bastard, wearing armor under his clothes! If the angle was better I would have aimed for his head! The power was reduced as well; guess I¡¯m currently not strong enough to pull off the >>Wall Style<< art.¡¯ He stopped caring about the Noble that was currently fleeing down the hallway in fear; put his attention towards the girl and the pale-faced youths. Out of fear, one of the youths tried to flee, only to get an arrow in the knee. Saren roared, ¡°Anyone else want to try and flee? The next one will be in the family jewels!¡± He waited for a bit, not an even the sound of a pin dropping, could be heard. ¡°I didn¡¯t think so!¡± Chapter 23 - Scene 3 - Vince? Eh?! Scene 3 - Vince? Eh?! He pointed to Karrin, who coldly snorted, giving him a look, ¡°I could have taken them all myself, I didn¡¯t need you to save me! Also who the fuck are you?¡± He let loose one an arrow, which brushed against her cheek, drawing a thin line of blood, ¡°Oi, princess. I didn¡¯t come to save you; I just want the points so don¡¯t interfere with my prey! So sit there, look pretty, and stay silent. If you can even manage that much!¡± How mouth was hung wide open as sweat trickled down her face. This shitty boy! She gritted her teeth; she was not in the condition to provoke him in her current state. But the thought of tearing him limb from limb surfaced in her mind if she was given a chance she would kill this youth who dared to step on her pride! Continuing to gnash her teeth, she remained silently leaning on the wall, allowing the scene to unfold. Saren gave a rare smile, and then turned his attention back to the four wincing youths, ¡°Good! Now that that¡¯s settled, you four want to keep your lives? Give me all your points all but one and your potions to boot! Or I shall cripple your third legs!¡± The four covered their family jewels whimpering with fear, whilst they sent their talisman¡¯s numbers 19, 13, 18, and 17 over to Saren and then gave them their bags as well. This raised his point value to 125, turning his tattoo to the color gold. To make sure they gave him all their points, he had them show their arms afterward. None of them were lying, so with slight pity, Saren drew two tier-one potions from one of the bags; laughing, he threw them over to the four youths, ¡°Fight for them.¡± Turning his back on them, he started to leave when Karrin yelled at him. Anger settled in her eyes whilst exclaiming, ¡°I¡¯m going to pay you back tenfold for the humiliation you gave me!¡± He didn¡¯t care and kept on walking, he didn¡¯t force the girl to give him anything for he felt the sense of danger coming from her. Something told him within his bones she was more trouble dead than alive. Saren rose his hand up and stuck his pinky out, which meant flipping her the bird in their culture. He walked a few meters before seeing something odd... that was Vince?Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Vince!¡±, Saren yelled with joy! It was a pain traveling alone, but now that his brother was right in front of him he¡¯d have someone to take with him! Behind Vince were two little girls that were dressed like they were from the jungle. All three held a large egg each of their hands, and after a few moments of no response, he wondered why Vince and the other two were running towards him. Then the ground started to quake and rumble before he saw them. Monsters¡­ Monsters in all shapes and sizes rounded the corner; extreme anger filled the eyes of the many. They stampeded after his brother and the two girls next to him. Vince then finally noticed in his exhausted vision his younger brother, he was happy to see him safe which then turned into fearfulness. ¡®Never mind that¡¯, shaking his random thoughts away he roared, ¡°STOP STANDING THERE LIKE A SIX ARMED SLOTH AND FUCKING RUN SAREN!¡±, Shaken from his stupor, Saren didn¡¯t give it another thought and ran, ran for his very life. He headed back into the room he just left to see that the girl was still standing there in shock, ¡®Guess no one had ever given her the pinky¡¯ he thought. Turning his head, he saw that the four youths were still struggling over the two potions, unfortunately, they had wounded each other greatly and wouldn¡¯t be able to run away from the upcoming storm. Paying no heed to those about to die, he kept sprinting, as time was running out. The girl''s face turned red with anger as he got closer, ¡°How dare you come bac...¡± Saren ran past her, then turned back, despite remembering his bad feeling, he started to pull her away, ¡®Why am I thinking of saving her? Whatever, Mom always said: never leave a lady in distress, unless that lady is trying to kill you.¡¯ Stunned by his act, even Karrin didn¡¯t know how to react, he tried to drag her, but she didn¡¯t want to bulge. Pulling her hand away from him, she tried to stab him by pulling out her knife from her vest, only for it to be knocked away by his swift movements. Furious, he pressed her against the wall and forcefully turned her head to where he had just come from. Right in time to see Vince and the jungle girls running for their dear life, followed by the hoard of monsters behind them. Then he turned her face towards his, he said in a calm voice that sounded bone-chilling, ¡°See, princess? If you don¡¯t want to get eaten, princess, then I suggest you¡­ FUCKING RUN!!!¡± He grabbed her hand once again and pulled, this time without resistance they ran hand in hand. It didn¡¯t take long for Vince and the girls to catch up to them; it came as no surprise since Karrin was still exhausted from her previous run. The four youths had tried to run away, but they were wounded from fighting each other, unable to run. They screamed and howled in pain as the monster crushed and tore their bodies limb from limb or into meat paste. Soon, crunching sounds followed afterward; the monsters were eating their flesh and bones, whilst they were still alive. The five paled from the beastial roars and the sounds that came from behind them; with the ever-approaching monsters on their trail, they dared not look back. Chapter 23 - Scene 4 - Run Scene 4 - Run A blessing in disguise had occurred, as the monster swarm had actually stopped for a minute to devour the four men, giving the group enough distance for some breathing room. Not slowing down in the slightest, Saren asked, ¡°Mind telling me why there¡¯s a hoard of monsters chasing us, Vince? I would like to know, short version please!¡± Vince raised his hands, furiously holding the one-meter long egg. It was scaly and black with thin red lines under the scales, ¡°It¡¯s these damned eggs! We can¡¯t let them go! They became stuck in our hands and then a swarm of monsters suddenly appeared and came chasing after us! We were left with no choice but to flee! The next time the path splits, we¡¯ll split up; I don¡¯t want to drag you along with that girl into this mess! We can handle this, little bro!¡± Saren opened his mouth to speak but was fiercely cut off by Vince. There would be no discussion on this matter. He hated and admired Vince¡¯s hard-headedness; it was almost at the same level of Rune¡¯s stubbornness. ¡°Fine! But you better not die! Rune would be heartbroken and so would the rest of us!¡± Vince nodded, picking up speed. He kept running, as a few moments later he could hear the roars pick up again. The monsters were on the move once more, leaving behind only bloody stains on the ground. The two jungle girls didn¡¯t utter a word and kept on running at an even pace behind Vince. Apparently, they were not in the least bit tired; their breathing was normal and not forced. It didn¡¯t take long though, for the monsters to finish their light meal and catch up with them. Surprisingly, not at any point in time did the path split before while they ran away. Twisting and turning, the massive swarm was getting closer by the second. It didn¡¯t look good for the group. Now the monsters were thirty meters away and at this pace, they would get them within three minutes. Karrin could have done something about this hoard, but her arm wasn¡¯t fully healed yet. At the time Saren had walked away, she had used a potion on her injured arm. Still, with the time they had, she wouldn¡¯t be able to use it. The only thing they could do now was run or die and as a minute passed, there were only 60 meters left before the monster descended upon them. Finally, a split appeared up ahead, yet Saren was determined to follow his elder brother. Even if he were to die with him, it would be better than dying a coward! When they came up to the split, Vince and the girls next to him pushed Karrin and Saren out into the other pathway. They kept running on, leaving the two stunned. Vince yelled back to his little brother, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, little bro! I¡¯ll be alright! So run and survive, I¡¯ll see you after the test is done!¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Saren shed a tear. Why? Why was his older brother always shouldering the pain alone? We are brothers, so why won¡¯t he let anyone in?! Saren grabbed Karrin¡¯s hand again and ran deep into the tunnel with her. He didn¡¯t look back. A minute passed by and as expected, no monsters came and chased them down. It seemed Vince was right; they wanted only those that were carrying eggs. Feeling powerless for not having the strength to kill all those beasts, Saren leaned on the wall and didn¡¯t make a sound. Karrin was silent for only a moment before making up her mind; she left Saren there to wallow in his pain. She didn¡¯t feel that she owed this boy anything; sure he had saved her once, but his rude behavior infuriated her! Besides, she was the great Karrin! She just couldn¡¯t feel or understand what he was going through so she merely walked away. Three meters away, she suddenly heard a bowstring, getting pulled back followed by the words, ¡°Don¡¯t move a muscle.¡± In anger the girl turned around, ready to murder this boy! Taking out a knife in the same motion, ready to block, only to see the arrow already left his bowstring. The arrow flew right past her face. Karrin then heard a screech behind her, followed by the sound of a body dropping to the ground. Stunned, she turned around once again, only to find a large black and shadowy like monster dead at her feet, mere inches away on the ground. His voice was cold and unflinching, ¡°Oi, hand over what you stole before I put an arrow through your neck, princess.¡± Saren wasn¡¯t in the mood to mess around; his brother could be getting torn up piece by piece by those beasts. Eyes wide, she slowly thought about lying to him, but decided against it, as she was still in no condition to fight. She dropped six potions on the ground; 2 were tier 3 and the rest were tier 2. She placed them on the ground and walked forward slowly. Gnashing her teeth, she said in a low voice, ¡°How did you know? I thought I played it pretty well¡­ What gave it away?¡± Saren laughed coldly, ¡°Haha! When I left at the time, you had to have used a tier 2 potion. You didn¡¯t hide that very well from my eyes; I saw the bottle lying on the ground. You then could have used your arm anytime you wanted when you recovered enough, which by the size of your wound midway through our run was enough time to heal. So I knew you had enough time to take advantage of the opportunity. And the full proof evidence I have is when you grabbed a dagger with your wounded arm!¡± Looking down, she cursed inwardly, and walked away angry and flustered her at the same time. This was the first time a boy her age had gotten the better of her in wits! She swore it would be the last as well! Watching her fade off into the distance, Saren knew that this wouldn¡¯t be the last time he saw her. Exhausted, he sat against the wall as the Labyrinth started to shift and change underneath his feet. Smiling, full of hope, the younger brother prayed that the heavens would protect his elder brother. At the time that''s all, he could do. Chapter 24 - Scene 1 - Jungle Girls Scene 1 - Jungle Girls ¡°Rune¡­ I hope she¡¯s ok¡­¡±, a youth was mumbling under his breath.. whilst walking on the path set before him. He seemed lost in his memories, thinking about something that only he truly knew the meaning of. A voice behind him rang, full of lazy curiosity, ¡°Hey old man what ya mumbling ¡®bout?¡± The youth was so shocked that he almost fell over and coughed up blood, he was only 18! Turning around, he began to give these two crazy girls a piece of his mind! ¡°Look here! My name is Vince! For the hundredth time, I¡¯m not an old man! I¡¯m only 18 and barely have any hair on my chin¡­¡± The two girls stared at him and when he turned around, he got a good look at them. One was shorter than Vince, only coming up to his neck, while the other was taller than Vince by a half-foot. Their names were simple; for the taller girl her name was Tal, and the other was Uru. They were sisters as well! They wore white tribal feathers in their wild, long black hair that was tied up in braids. Uru wore a tribal tattoo of the jade-moon rabbit on her arms and a star under her eye; while Tal wore a flame wolf tattoo on her cheek. Both of them wore clothing that consisted of gray furs that smelled like the wild; adorned with dark and white feathers. Wielding ancient spears in hand, they walked proudly as a wild aura soared around them; the two were both barefooted. On their legs were iron shackles, with elemental gems embedded in the iron, that gave off a fickle of green light. Their skin had a natural tanned color that matched well with their brown eyes. Of the two, Uru wore a carefree expression, compared to Tal having a stark contrast to being cold and distant. They had pretty good looks, despite Tal¡¯s giant scar covering most of her neck. While walking, Vince and Tal had exchanged stories about their scars to pass the time; he had found out Tal couldn¡¯t speak that well. So instead her sister Uru shared the tale of how she had gotten injured, hunting monsters for their tribe to eat. If not for a mysterious old man passing by, she would have died otherwise, that¡¯s why the two came to learn under his tutelage and test themselves. Vince felt no malicious intent when he first met the girls in the Labyrinth. Still, he couldn¡¯t be 100% certain that he could trust them; he decided to test them to see if they were trustworthy companions. Only to be quickly proven that these girls, although strong, couldn¡¯t lie. Vince tried to examine them with many questions, using his knack to tell truth from lie that came he acquired from the slums. They never told a lie; even if it seemed that their life depended on it. To Vince, it felt alien that such pure beings could be born in the wild. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. They behaved themselves well enough though; they had no manners to speak of, trying to feel up his body¡­ Asking where he got his scars, the questions never ended with them; it was strange for him to interact with these girls. Despite the negative side of Tal not talking and how they seemed to treat monsters they came across, as a game when killing them, these two sisters seemed alright to hang around for now as allies. At least for the remainder of the test. However, Uru¡¯s stream of questions annoyed Vince to the brink of anger; such as where he got his clothes; why he had so many scars and if he had a companion. This ordeal truly tested Vince¡¯s willpower. Sadly, that wasn¡¯t the only thing that made Vince pull his hair out; Uru kept calling him old man! Even while killing monsters or fending off other contestants, it was always ¡°Watch out, old man!¡° The other contestants laughed at him, while they chose to flee, calling him an old man as they laughed. Resizing her spear, Uru hung it on her bracelet, then she crossed her arm in clear displeasure, ¡°Hmmm, ya say dat, but ya look like ya an old man. Scowlin¡¯ at people crossin¡¯ ya path, ya lookin funny!¡± It wasn¡¯t his fault the scars made him look this way! Blame the people who did this! With a dark and dejected shadow over his face, Vince¡¯s thoughts turned very dark¡­ Then Uru laughed like a drunken man near the fire pit, seemingly amused by Vince reaction. Tal cracked a smile under her cold demeanor; though to Vince it seemed to be a frown on the account of her scar. Vince sighed, at his wit¡¯s end, ¡°Then can you give me a nickname? If it¡¯s too hard for you to say my name Uru, give me something that¡¯s not old man.¡± Instantly he regretted his words, when he saw Uru grin with pleasure, ¡°Surea, I got ya a perfect name, for ya, it¡¯ll be Viney Ja ja ja!¡± Uru laughed hysterically in an odd manner while holding her sides, seeing Vince as a joke. Vince shrugged his shoulders and just let it go, it was better to be called¡­ Viney than old man... at least now he wouldn''t be made fun of when people fled from them. Tal spoke, growling a few words, ¡°Letttzz. Gooo. Nnnooowww.¡± Nodding, Vince turned around and led the way, washing his hands of the manner. These two had shown themselves valuable allies when fighting contestants and monsters that came their way. Chapter 24 - Scene 2 - Eggs Scene 2 - Eggs They walked along the path and fought a few gray willow spiders in masses. Dozens of gray-foot long shadows flashed along the walls; hitting Vince and the girls fast and hard with fierce attacks. That fight, the three suffered minor wounds thanks to Vince¡¯s magic: increasing gravity around them, slowing the spiders to a snail¡¯s pace. Although the fight was still tough with so many targets, the gains were pretty good in talismans: seven or eight each wave. Exhausted after their fourth wave, the group decided to take a break and resume their hunting later. After a few minutes, the Labyrinth started to shift at a rapid pace, changing their path and blocking the pathway behind them. Leaving two paths before them; left and right were the only choices currently available. Uru casually took the lead without discussing anything with Vince, which annoyed him, but he could deal with it. She went to the right, saying something about smelling food. Intrigued, Vince decided not to argue and followed Uru with Tal in tow. It didn¡¯t take them long to reach a very large room. Inside the room, large amounts of vines and moss covered the floor. Brightly lit, in the center of the room were three strange colored eggs. They were two feet long and one and a half foot long. The eggs lay inside a nest made of moss, vines, and bits of bone from what Vince could gather. They were strange in design; they had scales tightly packed like a fish. One egg had gold stripes on white; another had strange shapes colored in gray on purple. Finally, the last egg was fully black with the end of the scales tinted red. Truly strange. So strange that Uru and Tal went forward without fear and grabbed two of the eggs. Vince was awestruck; did they have no common sense at all?!? Who would be that crazy enough to steal eggs from that huge of a nest! Vine whispered loudly, ¡°What do you think you guys are doing?! Do you want us to get killed by the mother of who laid these eggs?!¡± Uru sniffed the air, ¡°Hmm, no momma nearby da eggs... placed by da hands of man about five suns ago. These. Food. Monster eggs¡­ good way, raise strength.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Nodding his head, Vince remembered that the senior-apprentice, sister Marley, did indeed mention in their studies, that ingesting powerful monster eggs could increase your cultivation base and fleshy body. However, the problem with this method would be acquiring said eggs. Also even if you could acquire many eggs; the eggs wouldn¡¯t show effects after eating five or six eggs on your cultivation base. From then on ingesting monster eggs would only increase the toughness towards your fleshy body. But to show any true effects to the fleshy body, perhaps thousands upon thousands of eggs, would be needed to show any real permanent effects depending on how powerful their parents were. Perhaps he could give this egg to Nena? He didn¡¯t know what type of monster was inside, but it shouldn¡¯t matter, it¡¯ll increase her strength by a large degree. Making up his mind and forgetting the dangers; Vince grabbed the black and red egg, thinking ¡®what could go wrong?¡¯ After all, the other two were already picked up by the sisters. As soon as he picked up the egg, everything went to hell. The walls in front of them opened up to show a hoard of variously sized monsters of rank three to six! Without a second thought, the three began to flee. Fight? Ha! Even with his magic, Vince wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all. When they were a good distance away, about eighty meters, they heard the roars and cold snorts behind them. They didn¡¯t dare look back at the beasts, death was right behind them. Vince yelled at Uru, ¡°I thought you said they were placed by human hands!¡± Uru, as if just thinking about that, turned to Vince, ¡°Aw I forgot ta tell ya, Viney, that I also smelled monsters behind da wall. I didn¡¯t think that da wall would up in go in smoke ya hear!¡± Cursing under his breath in rage, Vince tried to throw away the egg, only to find it was stuck in his hands. He sighed to himself over the fact he should''ve gotten more information before his greed got the better of him. A period of regretful running continued for some time before Vince saw Saren walking towards him. His face paled, he didn¡¯t want to get his sibling involved and told him to run. That was the last thing he wanted. Vince knew that when Saren saw the wave of monsters behind him, he would get the idea in his head to follow him to his death! Chapter 24 - Scene 3 - Ice Tiger Scene 3 - Ice Tiger Vince yelled back to his little brother, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, little bro! I¡¯ll be alright! So run and survive, I¡¯ll see you after the test is done!¡± That¡¯s right; Vince knew it was selfish of him to only have himself burdened by this trial without Saren. He was even glad that the jungle girls understood his intentions. He had tried his best to take all the hardships of his siblings and shoulder it. That was the only way he could think of, to atone for the sins on his hands that he had committed so long ago. To have Rune live a great and good life and to protect those around him, the best he could. Such were his thoughts while fleeing from the swarm of unrelenting monsters. Left¡­ Right¡­ they tried their best to get away, only to have hope shattered in front of them. The path turned into a dead end for them, there was no escape¡­ With their back against the wall, the trio faced off against the swarm. If they were going to die, then they would die on their feet, fighting! If hope was gone they would make their own path for life! Weirdly, the eggs detached from their hands as their thoughts pointed to this conclusion. With a wave of his hand, Vince collected the eggs into his bag of holding. Then he prepared his gravity magic, readying his axes to go all out! Hesitant, the swarm of monsters stopped dead in their tracks, evidently fearful of crossing the 20 meters boundary. Vince had hope that his magic could get him out of this; determination filled every fiber of his being as he grinned viciously, looking like a demon. The jungle sisters weren''t any slower, flanking each side of Vince, spears in hand and ready to fight gloriously in battle. They gave off a savage grin on a much more profound level than even Saren. Slowly, a large monster stepped out of the crowd; the rest of the monsters made a pathway. Clearly, it was the boss of this pack; it moved its massive frame with arrogance, as it was two meters wide and three meters tall. Its single eye was bloodshot, whilst hunger and anger filled its stance. The monster¡¯s muscled body, full of power, moved heavily on its four legs. It was a rare gray-ice tiger! Wherever the tiger stepped forward, chilling icy air rushed out of his paws, dropping the temperature by ten degrees. The other monsters could barely contain themselves in rushing forward with their leader. With a huge roar from the tiger, the rest of the monsters quelled their voices and bowed their heads in fear. Savagely, the ice tiger turned its big head, before locking its red eye onto Vince, making him feel the full brunt of the suffocating pressure. His face paled as he felt his built up courage fall to rock bottom levels. The tiger turned out to be a rank six beast! If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.Vince''s face fell, he knew he wasn''t strong enough to kill or even wound this ice tiger. Still, he had to try; he would rather fight impossible odds just for the slight chance to see Rune once again! He yelled, ready to lay his life on the line to fight, ¡°Let''s fight you big fucking furball!¡± In response to clearly being offended, the tiger anger reached its apex as it ruthlessly rushed at Vince with powerful speed. The distance closed to three meters in a blink of an eye. By that time Vince had finished his original spell >>Axe Cannon<<; it must be noted at this time Vince¡¯s naming sense sucked. It was the same attack that he had used against Rune. By now he had doubled the power of the after refining his magical power to the third rank! ¡°Go! >>Axe Cannon<< Cleave away my Path!¡± Creating a vortex of eight, Vince shot out his ninth axe in blinding speed towards the ice tiger. Sparks flew as the two attacks collided one axe and one claw. A boom followed which made Vince fly back into the wall coughing a mouthful of blood. The tiger flew back only six feet unscathed by Vince¡¯s all-out attack; it had an arrogant expression glimmer in its eye, seeing this mere human unworthy of his time. Both the jungle girls followed up in Vince''s attack only to meet the same result as coughing up blood the two were sent back into the wall. Unwillingness filled Vince; he didn¡¯t want it to end like this, he wanted to be by Rune¡¯s side for forever. The ice tiger stalked proudly forward step by step taking it¡¯s time, playing with them as if they were his food. At this time Vince was about to voice out escape when he heard the creaking and groaning of the Labyrinth. He gave a devilish smile at the wary tiger when a wall came crashing down in front of them. Vince laughed up some blood in joy as he could hear; the angry roar of the ice tiger fade off into the distance. He laugher sounded sinister finding great joy in how the poor kitty felt, which startled the jungle girls. They thought he was mad! Who in their right mind would laugh at death! Oh, right they would¡­ haha! The three of them laughed while treating their wounds by drinking tier 2 potions; they were pretty ruffed up just from that single attack. When the three were done laughing the two girls requested; no, outright demanded the eggs from Vince. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want to get on the bad side of these two sisters and pulled out the two eggs for them. In hand, the girl¡¯s immediately tried breaking the eggs with their spears with no luck. There was a complex formation set on eggs that would throw off their spears. They tried everything after that point; biting, hitting it with their fists, smashing it on the ground. Vince found it very comical what they were trying to do. Enraged with tears in their eyes, the jungle girls threw the eggs at the wall in a desperate attempt to break them. Vince watched on as the two eggs bounced off the walls and smashed into the girl''s foreheads. Landing on their butts, the eggs mockingly hung in the air floating around the girl¡¯s heads; clearly pleased in their work or so the girls thought. Chapter 24 - Scene 4 - Pillaging Scene 4 - Pillaging Wiping away the tears the girls grabbed the eggs and gave them to Vince which surprised him, ¡°Why?¡± Uru spoke up, ¡°For keepin until we geta out of here ya?¡± Nodding his head Vince placed the eggs back inside his ring of holding; it was low level and poorly made, but could keep things such as eggs alive with ease. The trio waited a bit more their injuries finished healing and began moving once again. Moving forward on the path they soon came across six ugly trolls, that were three meters tall, with busted skin that had sores and blisters all over their body. The only article of clothing they had was a small loincloth that covered their nether regions, but that was not their most noticeable feature from three hundred meters away Vince and the girls could smell the rot and shit from them. Vince stood by the side as the two jungle girls went forward to attack the trolls, this was their agreement that Vince came up with. They would rotate with two of them fighting at a time; while the third would watch over in case some other party decided to jump in. Or if the two couldn¡¯t handle the opponent, the third could always do sneak attacks to save them at a critical time. He didn¡¯t need to do anything; he trusted their battle prowess, so he studied how they fought to better prepare when fighting together later. Uru liked to be the one attacking in and out of a fight; whilst Tal liked to draw the attention of the trolls. Taking the front lines, delivering swift brutal attacks with agile reflexes like a cat. In awe, Vince stood there and watched on as the two wild¡¯s battled on with the prowess of the peak of fourth rank. When the two combined their attacks together; their battle prowess reached the top of the fifth rank, speaking volumes on their coordination between the two. Trolls were nasty people known in this world; thanks to their hyper healing and corrosive blood properties that could melt bronze weapons with ease, and slightly damage silver type weapons. Vince couldn¡¯t tell what grade of weapons the girls were using, but they were at least past gold level by how perfect they were holding up. The girls shortened and enlarged their spears at will; making up for the spears weakness of length in a short space. Tal stabbed her third troll in the eye socket and backed out from the last two remaining trolls who tried to attack her. Seeing the opening, Uru closed in by jumping off the wall and beheading the right troll. A fountain of acid blood covered the hallway, as the limbs and heads littered the hallway. Of the six trolls, only one was left standing within two minutes of battle. Vince praised the efficiency of the two as both of them; from the back and front stabbed the pitiful troll in the head. Landing one in the neck and the other in the jaw straight into the brain, twisting the head fell to the ground. The two quickly flicked the blood off their spears in a smooth motion and collected twelve talismans. Apparently killing these trolls gave twice the amount of normal monsters and beasts. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.They waited for the blood to lose its corrosive properties and then kept moving on forward. Next, up not even five minutes of walking, did they encounter a group of three contestants. Charging at Vince with swords in hand without a word; the three fools thought he and the jungle girls were easy prey. Stepping forward, Vince held his hand out to stop the girls from charging then resized his axes to normal size. With a flick of his wrist, six axes flew out at fast speeds lopping off the bunch of fools hands that held swords with ease. Blood sprayed out like a fountain; dropping to their knees, the three cried out in anguish as the two axes hovered around their necks imitating an executioner''s bladeful aura. Trying to hold in their blood by using their remaining hands, the youths faces were pale and scared stupid. Who was this monster? A mage? Why did they have such bad luck¡­? Vince walked slowly towards them in an easy manner frightening the youths more. When he was a meter away from them he gave them a smile; but with his scars on his face, it made him look like a demon asking for their souls and their first-born children. One of them couldn¡¯t handle it and fainted with foam coming out of his mouth as his eyes went into the back of his head. Another one couldn¡¯t hold his bowels and defecated inside his pants. The last one actually did both in a shameful manner; that is how terrifying Vince¡¯s smile is to those who see it. Vince backed away holding his nose, a few feet away from the three and said, ¡°I¡¯m a nice guy, so I¡¯ll only take all your points except one and all but three of your potions each which will be a tier one potion. Or, I take another one of your arms shit boy; I¡¯ll give you ten seconds to decide.¡± Without hesitation, the boy gritted his teeth and agreed. Throwing out his backpack and his friend''s backpacks; he kept only three tier one potions, giving the rest to Vince. With his graceful demon smile, he opened the backpacks, taking out the potions inside and put it in his. The jungle girls nodded silently in approval of Vince¡¯s methods the strong rule the weak. Vince then turned back towards the shit boy and held out his hand, ¡°Your talismans? Get them from your teammates!¡± The shit boy nodded and collected their points all the way to one, and then threw a bright silver talisman towards Vince who caught it. He glanced at it with a demon smile; joy was reflected in his eyes the number written was sixty-two. Slapping it on his arm; Vince number increased from number 21 to 83 making it give off a tint of gold on its silver body. With his demon smile intact, Vince walked away happy, past the shit boy with the jungle girls in tow. When they passed him a bit he had a sudden thought. He pulled two twenty talismans from his arm and tried to give it to the jungle girls. Even though he acted alone; Vince didn¡¯t want bad blood to be sown between them, just because he acted selfishly. Uru held out her hand to Vince pushing back the talismans and said to him, ¡°I and my sister refuse ya on ya offer; ya earned the reward by yarself it¡¯s all ya¡¯s got it? Naturally, he didn¡¯t refuse and placed them back on his arm; the trio then made their way down the hallway causing, even more, trouble and chaos. Their battles were filled with easy wins; while other fights came to life or death struggles truly this Labyrinth was a place to hone them. And this was just the first day. Chapter 25 - Scene 1 - Brats! Scene 1 - Brats! In another part of the labyrinth, a battle between beasts and man echoed out. Three figures two small and one tall stood fighting against over thirty giant centipedes thrashing about. Dashing forward holding her silver spear hand the girl priced the exoskeleton of the beast spraying brain matter upon the walls. Afterwards the girl in instinctively fell back with the other small figure. No sooner then she had left that place five giant centipedes smashed from all directions into her last location. ¡°Whew¡±, replied the golden hair boy holding his sword and shield in a defensive stance, ¡° Be careful sis these things attack in a pack!¡± The girl with dark blue hair scuffed while parrying the head of a centipede away, ¡°Of course brother I remember the plan.¡± Naturally, these two figures were Sol and Luna and behind them was a mysterious figure cloaked in black and Jade green. His hair a deep black and his eyes blue as ice. Standing in the back line his lips moved slowly as rune symbols appeared around him. Sol sprinted forward with shield raised bashing a centipede''s head away before then following up with a downwards slash chopping off the head sending it flying away in an ark. Sensing danger Sol braced by enlarging his shield in front of himself, soon enough one of the giant centipedes smashed its body into the shield forcing Sol off his feet as his bones creaked from the recoil. Being sent backward to Luna who caught her brother feeling exhausted the twins felt angry to the point Luna yelled at the black-robed figure, ¡°When is that spell going to be finished, Drake?! These pests are closing in!¡± Drake snorted under his breath, eyes narrowed he remained chanting while holding out a hand with three fingers showing meaning thirty seconds. Seeing the amount of time left to be on defense the twins complained. Getting out of Luna¡¯s hold Sol readied his sword, ¡°If it was Big Sister Rune she would have already been done casting.¡± Luna nodded in agreement preparing her charge forward, ¡°Aye and also Big Brother Vince could¡¯ve dealt with them faster you take too long!¡± A vein appeared on Drake''s head as his eyes narrowed to slits over the twins complaining about how long it took him to cast magic, ¡®If I could move right now brats I¡¯d beat your bottoms black and blue! Ugh, why couldn¡¯t I¡¯ve had better pawns to work with when entering this stupid challenge.¡¯ While thinking such thoughts Drake kept his chanting calm and methodic not missing a syllable as more runes gathered around him the once colorless runes began to change to an ice-like sheen.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. At this time the giant centipedes weren''t waiting around the remaining twenty plus odd creatures crawled left and right along the walls, the floor, and ceiling moving their long armored bodies full of wrath and vengeance for their brethren their pincers snapped fiercely wishing to consume the three puny humans in fount of them. Holding her spear and shield tightly Luna¡¯s eyes flashed with a glimmer of playfulness, ¡°I¡¯m heading out little brother.¡± ¡°Wha--¡±, Without listening to Sol, Luna dashed forward running along the wall full of fighting spirit, her footprints imprinted along the wall she shrunk her spear to the length of her forearm and her shield shrink covering the top of her wrist. Laughter rang out not like Luna¡¯s normal voice but of a deep voiced woman, ¡°Hu hu huhu¡­ ha ha HAHAHA Let¡¯s dance!¡± Flying along the wall a large crescent tattoo appeared on Luna¡¯s face as her ocean blue eyes now held a line of silver. Bloodlust oozed out of her body as she ran with passion towards the pack of centipedes gripping her spear tightly she increased her speed twofold. Seeing this scene Drake stood in shock, ¡®Weapon possession! That brat his such a powerful spiritual weapon! What rank is it?!?¡¯ ¡°Break!¡±, Rushing forward full of speed it almost seemed Luna and her spear merged as one as she smashed into a centipedes head. Unexpectedly from Sol and Dreams prospective Luna drilled through the centipede''s head making its explode into gore dying herself and the surroundings in gore. ¡°More¡­ More. MORE. DIE DIE DIEEEEEE!¡±, The little she-devil screamed stabbing and jumping around almost stopped Sol from moving forward to helping his sister battle these oversized pests. Carnage ensued as the twins when on a rampage killing the bugs on site, it seemed that the two didn¡¯t even need Drakes spell with Luna currently being possessed by her weapon he almost ended his spell before seeing not too far away from another large pack of centipedes making their way counting over the hundreds. Seconds passed and soon Drake finished his spell to which he could finally yell at the brats, ¡°Fall back! The spell is ready!¡± Getting the queue Sol grabbed Luna who was in a blood-soaked frenzy covered in bug juices and ran back to Drake and hid behind him. Given the all clear Drake lined up the runes into a spear-like formation which then took form. It was a tiny spear emblem that made Sol and Luna tilt their heads, ¡°This is it? This! We might as well have run if this is what you were going to show us.¡± Feeling anger raise in his bones Drake snorted, ¡°Watch. Go. <>!¡± The once pointed spear rune transformed into the head of a dragon then expanded as more runes rushed towards it. To the point, it filled 1/4th of the hallway which then Drake did a hand sign and pushed the head forward, ¡°Form two! Twist!¡± The dragon''s eyes shined as the floating runes merged with the head forming a strong and large body shooting the head out in blinding speeds opening its icy maw smashing into the army of bugs causing the hall to become a hellish frozen wasteland. After the spell was completed Drake turned around to face the twins with a big wolfish smile on his expecting them to be awestruck, ¡°Well how¡¯s that!¡± Only to be disappointed as the twins shrugged their shoulders Luna replied, ¡°It was only so-so, at least you aren''t completely useless.¡± The vein returned to Drake''s head furry building up within his body grabbing his hair wishing to strangle them, ¡®These brats!¡¯ Chapter 25 - Scene 2 - Zodiac Guardians Scene 2 - Zodiac Guardians Cooling his nerves Drake moved his glasses up, ¡°Enough, let¡¯s just split the spoils shall we?¡± Nodding their heads in agreement the twins and Drake set out and searched the corpses of the giant centipedes. Despite ice covering the passageway, Drake could control the ice to move or melt thanks to his affinity making collecting talismans easy for the trio. After they finished collecting the talismans they counted the collected amount to be 55 points. They split it 40/60 forty percent going to Drake and sixty percent to the twins, agreeing to these terms while going through the ice. When they finished gathering Sol suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe place to rest and then split the points there, we can also rest.¡± Drake and Luna nodded in consent and went through the other path not full of ice and decided to split the points after finding a place to rest. They went the other direction instead of the remaining giant centipede swarm, walking for a while the labyrinth began to change around which caused the three to draw near and be on guard. Seconds passed and before long the labyrinth had settled once again the surrounding changed around them instead of a two-way path it had opened into a five-way path! The three stood dazed for a bit before pulling out their compasses looking at the surround location. The map was only marked for other current contestants and pathways they previously visited chopped up at a weird angle. As luck would have had it Luna noticed something, ¡°Hey guys our beginner room is close by I think we should head back there and rest what do you think?¡± Drake pushed up his glasses and nodded, ¡°Let''s go.¡± Choosing the path closest to their old room they were in luck to find that the pathway was connected to the safe room they were worried it wouldn¡¯t be connected from this path since they noticed while walking that the labyrinth had many dead ends. The three walked inside and relaxed first thing first was too spilt up the points, next they sat down a discussed the next plan if action. Opening a plate of rations Len began shoveling cold corn and monster meat into her mouth washing it down with juice, ¡°Ugh wish it was warm food, why couldn¡¯t big sis Rune be here to warm up our food?¡± Sol flicked her forehead to retort, ¡°Oi, remember what brother Saren said? Even rotten scraps can fill a belly be thankful for eating food better than dogs.¡± Digging into his sandwich Luna smacked Sol in the back of the head making him almost choke. Luna head her head full of disdain, ¡°Remember Appearance Sister Marley said? Treat a lady with respect!¡± Sol laughed almost snorting his juice, ¡°What lady? You¡¯re not a noble. Where¡¯s your pretty dress? All I see is a gluttonous little sis!¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Fuming with rage Luna head her plastic knife at Sol, ¡°I¡¯ll cut you!¡± Holding his fork at the ready, Sol''s eyes turned a playful sharp, ¡°I¡¯ll stab you!¡± Drake pushed up his glasses as a vein appeared pulsating, ¡®Why am I stuck with two idiots!¡¯ Standing up Drake had had it, ¡°Enough of you sibling shenanigans! We have to talk about what to do next!¡± Sol took another bite of his sandwich and blurted out bits of food flying out, ¡°What plan? We just go out kill creatures, rob other contestants, eat, sleep and repeat.¡± Luna shoveled more corn into her mouth and nodded agreeing with her brother''s idea by showing a thumb of approval which made Drake all the mad, ¡°Listen here! You brats! Without a good plan will fail this exam!¡± Luna swallowed and tilted her head cutely, ¡°How so? Don¡¯t we have about forty points each? An this is the first day? We got another thirteen days it¡¯ll be easy.¡± Shaking his head in disagreement Drake replied, ¡°It seems you didn¡¯t buy and reports on how these tests go. The first day those who don¡¯t get above one hundred points end up 90% of them don¡¯t pass the first exam!¡± Sol had a questioning face, ¡°Why is that so? With so much prey and with three thousand contestants we only need to beat two thousand to move on. Why the time limit?¡± Drake looked at Sol right in the eye and nodded, ¡°True there is enough pray and enough contestants the problem lies in these three reasons.¡± Holding his hand out Drake began to count the reasons while pushing up his glasses,¡± Number one the rate of contestants dropping out on the first day is¡­. One thousand! The second reason is that as the Labyrinth changes more and more monster swarms will be released making it harder to hunt talismans. And finally number three.¡± Holding three fingers up the siblings held their breath already shocked by what they had just heard, why hadn¡¯t Master Mo told this beforehand? Not allowing them time to think Drake continued, ¡°The most challenging reason for passing this exam is survival! Those that don¡¯t know about this rule will likely die or drop out leaving at most two hundred contestants at the end and that¡¯s if luck is at play!¡± The twins eyes narrowed and Luna asked, ¡°And what is that Drake?¡± Drake smirked, ¡°I was waiting for you to ask the reason most fail is the second test of the first exam¡­ The Zodiac Guardians!¡± Sol had a questioning face, ¡°What are the Zodiac Guardians? Like some type of beast monsters? Can we eat them?¡± Drake almost fell over from Sol¡¯s response and almost yelled at him, but held it in after all he needed these brats to hunt, ¡°No not beasts but disciples hand picked by the sectless sect to be the ¡®trimmers¡¯ of the contestants. The role they play is simple after a week has passed they go out and hunt contestants, first they will ask you to pay the fee and if you do all thirteen for that day will leave you alone. ¡°How much is the fee?¡± ¡°One hundred points!¡± Sol snorted, ¡°What thieves! What if we don¡¯t pay them?¡± Drake replied in a natural manner,¡°They will attack you.¡± Luna chimed in while eating some fried chicken, ¡°Are they strong?¡± ¡°Very strong, if you don¡¯t pay it¡¯s expected they will instakill you if you''re not above the 5th level of HBR.¡± Sol then took a bite of his mash potatoes, ¡°So you¡¯re saying we need eight hundred points to pass.¡± ¡°If you wanna pass safely then yes.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± Chapter 25 - Scene 3 - Blood Demon Scene 3 - Blood Demon Taking the advice of Drake after resting a half hour the three went back out into the hallway searching for a fight. With its casual glow lighting up the way the group made their way slowly down the hallway keeping chatter to a minimum, weapons at the ready at their sides the group they checked the compass every so often. Minutes passed and until Luna got a reaction on her compass showing two dots in front of them, making a signal towards her brother and Drake they agreed with the plan to jump them. Walking casually down the hallway Luna¡¯s breath rose a beat as her eyes narrowed, gripping her spear loosely. Step by step the changes in Sol¡¯s and Drake¡¯s movement had also changed, one''s eyes turned ice cold holding his staff and dagger at the ready and the other sunny smile had transformed into a silent slit. Soon the party was just around the corner from their prey Luna¡¯s heart quickened sweat dripped down her face, ¡®Just treat it like the slums, steal or be stolen from, kill or be killed harden your heart!¡¯ Luna turned around to her brother and Drake once again making sure they were ready, once getting the green light to go she didn¡¯t hesitate. Breath in. Breath out. She charged forward. As expected the first thing Luna saw was two people they wanted to jump were prepared to fight; only unexpectedly there were five people! With such a miscounted number caused Luna to stop mid charge with Sol stropping behind her Drake of seeing the two stop waited in the shade of the corner. Suddenly a clap was heard one of the youths stood out in front smiling from ear to ear, ¡°See? Didn¡¯t I tell you this plan would work boys? You two and the one behind the corner hand over your talismans and you can go.¡± Turning his head to his other companions to see their reactions, the youth made a fatal mistake. Seeing his band of misfits smile turned to horror made the leader look bake confused only to see the point of Luna¡¯s spear inches way. ¡°Eh?¡±, were the last words the youth spoke before thrown spear pierced a fist-sized hole through his head. In that instant, the battle began as the youth¡¯s body slowly fell to the floor twitching and flowing with blood.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Charging with her shield in hand Luna yelled a battle cry full of fury, ¡°HOW DARE YOU LOOK DOWN UPON ME!!!¡± The blood had rushed to her head as she met a swordsman head on rushing her with his sword drawn. The fury of being looked down by this bunch had Luna go into a frenzy, ¡®Rob me? Me?!? Ha! I gonna kill you all!¡¯ Sol tried to stop Luna from rushing alone like a madman, ¡°Stop sis what are you doing?!¡± Drake showed up at this time and pushed Sol forward to act, ¡°Go brat! She¡¯s under spirit procession she isn¡¯t thinking straight cover her!¡± Turning his head in fury held his tongue and rushed after Luna, ¡®He could have just told me, why push me!¡¯ While that exchange was taking place Luna was about to clash with the swordsman of the group who reacted the fastest covering the body of the youth so she wouldn¡¯t be able to get her weapon back. Rushing barehanded didn¡¯t deter Luna from charging with just her shield in hand, running straight at the blade with no regard for her life. Steam rushed out of Luna¡¯s mouth as her eyes shined from blue to bloodshot red as hollowing words were spoken in a bewitching whisper, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you all.¡± The resolve the swordsman had before fractured staring at the demon in front of him, ¡®Is this really a cultivator?¡¯ That last of thought distracted the swordsman''s making his sword hand falter for just a moment which Luna took full advantage. Moving her shield in front of her, Luna forced the swordsman''s sword away with her shield and closed in. An what happened next made the other three youth¡¯s feet shake in fear, closing the gap Luna grabbed the swordsman''s hair and pulled up exposing the neck then she opened her mouth wide and tore out the swordsman''s throat out with her teeth. Blood showered the ground, the swordsman''s bright eyes grew wide full of fear dropping his sword he backed away from Luna holding his throat he threw away all his talismans in an instant and teleported out of the exam. His companions shook in fear not knowing if he is alive or dead, they felt dazed, confused, and most of all fear. But they didn¡¯t have much time to think as loud steps could be heard from Luna, even at this time Sol had stopped holding his breath. Luna walked slowly as if intentionally making a huge scene towards the body she impaled with a spear and with a soft ¡®shink¡¯ blood splattered for a moment With spear now in hand Luna turned to the remaining three youths which at this moment was scared shitless. Pointing with her spear at the middle of the three Luna head tilted to the side spitting out the throat in her mouth. Her bloodshot wide then eyes narrowed as blood dyed her face making her look like a blood demon as smoke kept coming out of her mouth. While a smile that could freeze over lakes Luna smirked, ¡°You¡¯re Next fatty¡­ I hope your throat tastes better than that idiot who ran.¡± Chapter 25 - Scene 4 - Heart to Heart Scene 4 - Heart to Heart Walking along the pathway the three had grown quite quiet since their sweep against the five enemies. Luna had long since returned to her normal self, cleaning all the blood off their bodies, on her talisman arm appeared a glowing golden seal with the number 106 written on top. Turning a corner together walking along the hallways Luna spoke started to speak after settling her thoughts, ¡°Brother do you think I made the right decision? Too let Xie Zhu take control?¡± Sol stood shoulder to shoulder with his sister who currently had her hair covering her eyes couldn¡¯t see her expression. Shook his head, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t rely on your weapons power too much. I know you could have stopped him at any time I saw how you hesitated for a moment upon throwing your spear.¡± Luna smiled slightly while, ¡°So you knew I let Xie Zhu kill them, you¡¯re right I did on purpose Brother I just don¡¯t want to be pushed around anymore! How many times we had to keep our heads low in the slums, how we had to beg and wag our tail for rotten food scraps! But now¡­ Now...¡± Taking a moment to reply the two men stood in front of Luna waiting for her reply. When she was ready her ocean blue eyes dug into Sol''s eyes without looking away, ¡°Now we don¡¯t have to be afraid anymore! No more must we fight for scraps! No longer more must we let others look down upon us without a fight. Now we are human beings! Not some trash on the side of the road awaiting our time to be swept away by the hands of fate we control our destiny for we are cultivators!¡± Tears started to flow from Luna¡¯s face holding back her sobs, Sol sighed and smiled bonking Luna¡¯s head lightly with his fist, ¡°Idiot, we have nothing to prove to anyone! Pride is good but too much can kill you! Remember that time in the pit?¡± Wiping her tears away Luna snorted, ¡°You mean that time you got your ass kicked by the bandaged boy?¡± Sol¡¯s cheeks showed a hint of red turning away, ¡°He just got a lucky shot on me that''s all! I¡¯ll kick his ass next time!¡± Luna poked her brother in the forehead, ¡°Then what?¡± Sol took a breath and shook away Luna¡¯s hand and turned to her seriously, ¡°If the pit didn¡¯t have formations protecting the contestants'' life I could have died because of inflated confidence!¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Punching a nearby wall Sol gashed his teeth, ¡°It pisses me off knowing that just because I¡¯ve had a little cultivation under my belt I could have died thinking I was hot stuff!¡± Tilting her head Luna raised her hands in the air making a questioning face, ¡°Your point?¡± Sol stood silently staring up at the ceiling as if trying to find the words making until it dawned on him what to do turning to his sister Sol hugged her tightly startling her. ¡°Wha--¡± Sol broke her retort, ¡°It reminded me that if I died you and the rest of our siblings would have been sad because of my stupidity. Just because spirit procession worked this time doesn''t mean it¡¯ll work next time don¡¯t let pride kill you, sister! You won¡¯t make just me sad you¡¯ll make everyone else sad!¡± Luna¡¯s eyes widened feeling stunned why didn¡¯t she think about this, ¡°I didn¡¯t-¡± At this time the quiet one the whole time Drake with a laugh, ¡°But if Luna didn¡¯t take out those two so quickly we would¡¯ve been in dire straights! Isn¡¯t power meant to be used that way my dear little Sol? Taking the advantage so quickly helped us a great deal in beating that large group, tell me Sol could you think of another way we could have beaten them without injury?¡± Letting go of Luna, Sol turned around towards, ¡°If we worked together there wouldn¡¯t have bee-¡± Placing a finger towards his lip Drake hushed Sol and turned his head down one of the pathways. The twins followed his line of sight to see a single figure walking alone on the pathway, carrying a scythe in behind their head. Seeing the figure in the dimly lit cave, the twins'' eyes lit up with excitement with Luna running forward with Sol just behind her they both shouted excitedly, ¡°Big Sister Len!¡± The figure grew startled and went on the defensive holding her scythe shakingly in her palms. Noticing the figures strange movements Luna stopped in her tracks making Sol ran into his sister and shouted at her, ¡°Why did you stop its big sister Len!¡± Shaking her head Luna frowned, ¡°That person isn¡¯t Big sister Len, person''s hair was a different color and shorter. Plus she¡¯s running away!¡± Seeing the figure running away Sol snorted, ¡°If it isn¡¯t Len then lets rob that person!¡± The three were about to run after person, until shaking in the tunnel started to appear thinking that the labyrinth was about to change again the three quickly stopped and gathered together watching the prey get farther away. The twins frowned at the lost booty only for a moment until they saw a large foot smash through the ceiling right above the fleeing scythe figure crushing the figure into toothpaste. A roar and a familiar voice yelling at the top of her lungs could be heard. Soon the rest of the body fell through with a small blood read figure jumping around it body, scythe in hand tearing up it¡¯s skin cutting out chunks of fat and muscle. Despite the rubble in and dust the siblings could clearly make out the shining blood figure full of rage fighting against the now identified cyclops monster. Len roared full of fury, ¡°I¡¯m going to fucking kill you!¡± Sol turned to see what drakes reaction was seeing his usual cool expression turn dumb made Sol smug as he pointed, ¡°That¡¯s our Sister Len!¡± Chapter 26 - Scene 1 - Mathis Scene 1- Mathis Walking along the silent hallway Len held a small boys hand with a scythe in the other scanning the horizons for an enemy to fight. In the little boys free hand, he held a compass staring intently at it. Walking along absentmindedly Len thought about what siblings a were doing, ¡®I wonder if they are being safe? Ugh knowing them most of them will be running around fighting to their heart''s content. I wish they could act more subtle.¡¯ Blowing her hair away with her breath in a little anger Len had a sudden thought and turned to the little boy holding her hand who cheeks were bright red, ¡°Any¡­ Enemies...?¡± Startled the boy blushed intently and shook his head up and down, ¡°No big sis! Nothing on the compass!¡± Looking away from Len¡¯s eyes which were covered by her thick hair the boy went back to staring intently at his compass not daring to look up at the Len. Seeing this action only thought of one conclusion, ¡®Ah, I must look scary with my hair covering my eyes. Maybe I should get a hairpin and hold up my hair from my eyes? Nah I¡¯m not good looking anyways no one would wanna see my face.¡¯; With such thoughts Len stared intently at the little boy making his spine shiver coldly, ¡®Hmmm he really does look like Sol a lot; same eye color, same hair tone I should really introduce them it¡¯ll be funny.¡¯ Making up her mind Len spoke up to startle the little boy like a rabbit, ¡°Hey boy¡­ Should meet¡­ Family¡­¡± The boy¡¯s face lit up like a tomato steam coming from his ears, ¡®Is big sis proposing to me?! But we just meet my heart isn¡¯t ready!¡¯ With such thoughts, the boy deeply nodded, ¡°S-s-sure! Y-u-you can even meet my little sister she¡¯ll be happy to meet you as well!¡± Tilting her head Len asked, ¡°You¡­ have¡­ a sister?¡± The little boy beamed his eyes turning to stars, ¡°Oh yes she''s very cute! I and her have been living with our parents until! Until¡­ what had happened.¡± When thinking about the memory the little boys face turned dark wearing his emotions going soon silent. Hearing him go quite asked in curiosity, ¡°Until¡­ Mathis...?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The little boy now known as Mathis tightened his hip on Len¡¯s hand and forcefully holding back his tears, ¡°Bandits attacked our manor¡­ Flames everywhere mother and father killed while protecting us. Everyone except me, my sister Minya, and out butler made it out of the tunnels.¡± Len nodded her head understanding Mathis¡¯s predicament and turned her weapon small and patted his head as the tears rained down upon his cheeks making his eyes go wide, ¡°Understand¡­ losing someone¡­ very painful¡­ do you wish¡­ for revenge...?¡± Mathis eyes transformed from his pained expression into burning wrath like a wounded beast, ¡°My sister said that revenge wouldn¡¯t bring anything but more pain, but I couldn¡¯t accept that! How could I live knowing those bandits are ruining others lives! How could I live comfortably in the city still knowing that those bastard bandits still live freely without paying in blood for their crimes!¡± Seeing Mathis pained expression Len kept petting his head advised in a soft voice, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ lie to yourself... you don¡¯t care... about those things... you just want to¡­ kill them don¡¯t you...?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s wor--¡± Covering Matis lips with a figure Len hushed him making him blush a deep red, ¡°Sshhh¡­ big sis is talking¡­ me and my siblings¡­ had the same problem¡­ very painful¡­ but our master said¡­ revenge is up to the personal choice¡­ can you live with it¡­? Can you live without it? Choice¡­ yours¡­ Remember this¡­ Now get ready¡­.¡± Moving Len¡¯s hand away from his hand Matis didn¡¯t linger on Len words for long when he had time alone he would later, ¡°Why?¡± Pulling out her scythe Len twirled it with a single hand heroic air started to gather around her body, with a ¡®chink¡¯ sound Len¡¯s Scythe tip stuck into the ground pointing in front of them, ¡°Monsters¡­¡± Turning his attention towards the monster Mathis let go of Len¡¯s hand and pulled out his short sword and small buckler clumsily flustered awaiting for the monster''s approach, Soon what appeared was a pair of Cockatrice racing towards them at high speeds. They were gray feathered, their yellow eyes flickered coldly in the blue blow as their snakes hissed laying on the chickens headed part. With a quick glance Len could see how shaken up Mathis was and faintly smiled, pulling for out six bone needles from her satchel attached her qi to the needles like thread and sent them out. The white crystal-like flew true smashing into one of the Cockatrice two heads, heart, liver, and feet exploding them into gore leaving a shredded corpse in its wake. She was sad that the prey was too weak for her to use her scythe. Turning to the boy Len pulled her hand back returning the needles back to her hand by pulling on the qi strings, ¡®Mathis¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Fight that one¡­ alone¡­ I¡¯ll watch over...¡± ¡°Eh? Oh. Yes!¡± Sitting back against the wall Len controlled her needles around her body by Qi strings watching the battle between Mathis and the Cockatrice. If he needed saving she would kill it and save him only she hoped that came as the last resort. She hoped this fight would help him decide if he has the will to kill! Without that will he might as well leave this exam and live with his sister then fight upon this path of bloodshed, ¡®If he wants to get revenge kill, kill and keep killing! Only then will you have the strength to acquire the strength for your revenge to those who have wronged you!¡¯ Chapter 26 - Scene 2 - Cockatrice Scene 2 - Cockatrice The clash between Mathis and the Cockatrice began off simple after it¡¯s companion was instantly killed it grew weary of the two figures in front of it. Though despite is wary feelings the beast instincts of hunger consumed it¡¯s reasoning and targeted the weaker being. ¡°Caw caw!¡± With a battle cry, the beast sent his razor-sharp claw strike at Mathis¡¯s head which he jumped back lightly evading just enough seemingly hoping for a counter attack. Readying his sword to stab into the exposed belly of the beast he noticed a glint of glowing eyes to his side. Turning his head and shield arm to the attacking snakehead, Mathis deflected the head with his shield by crouching down then rolled back as an iron beak followed afterward. Quickly getting back into standing position Mathis charged back into the fight slashing at the monster right leg making an inch deep cut before backing off as the birds head smashed into where Mathis currently stood. Len closely watched on as the fight progressed for a while and tilted her head in curiosity not understand Mathis attacks, ¡®Why is he attacking only the bird''s legs? Why not just strike the head and cut them off? Oh, right his sword isn¡¯t strong enough or sharp enough to do that so he must be doing¡­ Ah! I see! How interesting!¡¯ Figuring out the reason how the fight was going to end Len smiled and relaxed knowing how the fight was going to end got a bottle of water and watched the fight of life and death unfold. At this point in time, Mathis was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his face and blood was running down his forehead from a nasty cut. Blood ran down his face almost covering his eyesight still he smiled despite being nearly exhausted feeling the verge of death¡¯s hand contorting around his neck. While his opponent the Cockatrice movements were slow and methodical, it¡¯s legs bleeding and scarred up from Mathis¡¯s countless sword strikes. It moved shakily forward the beasts bloodlust reaching untold levels of fury. Breathing heavily Mathis readied his sword eyes sharp like swords, ¡°Let''s finish this you dumb chicken!¡± Being called a chickened seemed to make the beast snap despite the states of its legs it rushed forward sending both heads at him from both sides. Seeing this Mathis¡¯s eye glimmered dashing to meet it head on holding his sword and shield tightly. At this point, Len had a bag of open chips watching intently whiling stuffing her mouth, ¡®Oh! The final clash!¡¯Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Gritting his teeth Mathis could see that both heads coming at his face he covered his face with his buckler and yelled full of insanity, ¡°AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!¡± *Crunch* *Smash* Len dropped her chip bag her eyes wide, ¡®What a move! He¡¯s almost like Big Brother Vince in the way he treats his body.¡± A strange scene had unfolded upon Len, in front of her lay the beast biting Mathis¡¯s buckler its legs stumps with blood profusely bleeding from them with one of its feet stuck into the ground with a death grip. Mathis lay on the ground bleeding from his chest with a large wound running all the way from his shoulder to the top of his belly button. Getting up from her seat Len went over to check out his wounds and then poured a tier one potion on his wounds. His eyes that were currently closed opened up in shock as pain flared through his wound, followed by a soothing cool breeze. Len then spoke up offering a hand, ¡°Lucky¡­ Shallow wound¡­¡± Grabbing her hand while blushing Mathis turned his attention away from her to focus on the still alive Cockatrice. Sword in hand He faced the hissing snakehead that threatened him to come closer, but he wasn¡¯t afraid of the monster to know that was dying in its own pool of blood. Step by step he moved closing into striking range of the snake tail, taking this chance the snake lashed out its mouth opened wide. Determination filled the boy thrusting his blade forward he pierced the snake through his head into the brain cavity. Blood spewed all over his face drenching him, wiping the blood from his eyes he saw the limp snaking head lay dead. Meanwhile, the chicken head squawked in fear and anger, but the boy didn¡¯t care and climbed on top of its body raising his sword above his head and pierced through its skull finally feeling the beast. In its place three bronze talismans floated above its body, looking back at Len too see her head in approval, Mathis took the talismans and fell powerlessly on top of the chicken body tied. Before he could close his eyes Len poured a bottle of water over his face waking him up. ¡°What was that for?!¡± Len beamed her eyes shining despite her monotone smileless face, ¡°No¡­ Sleep¡­ The day still young¡­ More monsters coming prepare¡­!¡± Tilting his head up more Cockatrices could be seen in the distance running in their direction numbering into the dozens. Seeing such a scene Mathis started tearing up which Len thought was cute. ¡°You want me to fight more of them?!¡± ¡°No¡­ Watch¡­ Small fry¡­¡± Standing in front Len moved her scythe around her body and started to create a sphere of razor sharp wind. By the time Len had finished her art, the small horde of monster where almost upon them which she didn¡¯t bat an eyelash at. ¡°Done¡­¡± Mathis¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he watched the slaughter take place in front of him. Wave after wave of wind blades were sent into the unknowing horde of Cockatrices. Body parts started to fly left and right as the blue glow of the surrounding started to turn bright red as the moss got bathed in blood and feathers. Not even a minute passed before talismans started floated in the air awaiting collection. When Len finished her massacre she turned to Mathis her head raised high her brown eyes sparkled waiting for praise, ¡°Len strong¡­ Yes?¡± Shaking his head Mathis almost crying, ¡°Yes! Very strong!¡± He almost followed up with, ¡®Don¡¯t kill me please.¡¯ Chapter 26 - Scene 3 - Awakened, Goliaths needle Scene 3 - Awakened, Goliath''s needle ¡°Ok, that''s enough of a break.¡± ¡°Aw Big Sis, it¡¯s only been twenty minutes, can¡¯t we rest more?¡± Shaking her head Len moved out of the safe room, as luck would have it they happened upon the room after fighting those monster birds. But they couldn¡¯t rest long for she hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat the more points the better. Sighing Mathis followed after begrudgingly fearing the Len would leave him behind if he didn¡¯t come. |C|R|U|S|H| Time passed by and Len and Mathis fought monsters along the way. Generally speaking, Len would effortlessly kill most of the monsters, and leave the weakest for Mathis to fight. Soon enough they had cleared over forty different monsters and were about to rest again. Taking the lead with his building confidence Mathis spoke up, ¡°Hey I think I see a safe room up ahead let''s go rest!¡± Len seeing him run up ahead smiled and raised her hand, ¡°Hey wait up! Don¡¯t go too far what if the dungeon changes!¡± Standing in a large room now Mathis stopped feeling embarrassed and turned around with a bright red face waiting for Len to come over. Seeing him stop Len slowly made her way over, ¡®Jeez he¡¯s acting like Sol and Luna running around without caring what¡¯s ahead of them.¡¯ ¡°Come on Big Sis!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Com-- RUN!¡±, Picking up speed Len rushed forward reaching her hand out for Mathis, yet she was too far away. Tilting his head sightly a shadow crept over him making his heart clench in fear, sweat as the sound quiet around him he reached out with his hand, ¡°Big Sister he--¡± *Crunched* Shockwaves full of blood and bone splattered in all directions under the giant foot, splashing across Len¡¯s face. Shocked Len eyes shook as she watched Mathis¡¯s legs get crushed under a foot, without hesitation, Len grabbed Mathis¡¯s arms and carried his body into the hallway they came from. Luckily the giant foot didn¡¯t move to actually crush the pair while they were retreating and they were able to reach safety. Pulling out her tier three potion from her backpack Len Shoved it into Mathis mouth where blood began to pour from it seemed even his internal organs were affected.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Hang in their boy I¡¯ll fix you right up!¡±, With such urgency, Len¡¯s speech impediment seemed to disappear. Trying to cough his lungs out Mathis tried to stop her from giving her the potion only to fail from his feeble strength. Despite it being a tier three potion it seemed the damage taken to his body was too much. Searching through her bag Len pulled two tier two potions and poured them on his remaining parts of his legs and then wrapped his stubbed legs with her back up clothes. Pain erupted from his body as an agonizing scream came from within him as the potions tried to take effect. Yet it seemed to all be in vain he was still bleeding unless a real medical doctor saw him now his life would likely be forfeit. Shaking his sleaves Len screamed, ¡°Leave the contest! They can still save your life!¡± Despite the massive pain, his body felt Mathis thoughts were filled with insanity over the loss of his legs, ¡°I can¡¯t *cough* who will avenge my parents I must become a cultivator!¡± Tears in her eyes Len forcefully took off his talismans, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but you can¡¯t die, your sister needs you!¡± Seeing her take away his talismans a crazed light shone from as a golden halo appeared around, ¡°Give them back! I can¡¯t stop now! Please Big Sis don--¡± With hollow eyes, Mathis faded away with one last line, ¡°Avenge me, avenge my parents--¡± ¡°I will little brother!¡± The only thing that remained behind was his backpack, quickly Len¡¯s pained expression turned savage, angry, full of resentment, hollow, furry, vengeance. Covered in the blood of her new little brother Len¡¯s brown hair began to turn and distort changing colors. Platinum white and Jet black cut straight through the middle of her scalp with the ends or her hair giving a gray trim. Even her eyes changed from deep dark brown to a murky light gray, her aura even changed to become even more noticeable as if she didn¡¯t even exist. Feeling the immense power of mana flow through her veins Len yelled not of out happiness of awakening but of utter sadness of her powerlessness to not able to do anything. Anger bubbled up within her as her hands moved slowly picking up Mathis¡¯s backpack and putting his stuff into her¡¯s. Slowly her shaking hands calmed down to the point of being still as wood while moving. Her expression returned to her expressionless self by the time she finished repacking. Then she prepared herself, lining up her needles for quick access, swinging Goliath''s needle around she began to breathe in slowly and then out stabilizing her emotions into a trance. Aligning her body and spirit for the upcoming battle, unintentionally she tapped into her inner mana pulling the darkness and blue light around her in this dance with her scythe attuning herself to these new changes. When finished she stopped moving Goliath and began to move forward, with each step anger came creeping back up within her spirit. Soon she entered the room where the one who killed her little brothers dreams for vengeance. There sat a giant gray one-eyed figure scratching its foot where a blood stain had appeared. It soon smiled as it had found something a mangled leg was held between its two fingers and it lifted the morsel up opening its ugly jaw. Grinning from ear to ear the cyclops dropped the mangled leg into its mouth where more crunching could be heard. Eyes turning red instantly bloodshot, runic tattoos appeared over Len¡¯s body roaring with fury blood began to seep from her lips after bitting her cheek from the beasts acts. ¡°I WILL KILL YOU!¡± Len had become enraged. Chapter 26 - Scene 4 - Vengeance Scene 4 - Vengeance Flying at high speeds Len flew forward ay the cyclops, her scythe raised high silver mana flowed out of her eyes enhancing her vision. Looking up clumsily the cyclops tilted its head and reached out with its hands to grab the pretty glowing lights. Eyes narrow Len gripped tightly on her scythe when she was in striking distance and cut into the cyclops¡¯s right hand severing two fingers. In sudden pain the cyclops wailed as it¡¯s single eye scrunched up in anger, it tried to crush the colorful light between its hands only for the light to rapidly fly to the sky. Len had used one of her mone needles infused mainly with Qi and some specks of mana to strengthen the sting. Then she threw it to the ceiling and then pulled on it sending her flying to the ceiling where she landed on her feet upside down. Rune¡¯s flaring around her body she sent her body like a projectile spinning around her scythe smashing down on the right arms shoulder cutting deeply into the flesh. Frustratedly with its huge size and fat content she couldn¡¯t reach a tendon or bone to sever. With a mighty roar, the cyclops smashed down his left hand on his shoulder in hopes to smash the annoying light into a paste. Alas, Len was too nimble with her needle arts moving at high speeds away to another wall where she launched another attack. One slash after another Len chipped away at the Cyclops who despite slow and stupid could annoyingly protect its vital points such as its eye with uncanny precision. Its lifeforce was tremendous as after battling for few minutes noticed that the first wounds she caused had already clotted over and showed signs of healing. Even the fingers she had severed showed signs of growing at a slow but sure place, despite her speed and her weapon''s sharpness if she couldn¡¯t mortally wound this monster somehow then if she didn¡¯t flee soon back into one of the passageways she would run out of Qi and be killed when she became powerless. Gritting her teeth at such a thought Len roared with furry, ¡°DON¡¯T FUCK WITH ME! YOU¡¯RE GOING TO DIE TODAY!¡± Furious at her lack of strength she suddenly remembered with Mathis did in the same situation, ¡®Ah! That¡¯s how I¡¯ll kill this beast. Mindless attacking of the parts wouldn¡¯t work against this beast only a concentrated attack can kill him!¡¯ Len then began to think of how to accomplish this while dodging the cyclopes awfully slow attacks full of destructive power. The first problem while thinking she encountered was that she would run out of energy if she couldn''t somehow restrict his movements to attack freely it would heal the damage enough that it wouldn''t matter. Looking around the room for anything she could use she noticed that the cyclops had actually smashed some of the rock on walls to rubble. Then she remembered seeing the labyrinth change and saw the bricks moving up and down as well moving side to side giving her a hunch that this labyrinth has multiple levels stacked on one another. To test this theory while dodging the Cyclops attacks Luna started cutting into the rock like butter and after a few runs, the cut block fell down approving her theory. Although she didn¡¯t know how big the room was below even restricting a leg would prove useful. Putting her plan in motion Len started running around the ground with the power of her string needles and started to weaken the floor¡¯s foundation. She even had the Cyclops unintentionally help as it stomped around following her it would send fists downwards creating holes. Soon enough creaks and groans could be heard coming from the ground appearing that the stone floor wouldn¡¯t be able to hold the cyclops weight. At that point, Len her next plan in action after moving around for so long bone needles attached with string lingered around the room. She began to shift gears and gather the bone needles and strings via the way of lifting the stings in the air and pass them by to the point of gathering a large rope of qi string 106 stands strong. With a smile, Len used her Qi to connect the string together loosely where she was currently holding it. Then taxing her brain Len then flew around on her one free needle string and then flew around the cyclops body piercing its skin with every needle in the bundle around its arms. Then she broke the loose bond to allow the string to flow freely wrapping itself around the monsters arms.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Thankfully the Cyclops didn¡¯t mind the slight itch from the needles dead set on smashing this shiny insect bothering it from its snack. With the preparations done it was time to move, slashing and cutting through the stone the stone weakened further and further until a bone-chilling crack was heard then another. ¡®Finally, the moment has come to finish this!¡¯ The floor gave way at this moment which so happened while the Cyclops was running after Len this sudden change caused the cyclops to try and catch itself with its hands. ¡°NOW!¡±, Clenching her hand the Needles and string constricted thanks to Len¡¯s power over magic allowing her to affect her qi strings from afar. With its Arm¡¯s restricted the Cyclops helplessly twisted and turned happening to fall on it¡¯s back while falling to the room below. With this chance in hand, Len shot her one of her remaining two needles full of power straight into Cyclops exposed eye. *Splurt* And exploding splurt was heard as eyes flesh spread in all directions littered the surrounding, even some of the juices got on Len, but she didn¡¯t care it seemed her needle had missed the brain. Full of pain and agony the Cyclops tried to move its arms to cover it¡¯s only for the qi string to surprisingly hold despite the ripping sounds. Len knew she had to work fast and so using her remaining needle she sent it forward straight into the neck of the monster pulling herself on top of the falling beast. While in mid-air she began to rotate her scythe creating a vortex of wind liking a spinning top she yelled at the top of her lungs as she tore into the flesh, ¡°I¡¯LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!¡± Tearing into the neck like a tornado green blood began to fly in all directions tinting the light to a bright green. In this large room, a few hallways entrances stuck out where figures stood watched on with wide eyes and mouths. One of these groups so happened to be was Nena and company watching full of amazement. *Crash* Fall of the height unexpectedly the Cyclops smashed through it like butter, making it cough out blood. A few needles embedded into its body actually loosened from the impact allowing it some movement in its right arm. Despite working as fast as she could the Cyclops fat neck was really hard to cut through. The next room under them was a hallway surprisingly as the foot entered through the sound of bones break was drowned out by the Cyclops roars of rage and the rocks smashing downwards. Len roared full of fury reaching the halfway mark on the neck, ¡°I¡¯m going to fucking kill you!¡± Down the hallway could be seen three figures where Len caught a glimpse of the three. ¡®Little brother and sister you are alright!¡¯ Before disappearing as the Cyclops smashed through another floor dislodging, even more, bone needles. The two began to free fall at this point in time far away from the current location, at this moment Len was three-fourths through the neck the unthinkable happened. Despite her planning her groundwork and her hope of restaining the giant''s arms long enough a shadow appeared with her work almost done it was the Cyclops right-hand fingers were smashing into Len direction. Determination filled her as well as madness, filling her right leg full of QI and mana Len turned to face the large log-like fingers and kicked the hand away! Although not without cost despite the Cyclops weakened state and how much force it could apply in mid-air without using its feet a large crack could be heard coming from Len¡¯s leg making her scream in pain. Eye¡¯s doubling over Len didn¡¯t stop though and roared, ¡°I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR MY LITTLE BROTHER!¡± Finally, after cutting for so long the front of the neck had a large jagged line of green blood flowing out like a river and Len tightened her resolve to completely remove the Cyclop''s head from its body! Feeling closer to death the Cyclops instead of trying to attack Len tried to stop the bleeding with its free hand as Len tore through the back of the neck and spinal bone. While spinning through the air like a wheel of death she noticed the incoming ground close approaching and gritted her teeth. She pulled on the strings tying up the Cyclops making it''s back facing the ground, next shed pulled one of the strings she retrieved one of her bone needles shot it to quickly reach the floor digging the handle into the ground as far as she could. With her remaining Qi placed inside her arms enlarging her Scythe long enough to each hand turning the blade in reverse making it an executioner''s blade! ¡°DIE FOR MY VENGEANCE! DECAPITATION!!!¡± Lining the blade perfectly, the Cyclops fell on the blade severing its head clean off showering Len in filthy Green blood. With a loud thud, both parts fell to the ground when it was all said and done after grabbing the brightly lit Silver talisman Len was extremely tired wishing to fall asleep right there. Alas, the Labyrinth rumbled and started shift around her opening her eyes weakly, she dug into her backpack and retrieved Mathis¡¯s Tier 3 potion and downed it in one go. Using her now normal sized scythe as a walking cane, she readied herself for any battle, but to her surprise, a safe room appeared on one of the walls. Seeing the chance for safety Len limped her way into the room and pulled out her sleeping bag laying on it. Taking one of Mathis¡¯s extra clothes she whipped her face from blood and motionlessly stared at the ceiling. Her body felt like lead, her leg was broken and cuts large and small surrounded her body. But she had gotten it she had gotten revenge for her little brother. With a faint smile and a tear in her eye, Len whispered to herself, ¡°I¡¯ll kill those... bandits... as well... don¡¯t worry... little brother¡­¡± Chapter 27 - Scene 1 - Familiars Scene 1 - Familiars Walking down a hallway alone was a girl with flaming red hair and evil green eyes, dressed neatly her shining gloves by her side. Naturally, this girl was Rune CloudStar it didn¡¯t bother her she was alone it just didn¡¯t work out with those she entered with. She smiled while playing with an orb of fire in her hands thinking about what they tried to pull, ¡°How pitiable, they should have realized I was a mage and not some pushover. Oh well, at least Wabu and Lubu got a meal.¡± Flames dancing on her fingertips moved along slowly training her magic while she waited for a target to appear, ¡®I wonder how my brothers and sister are doing right now? I bet getting in trouble.¡¯ ¡°Ugh, when is something to punch going to appear it¡¯s been hours since the last fight is luck bad or good?¡± Venting her lack of excitement Rune sulked kicking a pebble along the way this when on for awhile until she heard fighting ahead in the distance. Ears perking up Rune rushed forward putting out her ball of fire with a smile on her face evil eyes glinting happily, ¡°Lets fight!¡± |W|O|L|F|&| In the large room, a battle was taking place by a group of five contestants vs twenty golden back apes. Swords and fists classed one another are the two forces tried to slaughter the other, despite their numerical advantage the five contestants held a solid star defense. Despite the stalemate the five contestants two demi-humans and three humans, their faces were sour at the current predicament. Whenever one of the golden apes exposed an opening the other surrounding it would help block with their steel-like hands. The worst part was that the apes would switch out with another to battle anew, while their side got weaker and weaker. These beasts were smart tiring them until they could easily kill them without suffering any major damage! Spitting out some blood a familiar voice rang out that if Jao were here to hear it would know it in a heartbeat, ¡°Boy the shitty apes won¡¯t let up, hey Princess how¡¯s your side?¡± It was Jayce and unexpectedly Princess Diana was with him! Biting her lip in in anger Diana replied to her ex-subordinate while blocking the fist of an ape with her greatsword, ¡°Why did we have to stuck in such a shitty problem it¡¯s all your fault wolf boy! Just had to poke the hornet''s nest without talking with us!¡±Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Growling in response the wolf boy met fist with claw sparks flew from the clash, ¡°I thought there was only one who knew there would be a swarm of these damn monkeys!?¡± The other two the large black man and the rabbit-eared girl were silent dealing with their foes without a word. It was at this moment of mumbling a flaming figure of green smashed into one of the resting ape¡¯s tearing its head off with brutality with its hands. Shocked at the scene the one closest to the few Diana mouth opened wide, ¡°Another beast fuck!¡± Anger flashed within Runes eyes roaring with furry as she smashed into another ape ripping its heart out splashing blood over her body making her look demonic, ¡°Who you calling a beast bitch!¡± The resting apes in the surrounding immediately howled in a rage after two realizing two of their kin had been killed by this frail human and rushed at her with killing intent. But this didn¡¯t faze Rune as she shook her head, ¡°Weaklings! I wanna fight your boss get out of the way!¡± Pointing at the unfazed lager golden ape who was twice the size of the others, Rune snapped her fingers and turned her head up in scorn, ¡°Humph Wabu, Lubu take care of these small fries.¡± Appearing from her wrists wisps of poison and fire spread around her quickly converging into two figures which were a wolf made of elemental fire and snake made of poisonous liquid. ¡°Go, kill all the filthy monkeys don¡¯t touch the humans and demi-humans.¡± At her command, the wolf howled and the snake hissed then they rushed at the attacking apes, while Rune stood still cross-armed staring down the head golden ape with half closed eyes. Diana yelled at the unmoving Rune seeing her crazy actions, ¡°Move idiot! these apes are at the fifth and six level of HBR! If their hands hit you, you''ll be crushed!¡± Rune snorted arrogantly raising her head high, ¡°Humph there''s no need to move. Watch princess.¡± Watching on with fuming anger Diana defended against her opponent every so often she would get a peek at what was happening over at Runes side to only grow more shocked. Bodies were burning and melting all around the black-robed figure. Inhuman beast screams of pain could be head as the apes rolled around on fire and those poisoned foamed at the mouth full of blood bubbles twitching every so often. And the pair who did this damage were just two summoned elemental beasts! Just a single touch made the damage spread, making Diana spin crawl full of chills at this horrifying slaughter. It became so bad that the ape leader couldn¡¯t stand by anymore an in his rage charged at Rune full of fury over the deaths of his subordinates. Shockingly his cultivation level had reached the 7th HBR level! Eyes narrowing Rune moved forward while snapping her fingers recalling her familiars she wanted to fight the big guy by herself. Diana seeing Rune recall her familiars she warned her of facing the leader golden ape leader alone, ¡°Fool! That beast is at the 7th level of HBR! Bring back your familiars or you''ll be killed!¡± But her warnings fell on deaf ears as Rune knocked her fists together a few times then took up her took up her battle stance, ¡°Hush spoiled brat! Watch this Big Sister smash this monkey!¡± Moving her legs started charging the leader golden ape with a bewitching smile, ¡°Come you big sinking monkey you¡¯re reaper has come!¡± Chapter 27 - Scene 2 - Robbery at its Finest Scene 2 - Robbery at it¡¯s finest Fist on fist met head on clash between the two figures, soundwaves exploded outwards, pushing the golden ape leader and Rune apart from each other. Despite the realm advantage, the only damaged part of Rune¡¯s body was her sleeve that was torn to shreds. Eyes flashing with green mana a girlish figure appeared from behind Rune clothed in jesters clothing colored red and purple wearing a mask that had a half smiling and half frowning expression. Rune¡¯s weapon spirit was protecting her this was spirit materialization! Despite not going through the ritual yet like her sister Len, it seemed like the spirit enjoyed the bloodshed and brutality. With a half grin, Rune whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s let loose Roko.¡± Eye flashing a red demonic haze Roko hung around Rune¡¯s body like a specter as they charged back into the fray against the ape. Instead of their first exchange, the exchanged dozens of fist against fist moving causing explosions in the air! At this point in time, Rune¡¯s other sleeve had already exploded away revealing the soft but firm muscle underneath. Th intense fight was felt throughout the room by the remaining apes and contestants making their hair stand on end. Although thanks to her gloves and with Roke protecting her body from the impacts it was still hard to get an opening on the leader ape his fist technique was pretty good for a beast. Though at any time she could finish this fight with poison or fire she didn¡¯t feel like it, after waiting to fight for so long it made her arms itch. Making up her mind Rune thought to Roko while fighting, ¡®Hey Roko can you catch one of his fists?¡¯ In a mature woman''s voice, Roko replied, ¡®If that is your wish then yes I can.¡¯ With the go-ahead Rune began to bait an opening by acting like she was getting weaker and weaker even fooling those watching into thinking she need help. Fake breathing heavily the ape swang wide with his right arm intending to smash Rune¡¯s head into paste while her arms were low. At this point in time, Diana had finished off her golden ape she was facing by piercing his stomach and twisting her greatswords opening a large hole severing the spine in a single action. Turning first to see how Rune was doing and seeing her savior even though was a bitch about to be beheaded yelled, ¡°Watch out!¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Diana quickly rushed forward at this time hope to help block the ape''s fist from smashing into her saviors head only to notice that she didn¡¯t have enough time to reach her! Hair hiding her eyes Rune smiled devilishly at the furious leader ape smashing at her with his fist with a small chuckle looked she looked him in the eyes confidently ¡°Checkmate.¡± *Smack* What should have been Runes'' brain matter spraying the wall instead was Roko¡¯s hand catching the massive fist in her expanded palm. Taking this opening Rune turned her hand into a spear stabbing directly into the leader ape¡¯s exposed throat! Blood splashed upon her but Rune didn¡¯t care about it, in fact, she liked the feeling of blood on her body it felt very welcoming as if it was natural, ¡®Am I sociopath?¡¯ With an absentmindedly thought as she tore out the leader apes throat she and shook her head slightly, ¡®Nah I just wanna see the world burn, nothin wrong with that.¡¯ Despite the mortal wound the leader ape bared its teeth full of its own blood and tried again to smash her to paste. Unfortunately for the leader ape Roku had reached out with her other hand and stopped it. Using her free hand shoved Rune shoved it into the exposed throat cavity of the choking leader ape and tilted her head her eyes filled with a gentle expression, ¡°You tried your best now <>.¡± Red mana flowed from Rune¡¯s cores into her hand building a simple fire spell she had created which was simple, the more mana she added to the spell the hotter it would burn. A fire started gushing forth in the ape''s body expanding the throat passageway as the ape desperately tried to close his mouth from expanding only to fail. In horror Diana watched fire leak out from the ape''s orifices, fire exiting its mouth and nose gushing tongues of fire as its eyes burned away with smoke coming out of its ears. So almost thought she could hear the ape screaming, but then released it was already dead its brain burned to cinders. Yet despite it being her savior still continued to burn the apes body away all while having a gentle expression on her face that almost seemed demonically mystifying. When all was said in done what remained of the ape''s body was a skeleton body and a floating silver talisman. Finishing up with burning her victim to death Rune wiped her hands or her robe and tilted her head with a gentle smile make Diana¡¯s blood to shudder coldly. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve saved you, won¡¯t you pay me? I think 75 percent of your talismans sound good enough what do you think.¡± Diana''s head went into a daze then opened her mouth, ¡°What do you mean sa--¡± Eye¡¯s flashing an evil shade of green Rune summoned Wabu, Lubu with the snap of her fingers making the ex-princess back become drenched in sweat, ¡°Oh? Do I have to take my commission by force?¡± Deep in her heart, Diana felt much heartache, ¡®She isn¡¯t a savior she¡¯s a devil!¡¯ Chapter 27 - Scene 3 - Drugged Scene 3 - Drugged ¡°Hmm Hmmm Hmmm~¡±, Humming along with the path Rune played with a ball of poison in her hands as a ring of fire circled around her. Twisting and turning the glowing green ball of poison in her hands, if looking closer the golden number of 134 flickered in a nice dull glow. ¡°Ah~ It feels good to do the right thing and be rewarded!¡±, After ¡®saving¡¯ the group back from where she came the gave their points to her in such gratitude made Rune feel all warm inside seeing her exposed arm glowing golden. After a while of musing of her accomplishments, Rune stumbled upon a safe room, ¡°Hmmm I am running low on mana it should be a good time to recover and eat.¡± With such thoughts Rune inside after checking her compass to see if anyone was around before deciding to enter meditation to recover her mana. Sitting cross-legged Rune closed her eyes an entered a light sleep, if any sound was made outside she could instantly wake up. |T|H|I|E|F| A few minutes passed by while Rune was meditating, unknowingly a figure had appeared outside her doorway of the safe room. If Ren and Saren were here they would instantly know who this thieving girl was! Soundlessly the girl walked like an assassin as she peeped into the room after checking her compass, ¡®Yup this is a big fish a gold talisman so fast? Lucky me she¡¯s asleep! No, wait she¡¯s meditating guess I gotta use part of my stash oh well.¡¯ Walking away some into the distance Karrin opened her ring and pulled out some dried gray bushels of herbal plants and a breathing mask. Putting the breathing mask on she got to work and pulled out a vial of red liquid, then for final preparations she pulled out a large simple fan. Facing the direction to Rune¡¯s room Karrin nodded that this was far enough taking a breath before working began to get to work. Facing the bushels in front of her she opened the vial of red liquid and poured it over the plant. Instantly the bushel began to decompose into the air spreading a faint gray smoke that was hard to distinguish from the air. As soon as the reaction had been set off Karrin began to fan the smoke throughout the hallway, despite the number of bushels used to make this smoke vast amounts had been created. Cracking a smile in praise Karrin chuckled as she fanned, ¡®Humph with this amount even a beast of the 7th rank would be knocked out for a while much less a mage in the Core Formation stage!¡¯Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Counting the time Karrin felt that it by know this potable mage should be knocked out cold, getting up from her spot walked in cheerfully with a skip in her step walked into the room at ease. Seeing Rune¡¯s current appearance who was laying on her side drooling, Karrin walked up soundlessly and began draining points one by from her all the way until only ten points left. After all, she wasn¡¯t THAT heartless and she wished for that if she released this tiger into the wild she score some more easy points! Transaction complete Karrin started walking away with a grin on her face skipping soundlessly away off into the tunnel without a single issue. She didn¡¯t know that despite knocking out Rune her weapon spirit saw all that happened. |X|R|A|G|E| ¡°THAT LITTLE BITCH I¡¯LL KILL HER!¡± Rune had woken up feeling refreshed shortly after thanks to the poison in her body reducing the effect. Yet she didn¡¯t notice this only that she was embarrassed that she fell asleep while meditating, it was only when Roko told her what happened that she became enraged at being robbed in such a shameless manner! ¡°Only I¡¯m allowed to ro- I mean to be paid my commission!¡±, putting her questionable morals aside Rune was fuming in to have her hard work stolen by a slacker. Pouting like a girl Rune stormed out of the safe room and turned to Roko, ¡°Which way did she go?¡± Pointing to the left Rune started walking in that direction with such thoughts as, ¡®Wait till I get my hand you midget I¡¯ll show you what true pain is like when I get my hands on you! Thanks to Roko telling me what you look like it¡¯ll be easy to find you!¡¯ Playing with flames in her hands Rune¡¯s green eyes showed an evil glint, ready to tear this little thief to shreds! Unfortunately, it seems the heavens had turned a blind eye as the labyrinth started to change once again. Pulling her hair Rune landed on her knees yelling, ¡°Are you kidding me?!?¡± With the path now randomized Rune mood for revenge festered for awhile before she got up and began to move again. Thinking about it since the thief was long gone she could hope to meet the thief once again. ¡®If I ever get my hands on you little bitch, I¡¯m going beat you up so bad that your own mother won¡¯t even recognize you!¡¯ Gambling along the path Rune¡¯s ears perked up over the familiar sounds of battle, ¡°Eh? A battle close by? Time to ro-- I mean to earn some commission!¡± Quicking her pace to the direction of the battle Rune secretly hoped that little thief would be here so she could get her revenge while she was fighting! Walking into the room Rune froze at the scene in front of her something she couldn¡¯t imagine, hundreds of contestants and beasts were fighting each other in a battle royal in front of her and within the center of it all was Xue besieged by both factions by her lonesome a golden talisman flickered upon her arm. Seeing her sister exhausted figure being attacked by the other contestant''s greed pushed back any ideas about the little girl who stole from her. Anger filled Rune entire being as poison and fire flickered on top of her body. Green mana blazing from her eyes Rune charged straight into the fray howling at the top of her lungs, ¡°HOW DARE YOU TRASH PICK ON MY LITTLE SISTER! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS!¡± Chapter 28 - Scene 1 - The Hunt Scene 1 - The Hunt As Xue silver slitted eyes narrowed at the incoming attackers smashing them away whenever they came into her strike zone. Despite her overwhelming power of her hammer, she couldn¡¯t bring out the full power with so many enemies around her making ahead come on as she smashed another hound away, ¡®How did I end up in the annoying predicament? Oh yeah, it began like that¡­¡¯ |G|R|E|E|D| Minutes before Xue was walking through the hallway with her hammer over her arm and Mear was floating around by her side eating an apple bored out of her mind, ¡°Hey Master when are we going to find some prey to hunt it¡¯s so boring walking without finding anything.¡± Checking her compass, absentmindedly Xue replied, ¡°Nothing is on the scan Mear we¡¯ll eventually find some more monsters soon so calm down.¡± ¡°Oh come on~ where are they hiding they should be grateful to be hunted by us!¡±, While pouting Mear placed her arms around Xue''s neck to see for herself if Xue''s eyes were working right. Despite her metal arms around her neck, they felt oddly warm to the touch, which felt very comforting so Xue didn¡¯t push Mear away. Scratching her head Xue tilted her head into Mear¡¯s then she put away the compass and started scratching Mears ear, ¡°Don¡¯t worry afterall we good lucky in the beginning to get a gold talisman already, I already count that as win and we have fourteen days to let loose there is bound to be things to fight.¡± Purring slightly by Xue¡¯s touch Mear hang lazily on her master, being spoiled while her master walked along. Suddenly the labyrinth began to shift and turn around her making the two instantly go on full alert. Pulling out her compass again Xue checked it once again and her skin started growing cold, watching her master reaction Mear checked the compass it shouldn¡¯t be ¡®THAT¡¯ bad. But getting a peek at the compass Xue turned to her master with a forced smile, ¡°I know I said I wanted to fight some prey but not this many it¡¯s in the hundreds!?¡± Turning around Xue didn¡¯t feel like fighting such numbers, only to see every exit had collapsed except the one leading to the hundreds of contestants. Gritting her teeth Xue started walking forward out to the exit maybe with all the fight she could sneak out one of the passageways and escape. Opening her eyes wide saw a scene that made her blood boil, countless beasts and contestants were fighting in front of her. Blood was flying everywhere along with limbs it was pure utter chaos catching the scent made her body shudder making her own blood boil with excitement. Her cat eyes narrowing blood rush to her head as a contestant rushed at her with a dagger from her right, dodging the blow Xue grabbed his now exposed arm and broke it by swinging her hammer downward shattering the shoulder bone.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The contestant howled in pain for a moment before Xue sent a punch straight into his face knocking him unconscious with a few shattered teeth coming out. Then she dragged the body back into the starting room talking his points went out to go ¡®hunt¡¯ more. Xue¡¯s thought process had been overwritten by the beast blood flowing through her veins right now her starting hallway had become her territory and anyone who came inside would be considered enemies! Heading back out Xue smiled showing her canine teeth she expressed her glee, ¡°Let''s hunt!¡± Scanning the horizon set her sights on a weakened opponent who just finished a three-legged beast. In a flash, Xue showed up behind the contestant like a phantom making the girl contestant sweat with fear she tried to turn around only to feel Xue¡¯s iron grip choking her into submission. With her unconscious prey now in procession, Xue dragged the contestant to her ¡®cave¡¯ where then she took the poor girls talismans. And so Xue began to attack contestants hunting them one by one. But not only contestants beasts as well dominating them and placing them inside her hammer world after all she had a quota to meet. It all went well until a shadow beast sneak attacked Xue, thankfully she managed to dodge narrowly only that its claw stuck her sleeve where her talismans lay. With a rip golden light was exposed revealing her the number of points she had acquired. Nearby contestants saw the shine and their eyes turned from shock to greed. One of the contestants loudly reported reaching the surrounding area, ¡°That girl has a golden talisman!¡± Information soon spread throughout the whole area that someone was possession of a golden talisman filing the air full of greed. ¡°Hey, man wanna team up? We can split the points 50/50 what do you say?¡± ¡°Deal! Screw hunting these beasts they are too hard of a bone to chew!¡± Such thoughts and decisions filled the room made Xue wake up from her beastial thoughts feeling all of the eyes on she froze. Those haunting eyes made her feel weak exposed as if the world wanted to swallow her. Short on breath sweat appeared on her body as the eye closed on her with vicious smiles. Hands shaking Xue wielded her hammer loosely, then a metallic hand appeared on her shoulder. Turning her eyes Xue saw Mears resolute expression filled without fear, without shaking, without weakness. Standing in a daze Xue asked her voice shaking with fear, ¡°How can you deal with all of those eyes Mear? How can you be so confident? Why are you so strong?!¡± Petting her masters head Near smiled warmly, ¡°Need the strong fear the weak? Look at them. And you will see that they are good enough to make you fear.¡± "I can¡¯t¡­ I just can''t!¡± Shaking her head holding her hammer with barely any grip holding her head down. Seeing her master expression of helplessness placed her hand on Xue''s chin and raised it forcing her to face they eyes closing in. ¡°Look at that one he pissed himself and is now charging at you. And that one he''s lost the use of his right arm. And that one is wounded all over.¡± One by one Mear pointed out the faults of contestants forming around them making the group more and more angry-making them curse under their breath. One of the more angry contestants a large man with a war axe roared with fury after being called fat, ¡°I''m not fat you bitch! I''m just big boned! Kill her!¡± As the big fellow charged at Xue felt her fear started to fade away to the point it became forgotten, ¡®Right why am I afraid of these weaklings?¡¯ Clutching her tightly Xue¡¯s silver eyes hardened like Mears resolute eyes, ¡°I am the hunter!¡± Filled with confidence Xue entered the fray. Chapter 28 - Scene 2 - Lets Fight! Scene 2 - Let''s fight! Charging at the large bearlike contestant Xue roared the top of her lungs in a beast growl meeting his overhead axe swing with her hammer. Brute strength versus brute strength collided an as expected the large bearlike contestant axe was smashed to pieces with shrapnel exploding in all directions. Before he could recover from his shock Xue grabbed his wrist and broke it in two snapping the bone. Dropping his useless handle over the pain in his broken wrist in pain he was about scream, ¡®You bitch!¡¯ Only too feel Xue¡¯s claws over his neck like cold daggers ready to rip his throat out at a moment''s notice. Parting her seductive red lips Xue said with a growl that made the bearlike man almost faint, ¡°Your talismans or your life? Ten seconds before I rip out your neck.¡± Sweating intently the bearlike man gave up leaving the tournament fearing for his life. Grabbing the talismans Xue lifted her hammer over her shoulder and held her head out to the frozen contestants around her. Eyeing them she smirked it really was how Mear said what did she need to fear? She had her mask after all! Then she provoked the surrounding people making a come-on gesture showing that she didn¡¯t care for their numbers at all for she had strength! A few hot-headed youths seeing Xue¡¯s arrogant display despite just moments ago her taking down the bear with ease charged at her with killing intent! If this was the old Xue then she would have been frozen stuck not able to move. The fear that controlled her for most of her memory seemed to fade away as long as she wore this mask she was free. She was the hunter. Not holding back Xue jumped into the group of contestants and beast and began her rampage, knocking out beasts and throwing them into her hammer realm or beating contestants black and blue throwing them out of the exam. It got to the point the beasts and contestants felt that Xue was such a threat that they stopped fighting each other and began attacking Xue together who was currently in the center of the battlefield. By now the scent of flesh and blood was thick in the air making Xue¡¯s blood boil with excitement making her crack her fingers with glee as one foe after another came at her. With so many enemies attacking her hammer became a hassle to wield in such waves Xue then made the choice to turn her hammer back into a keychain and started fighting on all fours. Kicking, punching, clawing Xue used every part of her body to knock out the incoming forces, it got to the point that she couldn¡¯t stop herself from heavily injuring them tearing off body parts or severing ligaments. Flashes of light, body parts and blood flew in all directions soon Xue was drenched in blood as her points kept going higher and higher. If it was this much then she would be an unbreakable wall earning points with ease things turned for the worse when some true experts started gunning for her.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The shadow beast from before was still launching sneak attacks on her and two powerful contestants had entered the fray. A Male saber user and a female equipped with a set of gauntlets and greaves both attacked Xue relentlessly using the beasts and contestants as body shields. Slowly but surely under these factors, Xue started to feel pressure from all sides, to the point that she finally took her first wound in this battle on her shoulder. Then another cut followed soon after more light injuries kept piling up on, it felt to her that ants were nipping at her heels in the thousands and she couldn¡¯t stomp them all. It annoyed Xue to no end that the Saber and the Gauntlet user were working together seamlessly like as if they''ve known each other for years defending each other back. All while the shadow beast hidden in the shadows attacking Xue when it saw an opening. ¡®Should I help you, master?¡¯, Mear whispered in Xue¡¯s mentally hoping to run wild on the battlefield. Xue moved out of the sabers way and blocking the gauntlets users high kick while breaking a dagger users arm that lunged at her. The annoying shadow beast took this chance while Xue was overextended aiming for her neck only to dug into her shoulder blade shallowly making a thin line of blood appear. Xue didn''t have much time to reply to Mears question, ¡°I wanna win by myself to prove that I have become strong. I have too! ¡° Mear nodded her head in approval although Xue couldn''t see it, ¡®If you want to win then you must take risks!¡¯ Hearing Mears word of encouragement Xue finally pulled out her hammer again changing it into a one-handed war hammer. Eyes narrowing Xue rushed at the saber user hammer in hand with a beast roar. Seeing Xue give up defending he smiled and thrust forward intent on piercing through her! Xue gritted her teeth and kept charging the thrusting blade aimed at her heart! Seeing this the saber boy sneered, ¡°As expected of a cornered beast impaling itself on my blade. Die!¡± Snorting coldly Xue cladding her hand with qi she grabbed the saber barehanded! Holding it with an iron grip as blood flowed from her hand but she didn''t care. Smashing downwards with her hammer full of fury onto the sabers user weapon hand shattering his arm bone into pieces. The gauntlet user cried out fear as Xue moved to break the swordsman other arm, ¡°Get away from Ryluu!¡± The girl smashed her hand forward at Xue''s head forcing her to give up and retreat. Grabbing the person named Ryluu the girl retreated backward off into the distance before Xue could finish them off. ¡®Tsk. Good prey got away.¡¯, laughing at herself over her way of not going for the kill when she had the chance she kept fighting in the center. Now at the present Xue had finished her thoughts more powerful challengers appeared making her feel a headache come, ''When will they stop coming?¡¯ She was exhausted from her battle after battle fight after fight to the point he qi reserves were quite low wounds had appeared all over her body. It was at this time Xue felt she had done enough and was about to call for Mear when a sudden voice traveled through the room full of rage, ¡°HOW DARE YOU TRASH PICK ON MY LITTLE SISTER! I WILL HAVE YOUR HEADS!¡± Chapter 28 - Scene 3 - Sisters Rampage Scene 3 - Sisters Rampage The people around Rune looked over at the screaming girl with wide eyes, ¡®There is another monster?!?¡¯ It was at that point a contestant nearby saw Runes talisman number that was a dull silver and shouted laughing, ¡°Fear not guys she only has ten points it''ll be an easy fight!¡± Xue looked over at Rune after smashing a contestant away and was shocked at her enraged expression, ¡®I¡¯ve never seen her like this what happened to big sister?¡¯ Eyes lighting up an evil green Rune hands and feet started to be covered in poison and flame taking up a claw stance with her hands Filled with utter rage Runes next words made the surrounding beasts and contestants sweat with fear, ¡°Heads are going to fly.¡± After building her magic Rune started dashing forward going first after the contestant that talked crap about her. Scalp going numb being charged by the girl on fire and poison he tried to run away only that it was a useless endeavor. Whisper in his ear, ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± Shoving her poison claw hand into the poor contestants back the man''s chest exploded into gore. In her hand was the boy''s heart that''s still beating turn pitch black as the rest of his body slowly turned black. The contestant''s bright eyes faded and went splat on the floor as Rune removed her hand from his chest staring at her hand. Trembling with fear the beast''s and contestants couldn''t move a muscle after witnessing such brutality. Eventually, one of the wolf-beasts like a cornered rat charged at Rune it couldn''t take the stress anymore. Looking up at the wolf around the 4th HBR charge at her she smiled changing to meet the wolf head on. When she was in range Rune took her flaming hand and smashed it into there wolves skull making the crown of the head cave in making brain matter splash everywhere. But Rune wasn''t done as she burned the wolfs innards to cinder making it a flaming corpse. Taking the talismans from her kills Rune stood up at that point and started making way to her sister Xue location slaughtering along the way.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Many beasts and contestants couldn''t seem to move out of the way standing there helplessly as a trail of burnt and black bodies lay in her wake. Xue was still fighting off contestants and beasts alike all while watching her big sister come closer. Looking at her expression Xue didn''t know how to react as if something had taken over her body. Soon enough Rune had reached Xue then with a snap of her fingers put a shield of fire around the two. Then she deactivated the fire and poison on her body eye turning gentle Rune hugged her little sister, ¡°Xue! Did these bastards bully you? Ah! You got wounds everywhere on your body here! Drink this tier one potion!¡± Seeing her big sister act this why made Xue laugh inwardly thinking stupid thoughts of thinking something had taken over her big sister. Taking the potion from her sister drinking it in one go Xue then expressed her thanks, ¡°Thank you for helping big sister it was getting tough to keep fighting!¡± Eyes igniting once again with an evil green glow placing her hand on her sister''s shoulder turned her eyes toward the fire barrier, ¡°So they were bullying you! Humph! Rest inside here little sister I shall gather their heads!¡± Turning around ready to leave the barrier she put up Xue grabbed her arm startling her, ¡°Sister doesn''t mindlessly kill, please? And I''m fine now my wounds are minor anyways I''ll help you beat them up!¡± Rune looked at Xue strangely and replied, ¡°Why? Those people are small fry why should I care?¡± Xue looked stunned, ''What did big sister experience to act so cold?!?¡¯ ¡°Sister, why do you view their lives to be so meaningless?¡± Rune gave her little sister alike it was obvious, ¡°They are not family. This is a competition remember what we were told in the beginning kill or team up it doesn''t matter just gain 100 points. And that they decided to bully my good little sister they deserve death. After all, I have the power to do so!¡± Sighing Xue tried one last time, ¡°Don¡¯t kill intentionally big sister, please? Can''t you just maim them so they can''t move? It''s your little sister''s selfish request.¡± Seeing Xue expression the evil glow in Runes eyes went down a shade. Then she petted Xue¡¯s head and faintly smiled, ¡°Fine. I''ll just hurt this guy''s a lot¡­ Are you ready to go now?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Building up fire and poison in her hands Rune deactivated the shield surrounding them, ¡°Let''s go!¡± |+|R|E|S|T| Time passed in a blink of an eye and in the room that was full of beasts and contestants alike sat two figures on a pile of moaning bodies unable to move thanks to certain figures poison. Xue stretched her arms while sitting on a wolf beasts body, ¡°Well that was pretty fun big sister! Shall we head out after collecting all these talismans?¡± Drinking a bottle of water on a self-made throne of bodies Rune nodded in agreement, ¡°Yes we can. By luck, I know a nearby safe room we can rest there for a break sound good?¡± With a nod to confirm the plan the two sisters began ¡®dismantling¡¯ the pile of bodies storing the good shape beasts inside Xue''s hammer realm and killing the rest to get their talismans. For the contestants that still held their life, they drained their talismans away. Unfortunately, despite defeating many opponents many others had escaped after figuring out the two sisters process giving the sibling about two-hundred or so points each. Chapter 28 - Scene 4 - Confrontation Scene 4 - Confrontation Now in the safe room, the two sisters leaned on a nearby wall relaxing. Next, by them was their spirit weapons floating around out of boredom awaiting their next task. ¡°Ah, sister we''re all bloody¡­ It stinks I wanna take a bath...¡±, Xue pouted, feeling the stench of blood sticking to her body and clothes. Rune looked at Xue and then noticed the smell and stickiness on her body as well. She gave Xue a strange look, ¡°Do you wanna get clean?¡± Xue looked at her sister in awe, eyes shining, ¡°You brought along a bath?!?¡± Looking away from her sisters gaze Rune blushed, ¡°It isn''t exactly a bath since I didn''t bring enough water. It''s something else¡­¡± Tilting her head in confusion, Xue replied, ¡°If it''s not water what is it? Whatever it is, I''ll use it. This smell is unbearable!¡± Rune smiled and blushed, then rummaged through her ring storage, ¡°You sure?¡± Not understanding why her sister was so hesitant, Xue replied with annoyance in her voice. ¡°Yes, I can handle it anymore! How am I going to get to sleep with this covering me!¡± ¡°Alright then. Don''t say I didn''t warn you.¡±, Rune had a stiff smile while she pulled out a wooden tub and a large clear flask with a small stone floating inside it. Rune¡¯s face was frozen stiff and her eyes hollow as she poured the flask into the wooden tub. Xue felt something was off with her big sister¡¯s expression and tried to walk away, only to feel a warm body latch onto her in an iron grip. Fear clawed up Xue¡¯s back, ¡°S-s-sister? What are you doing?!? What is that noise, it sounds disgusting!¡± A monotone, faint whisper entered Xue¡¯s ear., ¡°Don''t worry, big sister will enter together with you.¡± Turning her head, Xue saw a clear object squirming rhythmically, its glowing blue eye stone shining brightly at the two sisters as if it were regarding a snack. Xue struggled to break free of Rune¡¯s iron grip, ¡°On second thought I don''t need a bath big sister. Why are we inching closer? Let me go, please? Stop sister, please? Don''t bully your little sister! You''re joking, right? Right?¡± But Xue¡¯s pleas were for naught, and Rune¡¯s continued to show the same, stiff smile, ¡°Don''t worry, it''ll only take a few minutes and we''ll be clean. Endure it!¡± ¡°I don''t wanna endure it! Besides, what happens if someone walks in!¡± ¡°Don''t worry, Mear and Roko can watch the entrance. Now let''s dive in.¡± Xue''s forehead began to sweat as she became increasingly frantic,¡°You''re kidding right big sister this is all a big joke, right? Haha, you got me. Now let me go!¡± ¡°Don''t worry, the slime will be gentle. Leave it in the hands of your big sister.¡± As they inched ever closer to the wooden tub Xue struggled more and more, trying to escape her sister¡¯s grasp. ¡°No no no no no! Stop it, big sister! No. NOOOOOOO!¡± *Splash* ¡°NOOOOOOOooooooo¡­¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡­ ¡°You''re a bully big sis,¡± sulked Xue, clutching her body tightly with a blanket. The terrifying experience had left her feeling betrayed and violated. Rune stared back with a dull gaze, absently tossing a small ball of fire from hand to hand, ¡°It wasn''t that bad. We did it together and got clean, right?¡± Xue shivered with tears in her eyes, Mear holding onto her for support, ¡°I don''t think I can marry anymore¡­¡± ¡°What marriage? You''re too shy little sis.¡± ¡°Why you!¡± |N|I|G|H|T| Time passed, and before long the first day came to a close. Despite being spread out, none of the siblings were eliminated from the contest, and a few had even formed teams. Len lay licking her wounds, uncertain about her path. Ren and Nena sat together with Jao and ate food together merrily. The twins bickered while Drake tried to sleep his eyes bloodshot. Saren ate in silence while reading a book, his weapons spirit sitting cross-legged near the safe room entrance. Vince felt tired after fending off the jungle girls who insisted on sleeping together in his sleeping bag. ¡°Rune would kill me,¡± he told them ¡°No.¡± Rune and Xue despite their minor argument, slept in each other''s arms as their weapon spirits guarded the entranceway. |C|U|R|S|E| When the two sisters were deep asleep, Mear spoke with Roko, her eyes full of seriousness, ¡°Why are you acting like a curse weapon? Do you want to be ''erased¡¯?¡± Roko tilted her head to the side raising her hand under her chin,¡°Whatever do you mean? I was just helping my new Master fulfill her desires.¡± Mear snorted. ¡°Cut the bullshit jester, before entering this labyrinth she wasn''t this bloodthirsty. What did you do to my master''s big sister?¡± Roko chuckled, and her eyes narrowed to small beads, ¡°I didn''t do anything foolish feline, she travels the path of the Asura. This is written in blood since a time before our time. Master¡¯s little play will be nothing more than a joke when she grows up.¡± Mears¡¯ eyes widened with shock, ¡°An Asura! Why are you not keeping her in check! If she falls too low she''ll fall and become a d--¡± Roke cut Mears off with a laugh, raising her arms wide to her sides. ¡°I can''t. No matter what I do, she won''t listen to me, despite her charming appearance! The main thing in her mind besides her family is revenge! If I take that away from her she''ll never grow as powerful as my old master. I''m willing to risk it. Risk being called a cursed weapon and destroyed if I have a chance to reach a higher realm and become a God Slayer!¡± ¡°You''re mad!¡± Roko shook her head in displeasure, ¡°I''m not mad you just don''t have the resolve!¡± Side Story - 009 - The Twelve? Side Story - 009 - The Twelve Sitting cross-legged Game Master Sao was frowning while drinking away from a flask of wine mulling over data and the labyrinth setting. ¡°That damn seed girl, what''s her name? Xue! Thanks to her my plans have been ruined! I was planning on that Cyclops covering this area to make the test harder! Now I have to use a Useless beast hoard for this place! Those ''seeded¡¯ bastards are forcing me to dig lower into the labyrinth layers and pull up more powerful beasts. You are ruining the balance you bastards! Humph! No wonder those younglings what to ramp up the test up!¡± Mumbling to himself aloud he started messing with the labyrinth algorithm typing on floating screens around him. Around him, a few disciples were sorting through the contestant''s data ranging from their battle prowess to their fighting techniques. It was a chaotic battle in itself numbers could be heard crunching and descriptions being written down while other files were removed when another contestant was eliminated. One of the disciples who we meet before the glasses one had walked up to his master to give him a message, ¡°Grand Elder I ha--¡± Spit exploded into the disciples face Sao was livid, ¡°You bastard! Didn''t I tell you to call me Game Master! What don''t you get here I''ll spell it out for your thick head G-a-m-e M-a-s-t-e-r! Taking the verbal abuse naturally the disciple bowed his head apologizing, ¡°Disciple has made a mistake Game Master!¡± The old fart snorted, ¡°Humph, whatever what do you want number 289 can''t you see I''m stirring up potential and discarding trash! What could be more important than this?¡± While bowing to disciple 289 reported, ¡°Game Master the seventh day is almost over and ''the twelve¡¯ are ready to head out will you not say any words to them? After all, they are your main pieces the ''bosses¡¯.¡± Hearing about his bosses the old man had a rare smile crossed his face. Turning his head in another old man Sao saw the number 67 stitched on her robe and yelled at him, ¡°Number 67 take care of the command post for thirty minutes I''ll be back by then!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Leaving 67 to take over managing old Sao was led away by number 289 to another room nearby where the two entered inside. With a smile on his face, Sao scanned the room and took note one by one of the figures and nodded in approval but stopped when he counted thirteen.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Turning to 289 with a frown Sao spat, ¡°Didn''t I say I only wanted twelve bosses?! Why is there one extra don''t you idiots know how to count!¡± 289 nodded his head in approval, ¡°Twelve were picked but Sect Master Celia included an extra Gemini stating that the necromancers twin should be added as they are a pair and considered one entity.¡± Snorting in displeasure looked the twins and looked away in displeasure, ¡°I''ll only allow it as long as you move together. If you ever move away from each other I''ll kick you out of my labyrinth!¡± The black-haired twins nodded their heads in acknowledgment staying silent. Seeing them agree old Sao continued talking, ¡°Thanks for picking up this mission and being my chess pieces for this exam you brats. Now let''s get the rules down if you forgot to read the doves sent to you.¡± Pulling out twelve cards from his ring of holding Sao took a moment to think and split one of the cards in half which then formed into two exact same cards. When finished Sao began to explain to the thirteen pawns, ¡°The rules are simple you brats, everyday go around and ¡®hunt¡¯ contestants and force them to pay 100 talismans every 24 hours if they don''t, draw them into this card world and battle them. If they lose and keep their lives kick them out; if you somehow lose to those newbies they¡¯ll get a full pardon, 100 talismans, and won''t have to face another boss for the remainder time. Next is you be acting as one of the guardians on these zodiac symbol cards as follows; Gemini, Libra, Scorpio, Taurus, Virgo, Sagittarius, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Capricorn, Leo, and Cancer.¡± Throwing the cards at the youths old man Sao turned around and walked away and almost reached the exit only to her a soothing female voice from behind him, ¡°Game Master Sao I have one question do we have a limit of how many people can enter this world a day?¡± Turning his head with a vein popping in his forehead turned to the girl holding the Virgo card, ¡°None you are free to do as you like as long as you follow the rules, remember you are getting rewarded for getting talismans and removing contestants.¡± With that old man, Sao left disciple 289 with the thirteen card holders his face expressionless while in fount of these inner disciples who gave off a powerful aura. Virgo turned her slender neck towards a man holding the Leo card his muscles built like steel dressed in black robes. ¡°Senior Apprentice Brother Vulkin shall we have a contest on how many points we can farm? Loser has to listen to the request of the winner what do you say? Do you dare?¡± Vulkin raised and eyebrow scratching his hair in embarrassment, ¡°I fear Junior Apprentice Sister that your thoughts are impure I¡¯ll have to decline such a bet.¡± Laughing card holder Scorpio hid his face in embarrassment, ¡°You¡¯re scared Vulkin? What happened to your saying of, ¡®No one can defeat me. I am the strongest!¡¯ Can¡¯t you take on a simple bet? If you won¡¯t I will! What do you say guys winner gets to ask the losers any one thing and they have to do it what do you say?¡± ¡°I Dare.¡± ¡°Sure pay me sweets when I win.¡± ¡­ One by one the ¡®bosses¡¯ jumped in agreeing to the bet leaving Leo alone in backing out to the point his pride couldn¡¯t take it. With a sigh full of contempt Leo raised his hand, ¡°Fine, fine if you guys insist that badly then lets bet! I just wanted to relax and earn some easy points you guys take it too far!¡± Seeing all the ¡®bosses¡¯ pumped up ready to lay waste to the contestant''s disciple 289 inwardly shook his head, ¡®Their is going to be fewer contestants joining the sect this year. I wonder how those seeds will react?¡¯ Chapter 29 - Scene 1- 2nd Examination Begins! Scene 1 - 2nd Examination Begins! Time passed by in a blink of an eye, the contestants were spread out on their groups taking it easy or battling for points it was the seventh day and everything was going well. The contestants didn''t really know what day it was with no sun to tell the time a few of them felt irritated by this notion. A notable sized group led by Jayce and Diana were walking confidently together battling with monsters that crossed their path. This group, when finished with each battle, would be split the talismans evenly to those who fought. With her giant greatsword on her back, Diana laughed wildly watching her group slaughter their way through beasts like paper, ¡°Didn''t I tell you Jayce? A group would work! This exam is too easy humph!¡± Jayce walked alongside the ex-princess with one eye closed, ¡°This feels too easy princess I feel that this plan will fail.¡± Waving her hand away Diana continued, ¡°You worry too much. Ever since the first day, we haven''t seen one of those ''Monsters¡¯ coming around and messing with us. And look everyone in the group has more than 100 points! Some of us even have close too two hundred what possibly could go wrong?¡± A foreboding feeling filled Jayce¡¯s stomach at Diana¡¯s overconfidence and soon that feeling comes to fruition. An hour before the seven days passed a voice was heard throughout the entire labyrinth of a lovely voice resounded for all to here. ¡°Hello, there potential Junior Apprentice brothers and sisters! Congratulations on making it halfway through the exam this big sister is proud of you! Now for some great news, the second exam is starting!¡± Whispers of unease came from contestants wondering what this other exam entrailed. Letting their minds wander for a tad the cheerful girl next words made the contestants shudder in fear, ¡°The twelve ¡®bosses¡¯ shall be released into the labyrinth hunting you! But don''t worry if they catch you all you have to do is pay the 100 talisman fee! You will then be ''safe¡¯ for 24 hours! If you don''t have enough talismans to pay the fee then you can only blame your bad luck and fight one of my Senior Apprentice Brother or Sisters!~ Oh yeah, I should mention that they''re at the 9th HBR level as well, so good luck fighting them if you have to! Last but least they won''t be hunting you 24 hours a day they will only hunt for 8 hours. This ends your briefing Juniors I wish you good luck in not being caught! The ¡®bosses¡¯ will be released in one hour from now happy hunting!~¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. With that, the voice cut off leaving the contestants in the labyrinth stunned at what was to come. Even the good air surrounding Diana¡¯s group turned sour at this point as the group intentionally or unintentionally started to form groups of twos and threes. It seems that greed had returned to the group as people started eyeing the points on their fellow contestant''s arms. Seeing this Jayce gave Diana a look, ¡®I told you so princess.¡¯ To which Diana rolled her eyes and moved forward before anyone started something that couldn¡¯t be taken back, ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen don¡¯t let this new exam divide us! As long as we face these bosses together we can easily win! They are only at the 9th HBR level they are not some monster we can face.¡± Despite her best intentions another youth stood forwards laughing at her, ¡°Dear princess you can say that since you have two hundred points what¡¯s to stop you from leaving if the fight gets too tough? Franky with things how it is none of us will pass this way so I suggest¡­¡± A foreboding feeling crawled over Diana¡¯s stomach feeling something amiss widened her eyes, ¡°Don¡¯t do it!¡± The youth didn¡¯t bat an eyelash as he stabbed a dagger into a nearby contestant and then twisted the blade making the victims eyes grow wide full of anger. The victim tried to counter-attack at this moment but the savage youth who stabbed him ruthlessly tore open his guts spilling out intestines on the ground. Overtaken with pain the victim held his guts in his hands as blood from his lungs was coughed up. Words struggled to form into something meaningful, ¡°R-re-return¡­¡± A glow appeared about the youth dragging him out of the labyrinth with his wounds so heavy no one thought he¡¯d make it help in time. Witching the eyes of the youth as he disappeared made her feel mad at herself for not releasing sooner this youths plans. Unhooking her greatsword from her back Diana rushed straight towards the youth screaming with fury, ¡°Duyu! You dare strike down a comrade I shall have your head and bury it with him!¡± The youth smiled with a jesting smile as he ran away in the other direction not intending to take on a greatsword using only a dagger. In her fit of rage Diana almost didn¡¯t notice three attacks coming at her from the back, left and right of her. Gritting her teeth Diana charged at the closest attacker to her left and smashed away his spear with her greatsword. In trust, Diana yelled, ¡°Jayce get the guy behind me, Garundi deal with the right! Strawberry shoot Duyu¡¯s legs out.¡° Giving her orders out Jayce impaled the guy behind Diana with his spear, while to her left Garundi a big tall dark skinned man smashed the contestant away into the sidewall. With a clear shot of Duyu, the rabbit beast girl Strawberry took aim with her repeater crossbow and shot out Duyu¡¯s legs making him fall flat on his face with a scream. With a snort, Diana knocked back the spear user and dashed forward towards Duyu. Fear crept over Duyu as he tried to crawl away pitifully, but Diana was soon upon him with vengeance. Holding her blade high like an executioner Diana''s eyes were half closed full of disgust, ¡°Repent in your next life Duya for your betrayal.¡± Feeling the hand of death on him Duyu tried to speak, ¡°R-r-retu--¡± Diana¡¯s blade swung downwards without mercy severing his head sending it flying away in an arc through the air. Blood splattered like a fountain spraying everywhere as Duyu¡¯s body twitched underneath Diana. Turning around expressionless the group of contestants was silent at the sudden turn of events. Flicking her blade to remove the blood Diana resheathed her blade and growled seemingly still mad, ¡°Whoever wants to kill a comrade will have to answer my blade!¡± Chapter 29 - Scene 2 - Bosses Unleashed Scene 2 - Bosses Unleashed In the hallway, the group of contestants stood still like sticks. Just a moment ago they were a unified group slaughtering beast, but now murder had unfolded after the 2nd exam announcement. And then Diana who gathered this group killed the transgressor Duyu sending his head flying into the air. Now the air was thick with tension as Diana stood at attention waiting for next words. She didn''t disappoint holding he fist against her chest she decreed, ¡°We are at a crossroads comrades! Do you think that with your strength alone you can last in this labyrinth? Wrong! With our large group, we have taken many large breasts together and stopped others from robbing us! We are weak alone but together we are strong! The only way we can make it through this exam is we work together as one group! Now if you wish to leave you may do so I won''t stop you. Those wishing to fight together stay here!¡± Silence took over the group once more with people stuck on the fence on what to do. It wasn¡¯t until one youth eyes turned from struggling to determination and started walking away. Seeing him action of walking away more people decided to follow after him. Soon the group of twenty-five people was reduced to thirteen people dead people included. When Diana saw them leave she could only shake her head inwardly in displeasure. ¡®Fools.¡¯ When the last person had left Diana nodded her head in approval naturally Jayce, Strawberry, and Garundi had stayed together with her. And the rest who stayed were the fairly strong ones out of the group. Only now she had to lead these people who decided to follow her into passing these exams to the best of her ability. ¡°Let''s head out and go hunt for more talismans.¡± Nods of approval came from her group as they got into formation. Soon after as they left in the other direction fighting could be heard of their ex-party killing each other.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Shaking her head in displeasure Diana kept moving forward without looking back, ''Truly foolish.¡¯ |D|I|A|N|A| Time passed by and with each minute that went by the newfound tension in the air slowly constricted around Diana''s group. Soon the hour would be up and the bosses would be released into the labyrinth. Even their hunting speed got affected by to the point that Diana had to speak words of encouragement, ¡°Heh, why are you guys afraid? They''re just some 9th HBR experts heck your big sister here is almost at the peak of the 7th HBR realm! As long as I''m here I won''t let them bully you guys so just relax and let''s farm this beast!¡± Her words seemed to ease her comrades nerves a great deal to the point. Right, what did they have to fear as a group? They were all strong to make it to this point!¡± Feeling confident now the group refocused their efforts into hunting beasts to make as many points as they could. Jayce and Garundi took over the vanguard sweeping through the hallway switching out with other contestants when needed. Seeing the teamwork mad Diana glad as she smashed a hind bears head in with her great sword. It was at this time when their teamwork was at its peak the announcement of the bosses being released came through. ¡°The zodiac has been released good luck contestants!¡± Diana''s smile disappeared eyes turning serious, ¡®So it begins. I hope I''m strong enough.¡± |L|I|B|R|A| ¡°Man when was the last time I visited the labyrinth? How nostalgic reminds me of the time I spent here when elder brother dragged me over here for training.¡± Basking in the air the tall young man whose long dark blue hair flowed down his shoulders in a neat manner placed a fan upon his lips. When he finished memory lane he began walking along in his gambeson clothing making little noise. His triangle blue pupils glowing faintly in the darkness giving his facial features an enchanting emotion that seemed to draw the light around him. At this point he pulled up the card given to him by old man Sao and a compass that compared to the contestants made was of a better quality. On his card could be seen the words Libra in runic language showing a picture of a vast black sand desert that seemed to go on endlessly. The only object that appeared inside the card showed a large scale in the middle he already knew its purpose, ¡®What a nasty old fart that Grand Elder is, do you really want to break those newbies dao hearts so badly?¡¯ Blowing away such thoughts Libra put his card back into his pocket and kept moving forward with a compass in hand. Checking the details of his compass he could see three times the total amount to a normal contestant. And the best part was that he could see all pathways in a 3-D model showing every contestants location in real time. Checking his compass Libra saw a group of dot¡¯s nearby and smiled, ¡°Ah some easy marks, well let''s get hunting shall we?¡± Take a step forward Libra¡¯s speed increased by a huge amount twisting and turning through the labyrinth with ease closing in on the unfortunate group. It took him only ten-odd minutes to reach the group and he appeared in front of them laughing. ¡°Hello, newbies! Ready to play a game?¡± Chapter 29 - Scene 3 - Useless! Scene 3 - Useless! Diana''s group grew tense once again check in their surroundings readying their weapons. Even Jayce straightened up his attitude keeping his eyes open staring at every shadow to death. Seeing this Diana knew that hunting anymore right now was useless with everyone jumping at shadows in her group so she gave the call. ¡°We¡¯ve hunted enough for today let''s take a break and rest for a time let''s set up camp at that intersection!¡± The group sighed as their muscles relaxed slightly nodding in approval along with murmurs of agreement. Using nearby beast corpses as a makeshift wall a small fire was lit in the middle to be used for cooking. Despite being a labyrinth the ventilation system inside was done well enough to cook without fear of suffocation. The group sat down together with some acting as guard duty while Jayce and Strawberry took over cooking duties. Surprisingly even though Jayce spent most of his time on the battlefield his cooking skills were pretty good. While the stew was being cooked Diana took it upon herself to take first shift guard duty to set an example. Garundi also went up for guard duty his large frame a silent mountain watching over the hallways. In camp, the remaining seven youths sat down and relaxed drinking from their bottles of water while making jokes. An average looking girl with a spiral ponytail spoke up concern within her eyes,¡±Do you think we''ll run into a boss? Do you think they''ll be strong? What do you think Luke?¡± The boy named Luke snacking on a candy bar look up at a spiral girl and laughed, ¡°Don''t worry Jwaul the chances of us running into 1 of the 12 is pretty low. Heck, we might not even run into 1 of them for the rest of the examination!¡± At this point in time, Jayce¡¯s wooden spoon handle broke from the ladle making his eyes narrow. ''What a bad omen¡­ just had to open his mouth, I should sow his mouth shut.¡¯ Jayce''s fears of bad luck were realized almost instantly as a playful figure appeared in the middle of the group passing by the guards with ease. The man wore strange clothing smiling away he announced to the surprised group, ¡°Hello newbies! Ready to play a game?¡± His words made Jayce''s skin crawl as sweat formed on his back. He instinctively knew that this person was 1 of the 12 bosses. |X|C|A|R|D| Libra mused, ¡°In, you go.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Appearing like a phantom the handsome man with weird eyes reached out to a nearby youth and grabbed his shoulder. When he made contact in a shocking turn of events the youth disappeared body turned into pixels of wight light and flowing straight into his pocket. The group around Libra became scared silly at their compounds sudden disappearance that they jumped away in fright, but not before he could capture another two. At this point, the remaining ten youths were ordered by Diana who had quickly taken notice of the intruder to surround him. She was furious over her group lack of guard allowing for three of their comrades into being captured, holding her greatsword at the ready Diana coldly snorted, ¡°You dare barge into the middle of my team and expect we¡¯ll be easy prey ¡®boss¡¯? In your dreams!¡± Hands in his pockets Libra laughed, ¡°As expected of a warrior princess, your type always tries this method of gathering contestants under your banner to pass the exams. But what you don¡¯t know is. That method is shit.¡± ¡°What do you know!¡± ¡°Right Diana has helped us get this far!¡± Diana smiled at her comrade''s responses and felt her morale improve greatly; seeing her response Libra sneered at her naivety, ¡°Foolish princess you dare treat the path of cultivation like the mortal world? Heh, let me crush your idiot dreams of gathering the weak in the world of the strong! Come warrior princess show me what a group of weaklings can do to me a 9th HBR expert!¡± Diana growling could be heard through her teeth, ¡°Five-five formation! Frontline charge backline cover their openings!¡± The group split off into two different parties with Diana leading the front line while Jayce took the blackline. Seeing five foes charge at him at the same time Libra kept his hands in his pockets and his head held high, ¡°Useless. How Useless!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that!¡± Pricing with her greatsword at his waist, Garundi smashed from above with his massive fists, while the three other contestants slashed from the other directions. While that was happening the ranged party took aim and reading to fire at a moments notice. Faced with this formation even an ordinary 9th HBR expert could be heavily injured, but Libra wasn¡¯t an ordinary expert with a smile on his face he reached out and caught Diana¡¯s blade with a single hand. As soon as she touched it began to turn into particles, resolute she let go of her sword watching it disappear she charged at him with her bare hands only to face a kick to the gut from Libra. Being blasted away Libra turned his gaze at Garundi sending a fist in turn back at him. When they met Libra was forced back a step as Garundi turned into particles of light. At this point in time, the three other contestants decisively struck Libra¡¯s torso. They expected blood to flow but Libra¡¯s gambeson took the force of blow leaving not leaving a single wound. Despite being hit by their swords and spears Libra shrugged it off and reached out his hand to one of the close contestants and laughed, ¡°Your weapons league isn¡¯t high enough too wound me should have aimed for my he--¡± Strawberry arrow flew through that air aimed at Libra¡¯s head that it caught him off guard it was too close for him to dodge! Strawberry raised her head in arrogance, ¡®This is what you get for picking on big sister and brother die!¡¯ Only she was too shy to say it she looked at Jayce for a head pat only too see his eyes full of shock at Libra¡¯s direction. Turning her head in bewilderment Libra¡¯s head was tilted it back with an arrow sticking out of his head or so Strawberry thought. Only to see his head slowly raise up to see an arrow caught in his mouth using his teeth, spitting out the arrowhead a vein head appeared forehead. A chilling smile on his lips made Strawberry shiver with fear as turned his head at her direction, ¡°I haven¡¯t had demi-rabbit stew before I wonder how it tastes?¡± Chapter 29 -Scene 4 - Land of Black Sand and Scales + Announcement Scene 4 - Land of Black Sand and Scales Diana opened her eyes in a flutter around her the camp was wrecked, the back of her head hurt she had guessed she had been knocked out by Libra¡¯s kick. Eyes opened wide in shock she saw Jayce face held within Libra¡¯s grasp. ¡°So troublesome¡­ Good thing I knocked that princess out first.¡± Diana watched on as Jayce became particles of light fading into Libra¡¯s card making her filled with rage. Even without a weapon she got up and charged at Libra with the intent to kill smashing forward with a fist at his face. Libra turned to her and smiled, ¡°Ah you woke up quicker than my expectation in you go as well then I¡¯ll be at the limit for the card.¡± ¡°Die!¡± ¡°I refuse.¡± Sidestepping her punch in quick move Libra made a palm gesture aimed at her gut taking the wind out of her lungs from the impact. Turning into particles of light Diana eyes held a mixture of pain, anger, and fear all at once. ¡°One day I¡¯ll beat that pretty face of yours in with my sword!¡±Whispering in her ear Libra gave a shallow laugh, ¡°A flimsy fist and sword art, train more newbie and come again at me later now in you go.¡± Diana faded away from her eyesight going dark as she entered the Libra card her final thought came to her, ¡®Was I really wrong?¡¯ |H|E|A|R|T| ¡°Hey princess so glad you join us!¡± Diana heard the familiar words next to her was one of her comrades turning her head in their direction was one of her comrades that Libra made disappear. Relieved that they were ok despite a few bruises and cuts when they fought against Libra. Dusting herself off Diana stood and took stock of the area as far she could see was black sand that stretched across the horizon. No matter where you looked sand was the only thing around besides a large bronze-colored scale in front of them that stood like a tower in the light. She was confused at where they were until Libra appeared before them atop the scale, sitting in some sort of built-in thone. Raising his hands in the air he gave out a chuckle, ¡°Welcome to the world of Libra! Are you ready to play a game? If not you can leave for the price of 100 points any takers? You only get one chance to decide!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Without saying the rules not knowing the challenges they would face only a few figures stood proudly with Diana by this time finding her greatsword now wielding it. Her sword pointed forward in her right hand she declared, ¡°This warrior will not back down from a challenge! Tell me about your so-called game rules so I may crush it!¡± Pronouncing proudly Jayce stood behind her as did Garundi and strawberry the rest stood from afar not knowing what to choose. Seeing this Libra frowned and yelled at the people hesitating, ¡°Stop being wimps and decide or I¡¯ll break your limbs!¡± Hearing this six of the youth''s eyes harden with resolve and moved to stand together with Diana while the other three backed away clearly saying they wish not join. With a wave of his hand, Libra removed 100 points from the group in the back and marked them with a tattoo on their foreheads, ¡°Leave cowards this mark will protect your coward lives for a day. As for the rest, you have a chance to gain a tattoo of protection for a day and get to keep your one hundred points!¡± The three vanished into particles of bright light that made Diana have a hint of sorrow in he eyes seeing her comrades leave in such a way, ¡®Maybe I could have convinced them to stay?¡¯ While thinking of the ifs and buts Libra snapped his fingers at that moment and the two weight scales dropped to the sand floor with a thud spread sand in every direction. Motioning with his hands Libra spoke in a serious tone, ¡°Would you please split up into two groups of five and step onto the center of the scales?¡± Diana tilted her head in confusion but then ordered her comrades, ¡°Split up into even groups of strength that way we can help each other.¡± But one of the youths spoke up rejecting her words with a snort, ¡°Heh why should we listen to you? It¡¯s obvious that this will be a battle of teams just look! We¡¯ll be fighting each other don¡¯t you see? I¡¯d say we form the strongest group and destroy the weaker group!¡± ¡®Ah that ah that Grand Elder sure is a twisted fellow for making this the first challenge.¡¯ Jayce stepped forward and snorted, ¡°How can you be so sure about that Kin? For all, we know this game will test something else!¡± Anger appeared on Kins face, ¡°All the more reason to take the strongest people and put them in one group! Come on guys let¡¯s go and leave these weaklings!¡± Four youths nodded in response to his words that made sense, as they were indeed stronger than Jayce and Strawberry currently. Diana couldn¡¯t seem to say a word as the group split apart in an instant it filled her with more grief over how small her group had gotten. Only Jayce, Strawberry, Garundi, and another ram-demi youth named Ruth stood by them she was the weakest out of the ten contestants here in battle prowess. Seeing the others make their choice Diana¡¯s group headed to the left scale. When all contestants were on the scales Libra raised his hands, which in turn raised the scales back to their levels. Despite the weight of the two groups differentiating somewhat the two groups remained even to one another. Jayce was the first to notice this odd change, ¡°if this scale doesn¡¯t measure weight then what does it ¡®measure¡¯?¡± Libra¡¯s voice resounded throughout the air< ¡°Now let''s begin the test of whose Dao Heart is strongest! Let the challenge begin!¡± In a snap of his fingers, a dark bubble eclipsed the two scales, putting the two groups into total darkness. Chapter 29 - Scene 5 - Tested Dao Heart Scene 5 - Tested Dao Heart With their site cut off, the groups began to panic shouts of surprise and shock rang out. ¡°What kind of test is this?!¡± ¡°Princess where are you?¡± ¡°Jayce I''m over here! Everyone come to my voice!¡± The group started walking towards Diana only to then noticed that she couldn''t seem to reach her. No matter how they walk and how much they called out to each other their hand couldn''t seem to reach. When they tried to use their aura¡¯s as a light source it was repressed. Even the voices started to disappear around them, the feeling of taste, touch, sound, and smell seemed to fade away from those inside. Diana now alone and cut off from her teammates was in great distress over this, but she kept her position in not moving hoping that someone would come to her. Yet, that never came as time passed Diana could have a growing fear inside her that this is what death felt like. All her senses were cut off from one another only her brain seemed to be working thinking about how her team was doing. Then her thoughts trailed off to her brother who left her in the mortal world, his heroic appearance that stood to lead their armies to glory and victory. Deep down she knew she didn¡¯t admire him, she envied him was jealous of him hated him even that she wasn¡¯t born a male. That she didn¡¯t have to dress up to be sold away by her father, to live a life free from the harsh duties imposed upon her by being born royal. All she wanted to do was fight on the battlefield and feel the blood of her enemies on her skin as she leads her men into war. But her brother had to be the one fight instead of her to take her glory, to take away her dream. Bitterness kept filling her heart as she stood there thinking about the past while thinking a light suddenly shined in the corner of her eye. Turning in that direction wide-eyed, ¡°Who is it!¡± A man stood with long brown hair and piercing gray eyes, his face was quite similar to Diana he held a giant greatsword over his shoulder while wearing some plate mail armor with a wolf inscribed in his chest. This was Prince Dai standing they''re proud awe-inspiring that made Diana feel deep in her bones disgusted and shocked, ¡°Why is a coward like you here! You ran away and now dare show your face here in front of me?¡± Holding his forehead with his hand Prince Dai laughed at his sister, which made the anger in her bones fill to the brim with anger. ¡°How dare you! Die for the soldiers you left behind bastard!¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Unsheathing her greatsword Diana eyes turned cold walking step by step towards Prince Dai, which behind him soon appeared the three elf experts she had fought before. Every step she took more and more enemies she had fought in her life started to appear. Despite the overwhelming number of enemies Diana only grew more hatred biting her lips she rushed at Prince Dai with the intent to kill her own brother. Only before she could make contact the most feared creature she had ever faced appeared Lord Elbirret. Even with the unrelenting anger, she held within her body tumbled back for a moment, before unleashing with more fury. Roaring in anger Diana rushed at Lord Elbirret and smashed at its massive head making blood splatter in all directions. Feeling the blood on her skin made Diana felt more than ever as she charged at her brother the three elf experts jumped at her. Yet, she wasn¡¯t fazed one bit charging at the elves with a bloody smiled she cleaved off one their heads spilling black blood. Next, she punched out with her fist smashing into the large elves claw turning it into gore before swing her blade down and from the shoulder down splitting the body in half. The final elf tried to use the death of its brothers for an opening attack only to meet Diana¡¯s greatsword head on. Jumping up she impaled the blade above its head and following through splitting his body in two from head to toe. Cutting through the monsters with greatsword in hand Diana soon reached her brother. He was still laughing his ass off looking clear and sparkly while Diana covered in blood looked like a fiend. Eyes narrow and bloodshot, her teeth grinding as snarling sounds came from her mouth. Trembling muscles all over her body screamed at her, ¡®Kill kill kill KILL KILLL KILLLLLLLLLLL!!!!¡¯ Distorted thoughts filling her mind telling her to kill her brother rip his arms one by one off. Torture him making him scream to be killed just to shut his grating laugher up. Dashing forward Diana pointed her sword at her brother''s chest she laughed up in a messed up way as her sword impaled his gut. Lifting up her still laughing brother Diana laughed back at him in rage, ¡°Ha ha ha! JUST DIE!¡± Twisting her blade his warm blood fell on top of her like a river, but she wasn¡¯t finished raising him above his head she smashed his body down into the ground spilling organs all over the floor. Sliding the blade out Dai¡¯s laughing had become coughs full of blood but the faint laughing could still be heard. Diana snapped at this point pulling out her blade she remailed quite her face telling all in obsession, ¡®Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. Just die. JUST DIE!¡± Swing her sword down into her brother''s body over and over again as her thoughts on killing her brother became a mantra. The sounds our flesh being severed and bones cracking kept going and going. To the point that Dai had stopped making a sound but Diana kept going intent on making sure. He never got up again. ¡°Well well well. I think that¡¯s enough, man princess I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d have it in you to kill your comrades! Congrats on saving one hundred points!¡± Breaking out of the blood driven trance Diana she turned her head towards the sound of Libra scanned the area around her where Jayce, Strawberry, Garundi, and Ruth stood shocked. Confused Diana looked at them they had a few wounds but otherwise in good shape. It was at this moment that Strawberry pointed downwards under Diana. Looking down Diana''s eyes distorted her stomach couldn¡¯t hold on as she straight up threw up. A body was there that was smashed up beyond recognition. But Diana noticed right away a headband in the mush. That headband belonged to Kin. Chapter 30 - Scene 1 - Gemini Appears Scene 1 - Gemini Day eight came off as a chaotic mess for the masses as teams started to turn on one another for points. Killing ran rampant for fear of fighting bosses and those that already had started fervently, using any means possible to avoid the insane tests. But such a sudden act of thievery had started well before the test in one unlikely place several hours before. ... Several hours ago the twins and Drake had set up camp in a safe room to eat some food and relax after getting a good haul. The three had around five hundred points each saved up. With this amount, they stood a pretty good chance of passing the second exam with ease. Today was Drake¡¯s turn to cook the food to which he brought out a cube from his pocket and pulled out a pan and a heater to boil some water. Throwing some cut up potatoes, carrots, and meat he had decided to cook some stew for the three of them to eat. While they waited to eat they sat cross-legged and started to gather qi around them to refill their reserves. They were fighting tooth and nail with some beast previously and were pretty drained so it was the best time to regain their energy. Seeing this Drake smiled warmly seeing the twins trust him so much, ¡®Idiots. Finally after cooking dinner for you ungrateful bastards every day is going to pay off!¡¯ With the soup finished he got his plan into action. Filling up two bowls with stew and he secretly opened his cube up and took out a small potion bottle and poured the contents inside. While he did this he made sure his back was towards the twins, as he poured the sleeping potion inside of it. The clear mixture blended into with the soup, not changing the smell or taste in the slightest. Finished with the deed Drake turned around putting on a smile, ¡°Hey guys the food is done, come eat!¡± Waking up from their cultivation the twins stood up and went over to him. Grabbing the bowl from him they started digging into the soup with a spoon. Seeing them finish their soup with no hesitation Drake laughed inwardly, but kept his smiling expression, ¡°Slow down and enjoy the soup! There is plenty more where that came from!¡± ¡°Seconds!¡± ¡°Another one!¡± With their bowls held out the twins asked for another serving not giving a single thanks made a vein pop out of Drake¡¯s head, ¡®These little shits, just wait for that potion to take effect!¡¯ It took the fourth bowl of stew for Drake to see his sleeping potion start to take effect on the twins. Their eyes becoming heavy he knew soon it would be the time to strike! ¡°It seems you guys have gotten tired after fighting the whole day. How about you get some sleep and I¡¯ll get first watch and wake you up when it¡¯s your turn. How does that sound?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. His eyes half closed Sol shook his head up and down with a goofy smile,¡°Un that sounds¡­ wonderful¡­¡± Luna shook her head in agreement and pulled out her sleeping back and cuddled inside after putting her head on her pillow she promptly went to sleep. Sol followed her lead and went to sleep in his own sleeping bag, seeing this Drake inwardly was full of laughter, ¡®Fools your point are mine! Thanks for serving your purpose as tools! Betrayed Back to the current time long after the announcement of the 2nd exam was made, the pot of stew had cooled to room temperature. Rubbing her eyes Luna woke up crawling out of her sleeping bag. Since she was second shift she guessed Drake fell asleep on his watch and forgot to wake her. Scanning the room her eyes started to grow wider and wider in bewilderment as she checked the room. Alas no matter where she looked Drake was nowhere in sight. Feeling the sense of foreboding she glanced at her arm, ¡®He didn¡¯t¡­ He wouldn¡¯t betray us!¡¯ Pulling up her sleeve her fears were answered as a dull golden glow of 100 points lay bare. More than four hundred points had been removed. The emotions of betrayal, shock, and anger filled her body all at once making Luna''s eyes twitch in anger. Venom, hatred, murderous intent started filling her veins as she dug her hands into the moss tearing it up. Around this time Sol woke up with a yawn cleaning the droll off his face and noticed his sister''s angry expression. ¡°What happened sis? Did you we-¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t wet the bed in a year you fool! No! Drake stole our talismans! Look at your arm and you will see the truth!¡± Sol eyes grew wide like his sister and became instantly awake; wiggled out of his sleeping bag and checked the number of talismans on his arm. It was as his sister told him Drake had taken their points and made out like a bandit. But unlike his sister, he was calm about being stolen from. Seeing how her brother reacted Luna yelled at him, ¡°Why do you look so calm! Our ally betrayed us! He stole our points and ran away!¡± Sol got out of his sleeping bag and started to stretch, ¡°So? Yah he stole our points, but he left us enough points to pass. He could have done much worse like stealing all out points or even dragging us outside and killing us. Ever since we started cultivating we¡¯ve never fallen so deeply into sleep, he must have drugged us sister and it would have easy for him to do it.¡± Seething in anger Luna¡¯s right eye twitched with fury, ¡°And that¡¯s the reason you¡¯re so composed?!¡± ¡°Yep. I mean we have about a week left to get more point we can make about the same amount of points so no biggie.¡± With her brother acting you calm and collected Luna didn¡¯t know what to do with her anger and snorted looking away, ¡°Whatever! But if we see him again he¡¯s going to get a beating! You can count on that!¡± With a smile, Sol nodded his head, ¡°That we can agree on. Well, let¡¯s head out and gain some points after all the bosses will be coming soon in a few hours we need at least a point for each of us to pay them.¡¯ While the two were conversing a charming manly voice came from the safe room doorway. ¡°Do you think they mean us, little brother?¡± Turning their heads to the new voice Sol and Luna saw two figures standing in the way one tall, the other short with the short one playing with a card in his hand. If you looked closely you could see a tower with the symbol of Gemini imprinted on it. The rest of the picture was depicting some sort of ancient battlefield that seemed murky and bleak full of bodies. Readying their weapons for a fight Luna expressed her contempt, ¡°Who are you!¡± The short one¡¯s eyes tilted his head in bewilderment and point at himself then his elder brother, ¡°Us? We¡¯re Gemini the necromancer brothers!¡± Chapter 30 - Scene 2 - Graveyard Scene 2 - Graveyard The card of Gemini was a strange land, unlike the desert card like Libra its field was that of a foggy graveyard that held not a scent of life within. The gravestones instead of being made of stone were rusted swords ranging from all shapes and sizes that held a shield hanging from the guard. If one looked closely at each shield they would notice the intricate designs in the metal, and inlaid at the center of each shield was a name written in a strange language. Besides the gravestones throughout the land, at the center was a carving of the symbol Gemini stained black from blood ages past. While the fog slowly drifted through this dead land, two flashes suddenly appeared one being Sol and the other being his sister Luna. Holding her spear at the ready Luna readied her spear and yelled, ¡°Damn their fast watch out br-- Eh?¡± Seeing that the scenery had changed so suddenly she and Sol were confused until a voice appeared as a pillar in the distance rose up from the ground. On top of the seat sat the tall necromancer brother and sitting in the chair with him was his little brother. Since the card was meant for one person they had to share a seat to tap into its power, which they didn¡¯t mind much since they were close. Seeing the two distant figures sitting in there stone chair Luna raised her spear in arrogance, ¡°Where are we?! Get down here and fight so I can impale you!¡± The brothers laughed at the twins, ¡°Just wait there for awhile, we need to gather more contestants before we start the game.¡± In a cloud of smoke, the two left the twins alone, to their thoughts which made Len mad, while on the other hand, Sol sat down lazily. Seeing him sit down so casually Len felt like beating him, ¡°Why are you sitting down!¡± Turning to his sister casually he yawned, ¡°Do you see a way out? Let¡¯s wait for more people and see what''s going to happen.¡± With a sign, the anger in Luna¡¯s body faded and sat back to back with her brother turning her spear back into a keychain, ¡°Whatever¡­¡± ¡­ Coming in ones or threes contestants started to fill up the stone platform, surprisingly no one started any fighting. Groups started to form on the platform with a surprising turn of events the twin area held the largest group of twenty-three people led by a green-skinned man that had large teeth coming out of his bottom jaw. All over his body, their were tribal piercings and scars that seemed to form some strange formation. Despite his odd appearance and large teeth, he had a very manly face that seemed heroic.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. This man wasn¡¯t a human instead his face was that of an Orc, a race the held from the elemental forest. Out of the 3000 contestants, there was only one other Orc that was taking the test, that goes to show how far the Orcs had traveled. The contestants were sitting in a circle that somehow included the twins in the ring, sitting next to them was the said heroic Orc. Holding a large cup in his hands the Orc Laughed happily telling a story, ¡°An so there I was in the metal forest fighting against so wire beasts and let me tell you those suckers cut! See this wound on my leg one of those damn little bastards but into my leg and wouldn¡¯t let go! Oukip laughed at me for it later in the village ugh. And this scar came from¡­¡± As the cheerful Orc told about his battle stories openly to the group the people around him started to ease up a little and laughed together with the big guy. Sol jested with the Orc from time to time very much liking his attitude his warm attitude and even Luna asked questions with curiosity about how the forest was like. Soon enough the two twins found out the name of the Orc was Grorc and they shared their names with him reluctantly. They wanted to keep to themselves but this Orc acted too pure and heroic to ignore, he had a much better attitude then that bastard Drake. With Grorc¡¯s charisma, the circle he had made had become full of spirits, as the tale was being told in the bleak environment it was anyone''s guess how managed to pull it off. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with the Orcs laughter, youth off to one of the weaker sides got up and moved over to Grorc¡¯s circle and started kicking up a fuss. A crooked nose that wasn¡¯t set right, a front tooth in his grin missing, and most importantly¡­ bald. Judging by his looks he was a hoodlum that had been in a lot of fights and wasn¡¯t very happy with the Orcs happy go lucky attitude. ¡°Hey, green skin can you shut the fuck up? I¡¯m trying to smoke here in peace and your voice is grating my ears.¡± Grorc turned to the bald man and smiled bowing his head a little, ¡°Ah I¡¯m sorry bro people say I get too loud I¡¯ll try to keep it down.¡± Agitated the bald man threw his cigarette at Grorcs face, ¡°Who the fuck are you calling bro green skin bastard! Go back to whatever the hell place you came from! A person such as you isn¡¯t suitable to become a cultivator!¡± Grorc didn¡¯t get mad and bowed his head again, ¡°Ah I understand how you feel but I can¡¯t change the color of my skin. And for me cultivating is everything to me, I can¡¯t give it up sorry about that.¡± Viens popping from his face the blad man sent his foot smashing directly towards the currently bowed head of Grorc and he didn¡¯t notice! Luna frowned as Grorc was about had his face caved in, but didn¡¯t do anything to stop it, ¡®No point helping a competitor since we won¡¯t gain anything from it. I mean look what happened when we teamed up with Drake? It just means one less prick to deal with.¡¯ Turning her head away Luna didn¡¯t want to be involved anymore in these turn of events. Waiting for the sounds of bones breaking to come, instead, the sound of metal being struck rang out. ¡®Oh did the Orc defend himself?¡¯ Taking a peek Luna''s eyes widen in shock as shadows covered Sol¡¯s face as he stood in front of Grorc shield in hand. Luna soon noticed his whole body was trembling in a rage which surprised Luna, ¡®He hasn¡¯t gotten this pissed since the fight in the pit! What made him so mad?!¡¯ Chapter 30 - Scene 3 - Thieves and Necromancers + Plan Scene 3 - Thieves and Necromancers In another part of the labyrinth, Drake sat by himself drinking a flask of wine in another safe room. He had a content expression on his face as he laughed at how smooth his plan had gone. With over 1000 points shining brightly on his arm all he needed to do was wait the time out and he''ll be able to pass this exam with ease. ''Haha! Too easy too easy! Now it''s time to relax and wait out the time! Just you wait for me Mo you bastard! I shall have my revenge!¡¯ Enjoying his moment with glee Drake had his eyes closed and didn''t notice see the gray smoke entering the room. He was laughing so much that when he opened his eyes again smoke had completely covered the room. Wide-eyed Drake tried to cover his mouth with his shirt as he started searching around his storage cube to find a mask to cover his face only to find out that the strength had left his arms. As his body kept getting heavier to move a figure slowly walked into the room wearing a gas mask covering their facial features. The only noticeable features were their small stature and the clothes they were wearing colored black and green. clothing walked out confidently with her small chest puffed out. If Rune, Ren, and Saren were here they would know that this person was Karrin the thief! Walking towards the struggling worm Karrin crouched down as the sleeping gas worked through his bloodstream. With rage gritting his teeth Drake reached for Karrin neck but lacked the strength to raise his arm, ¡°You¡­ Bitch¡­¡± Powerlessly falling to the floor Drake fell deeper and deeper into sleep Karrin smiled as she reached forward to drain his points, ¡°Thanks for the donation, don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll leave you a way to survive.¡± Draining the points of out the passed Drake''s she left him with 100 points. Removing her sleave to check her number afterward a platinum number could be seen on Karrin¡¯s arm reading 2769 talismans. Necromancer Glaring at the bald man above his shield Sol pulled out his sword full of bloodlust, making the bald man flinch back with some fear. But the anger over being stopped overcame the bald man''s fear, ¡°Get out of the way shortly or I''ll kill you!¡± Swing his fist down on top of Sol¡¯s head Luna was about to move with her spear when suddenly Sol¡¯s sword slashed upwards chopping the Bald man''s hand off. Blood flew splashing on Sol¡¯s head and his shield as the Bald man started to scream bloody mary.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Coldly Sol bashed his shield into the blade man''s face making his face completely bloody. As the bald man fell face Sol retorted angrily, ¡°Don''t you dare look down on someone treading the path to cultivation!¡± ¡°¡°¡°That''s what you were angry about?!¡±¡±¡± Multiple people expressed surprise at Sol retort even Luna was surprised that was the reason Sol helped the orc. The Grorc gave a smile and slightly bowed, ¡°Thank you young one for helping me.¡± ¡°Why didn''t you fight back?¡±, Asked Sol. ¡°The reason is--¡± As the Orc was stating his reasoning at this time the seventy contestants had been transported a charge occurred at the tower looming over the distance. A green hollow light appeared at the top which drew the attention of all the contestants down below. Eventually, the light disappeared and two figures appeared on the throne in its place. It was the necromancer twins holding an arrogant demeanor as shouts of displeasure rang out the crowd. ¡°Let us go out you pieces of shit!¡± ¡°Come down and fight, cowards!¡± ¡°Do you dare to fight!¡± The shouts kept coming to the point the brothers frowned and wave their hands causing the world''s law to resend silencing the crowd in an instant as well as restricting their movements. ¡°Silence idiots! The game is about to begin so pay attention!¡±, Said the smaller brother raising his head condescendingly at the ants below them. ¡°Well said, little brother. Now let us tell you the rules you newbies you only have one chance to leave this world and if you do you must give up one hundred points! Those that wish to leave raise your hands.¡± The laws rescinded at that point and allowed the contestants below to move finally. This time no one spoke for fear of being suppressed again. A few seconds passed before the first contestant raised their hand then another after them. In the end, ten contestants decided to leave the world and one hundred points were subtracted from them and they were booted out of the world. When the last one left the older brother gave a charming smile, ¡°Now that the useless ones are out of the way you will have ten minutes to organize a defense force to face off against one hundred waves of enemy forces. The rules of competition are that you must complete fighting the one hundred waves or only ten of you remain good luck!¡¯¡¯ Finishing up with the rules, the brothers disappeared into a mist of green light. With them gone a man within the contestants stood forward after a few seconds, he had charming brown eyes and hair wearing a bandana. He shouted passionately with his arms wide, ¡°Let''s work together!¡± ¡°I refuse!¡±, A defiant green-haired maiden stood up and immediately rejected the brown eyed man. Wielding a large fan over her shoulder and yellow eyes flickering with arrogance she let out Qi waves showing off the power of a middle stage 7th HBR realm expert stunning the crowd. Smirking the girl pointed with her massive fan at the brown-haired youth and tilted her head up, ¡°Why should I listen to the words of a weakling coming out of your mouth I should be the leader!¡± ¡°Oh oh~ I should take charge instead of you.¡±, A slit-eyed man with gray hair appearing around the age of 20 drinking from his wine flask said as he released an aura of the peak of the 7th HBR stage. The three figures stood against each other causing a three-way showdown as even the charming brown eyed man was in the beginning 7th HBR stage not backing down in the slightest. When the contestants in the surroundings saw how these three were acting they knew that a bloodbath would soon commence if this pissing contest didn¡¯t stop. The clock was ticking. Chapter 30 - Scene 4 - An Oath to the heavens Scene 4 - An Oath to the heavens Despite disappearing from their throne the brothers were still watching on poking jokes at the contestants. The younger pointed and laughed at how stupid they were acting, ¡°These fools fighting amongst themselves why are they not killing each other big bro Zom?¡± With his hand rested against his head Zom smiled, ¡°Your thoughts are as good as mine little Bie, it would be better to kill each other before the time limit. If the waves are introduced then the challenge becomes much more difficult to stay alive.¡± ¡°Oh! It seems that girl with blue hair is going to start killing! Even from here I can feel her killing intent!¡± ¡­ The contestants below we''re still arguing about who¡¯d be lead commanding all of them to the point that the Luna was debating to start killing the contestants around her. While Sol felt lost on what to do to salvage the current situation but wasn¡¯t able to come up with anything. Time ticking down Luna stepped forward flowing with bloodlust to the person next to her, It was at this moment that Gorac stood up from his sitting position and yelled grabbing everyone''s attention. The three experts turn their heads in his direction full of ill intent but soon became pale as the aura of an 8th Stage HBR expert aura spread across the platform. Getting their attention Gorac smiled a toothy orf grin clasping his hands, ¡°Come now fellow Cultivators let us work together and not fight. How about we do this. You three will each lead a group of twenty contestants and take a rotation in fighting the waves so we will be able to rest every five waves.¡± A frown appeared on a girl with a large fan, ¡°That''s fine and all but what do we do at wave 90? at that point with only two rotations left one group won¡¯t have to fight and will have an advantage when we leave with energy reserves?¡± At this point, the brown-haired man came in and suggested, ¡°At that time we can all just fight together for the last wave?¡± Finally, the snort gray-haired man spoke up, ¡°And what stops people from stabbing each other in the back? This plan is foolish in the regards that we have no trust!¡± Gorac, ¡°Simple each if us will swear an oath to the heavens not to attack each other unless less than twenty are alive here. Then the remaining can kill each other with it comes to that point, those that don''t follow this rule will be stuck with heavenly lightning does that sound fair?¡± Most of the contestants grew wide-eyed over Gorac¡¯s suggestion to swear an oath to the heavens. It was a strange energy that allowed cultivators to be bound by laws so that some form of trust could be gained in such a brutal world. Working over his words the three¡¯s eyes shook, but quickly repressed showing such an emotion inwardly the fan maiden chuckled, ¡®Heh. What a schemer so that¡¯s his plan! Despite being an orc he¡¯s very vile underneath that innocent expression.¡¯The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Even the other two 7th realm experts agreed in the back of their minds that this Orc was truly a piece of art but they decided they would go with his plan! Stepping forward the brown-haired wore a playful expression, ¡°That sounds good enough to me I¡¯ll go first! I swear to the heavens that I won¡¯t attack another person here unless they don¡¯t swear to the heavens to not attack a person. Only when less than twenty remain here will I start attacking other contestants! If I go back on my word may heavenly lightning strike me down!¡± Seeing that the brown-haired youth go forth and say his oath to the heavens the other two 7th experts chuckled inwardly and recited the same oath. Seeing that the heavy hitters will willing to come to an understanding one by one the rest of the contestants recited the law until got to the twins which Sol said the oath but Luna remained silent. Noticing that the last person needed to say the oath was silent the fan maiden said in a charming voice, ¡°Come on little girl say the oath so we can start grouping up afterall we don¡¯t have much time to mess around.¡± Tilting her head Luna looked at her strange, ¡°Why don¡¯t I just kill you all? How dare you call me a little girl you piece of shit, I should pull your tongue out and feed it to pigs bitch!¡± The cultivators looked at this little girl with such a vicious tongue with shock, even the fan maiden seemed stunned that 4th HBR expert would have that gall to talk to her in such impolite manner that she wanted to treat this little girl a lesson! ¡°Sister don¡¯t cause trouble!¡± Clicking her tongue Luna turned her head away, ¡°Fine brother, I swear an oath to the heavens¡­¡± When she finished her oath to the heavens the air in the room full of tension seemed to have cooled down around them with only a few minutes left the group didn¡¯t have much time to organize the group before the waves started to the three experts raised their voice to move the process along. ¡°I want nineteen people over here standing in attention!¡± ¡°As do I!¡± ¡°I want nineteen as well but not that one!¡± By the time that the groups finished gathering only a minute remained for them to get into formation. By the end of the matter, Luna and Sol were in the second group, while Gorac had gone to the third for the reason of wave 90 since he was the strongest. Having everything in place group one spread out in a circle and waited with their weapons out ready to do battle. The air started to grow heavy for the contestants as sweat poured down their face as a timer appeared at the thirty-second mark with the number 1 above it. 10, 9, 8¡­ 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ 0. The clock struck 0 making the contestants tense up but for a bit nothing happened, no monsters came out. No one dares look away despite seeing nothing in front of them until a crack appeared off in the distance, then another. More cracking sounds surrounded the contestants making them confused where the sounds were coming from until a bone hand shot straight out of the ground! Digging itself out of the ground other hands followed dragging their dead bodies from the grave they wore shabby armor that hung loosely on their bodies. If one looked closely they would notice that the sword and shields were in fount of every skeleton who then took their armaments with the rattling of bones. As their hands made contact with their swords and shields their hollow eye sockets lit up a dull blue haze. They stood motionlessly for a few moments before rattling their bones an inhuman scream came from them as they opened their jaw. The army of about two hundred skeletons walked forward at once towards the cultivators wishing for blood they had long since lost. The battle had begun. Chapter 31 - Scene 1 - Skeleton Wars Scene 5 - Skeleton Wars Rattling intensely the skeletons launched themselves into Group one¡¯s weapons, bone¡¯s started flying as the contestants went to work crushing bones and chopping limbs. Despite their fever attempt to end this skeletons in one strike, they had an annoying ability that if one didn¡¯t crush their heads into a powder they would pick themselves back up using whatever they had. Although the contestants were caught off guard at first at the skeletons abilities and some got a few minor wounds the first wave after figuring out the trick to the kill them made it easy overcome.Leading the charge the fan maiden took the leading destroying the undead inspiring the cultivators under her lead as she sent waves of wind power crushing the skeletons into dust. Frowning at how easy the first wave had been the fan maiden frowned, ¡°Is this really a test? Even I alone could have taken on this alone with my eyes closed!¡± A small rest of a minute had been given between the next wave to which the contestants stood ready and more relaxed after facing that wave. After the time was up 210 skeletons appeared, seeing this her eyes narrowed, ¡®So it¡¯s like this, every wave will add an extra 10 skeletons to the wave meaning that by wave 100 there would be over 1200 skeletons to fight! Humph, no matter if the skeletons are as strong as wave one it¡¯ll be easy!¡¯ Raising up from their graves again the skeletons rushed at group one and with her eyesight the fan maiden caught another detail, ¡®It¡¯s hard to notice, but I can see that their armor and weapons are a bit better than wave one! Does this mean we¡¯ll be fighting better and better skeletons as the waves progress? What other shenanigans do those so-called necromancers have up their sleeves?!¡¯ As agreed before they switched with group two who started slaughtering skeletons with ease, the leaders in killing were the twins Luna and Sol along with the brown-haired fellow. It surprised the fan maiden that the little girl who wanted to kill everyone was so skilled. Despite giving off the waves of a 4th middle stage HBR expert she was releasing the battle prowess of a peak 7th stage HBR expert! The fan maidens eyes narrowed, ¡®Hmph I see that little bug is pretty good, if we reach the twenty man limit I¡¯ll have to watch out for her.¡¯ Luna at this time wasn¡¯t focused on what people thought of her like the fan maiden, she was grinning ear to ear smashing skeletons with her spear into bone chips. On the other hand, Sol took his time to cut the skeletons heads in half severing their magical link to their bodies.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. After the ninth wave, a strange change occurred, the clock that before had only one minute to prepare for the next wave went to two minutes. Murmurs rang out between the group despite some minor wounds none of the contestants had lost their lives. The smiling brown-haired youth eyes twitched in response, ¡®Oh? Will every ten waves have an increase in time? If that is so that means with more time to rest means stronger enemies should be added as rest time is increased.¡¯ His thoughts were on the mark on the tenth wave skeleton archers appeared, out of the three hundred skeletons one hundred of them were anchors! Their bones rattling the skeleton sword and shield users charged at the cultivators, while the archers took aim and shot arrows at them from afar not caring if their arrows would hit their allies. Stunned by this sudden change Luna and Sol expanded their shields to block the incoming arrows covering the front of their bodies. Most of the cultivators used their own ability to block the arrows with a few being unlucky by the arrow storm and gotten hit. In spite of the sudden the attack only one person was wounded badly being struck with three arrows in her body and had to retreat back to the line to drink a tier two potion to recover. Jumping into the fray Luna eyes turned crimson entering alone in the backlines started smashing into the area of anchors, Sol followed behind talking out any skeletons with swords following them. With just the two of them they destroyed at least sixty skeletons together, on the other hand, the brown-haired youth had only had destroyed about twenty-five skeletons by the time the wave had finished. The clock had reset back to two minutes of time and at this moment Gorac spoke up, ¡°We need to make some stone walls so we don¡¯t get pelted by those damn arrows! Those who know barrier techniques come forth! We need walls to defend ourselves from the archers! Do we have any earth mages? And if we have any fire and water mages that¡¯ll be most welcome!¡± Six men and women stepped up in front of Gorac, two were earth mages, two water mages, one fire mage, and the last was a barrier mage. Gorac opened his eyes wide he didn¡¯t expect a rare mage such as a barrier mage, but he soon got over his shock and opened his cube and retrieved some colorful stones. ¡°I¡¯ll create metal pillars for you Earth users to reinforce them and create six walls and six openings. Next water and fire users I want you to strengthen the walls to stone! Barrier Girl I want you covering the top with a formation! If you run out of energy come back to me and use one of these muju stones to recover your mana!¡± ¡­ Watching the ants below them start to construct fortifications the necromancer brother Zom looked down with amusement, ¡°So now they build walls for defense? Humph! What idiots do they think they will have time to do such a thing?!¡± Cuddling with his teddy bear Bie floated nearby tilting his head to the side, ¡°Brother when can I send out my creations?¡± ¡°Ah, you mean ¡®those¡¯ things? Don¡¯t worry little brother I¡¯ve already entered them into the system, that old fart was so kind to allow as to mess with the settings since some of the ¡®high profile¡¯ targets are in this batch! We should get some good data from this experiment!¡± ¡°Yey~!¡±, Raising the teddybears hands up in the air Bie expressed a slight amount of emotion. Chapter 31 - Scene 2 - Death Knights Scene 6 - Death Knights By the next wave, the group of cultivators had finished making the walls allowing for them to defend against the skeleton archers arrows with ease. With six entrances they decided to split up the entrance defense to three each and for the remaining two helping out the sides having the most trouble. Wave after wave came battering the cultivators pushing harder and harder against them as their numbers increased ten at a time. Soon wave 19 passed and as they expected on wave 20 the time increased from two minutes to five minutes! Group one smiled fearlessly budding with confidence thanks to their defenses and that despite reaching the twentieth wave they hadn¡¯t lost a single person! Seeing them eager to battle the brown-haired man shook his head at how they were treating this like a game, ¡°Hey, listen to big brother Saido if you treat this fight carelessly you''re going to lose your life.¡± Despite his warning of overconfidence, the group stood strong ready to fight brimming with fighting spirit. It made him somewhat agitated in how they acted but what could he hope for in a group of people who didn¡¯t even know each other for more than an hour? Sighing inwardly Saido readied his mace and shield as the clock ticked down and reached zero, ¡®Whatever if they die they die it¡¯s not my problem.¡¯ They expected the regular skeletons to come out but instead, skeleton Foot Shoulders burst out from the ground with their eyes flickering with a cold green flame eyes. Their bones had formed a sort of armor that was tinged with black from a distance you could almost mistake it for flesh by its design. Despite the change, the cultivators were not swayed to fear and charged out to meet these abominations of nature, ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°KILL!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The cultivators chanted charging into the undead army that rattled intensely with their bones making up their battle cry. Weapons and bone flew, despite their increase in strength the skeletons had no leader to make use of that strength, allowing the cultivators to easily sweep through the sack of bones and finish the wave. Saido smashed into the final skeleton with his mace going through the skull into the collarbone, shattering the spine and exiting out of the ribcage. Looking up to see the clock starting to count down again he turned around and head back into the base, ¡°Group two it¡¯s your turn!¡± Luna eye¡¯s shined full of energy flushing with a faint redness in her blue eyes, ¡°Come on brother let''s go wild!¡± ¡°Lets.¡± ... Battling on the west side of the base the twins were a storm covering each other''s back throughout the waves the grew larger with each wave finished. The third person with them seemed out of place with the two sweeping through the area in a crushing manner. Everything seemed to be going well until the 24th wave finished.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Glancing up the clock curiously Sol¡¯s eyes narrowed seeing that the time had grown from five minutes to ten minutes! Turning his head back over to tell his sister Luna who was currently playing with a skeleton''s heads by throwing them up in the air and smashing them into the distance with her spear while they waited. With a grin, Luna squinted held her hand above her eyes and watched the skull travel into the distance, ¡°Ha! Brother did you see how far that one went?! It had to go at least three hundred meters!¡± Sol covered his eyes in embarrassment over how his sister was acting with the skeletons remains, ¡°Sister we have more pressing matters, do you see the clock?¡± Turning away after seeing the skill land into the distance Luna took a look at the Clock tilting her head, ¡°Ten minutes? Wasn¡¯t the clock before five minutes? It hasn¡¯t even been ten waves since the increase. So something stronger is coming out?¡± ¡°My thoughts exactly Sis.¡± Clenching her fist Luna eyes flickered with red, ¡°Vlad wants to have a fun.¡± The lone contestant near them started sweating bullets at the bloodlust leaking out of Luna spread out around her, ¡®How many people has she killed?!?¡¯ ¡­ The twins weren''t the only ones to notice the change in the timer as the rest of cultivators noticed the change and had started discussing among themselves about the reasons why the time had increased. Only the higher leveled cultivators seemed not to care what the 25th wave would bring them, they waited patiently with their hands at the ready. ¡­ By around the one minute mark, Luna stopped hitting skulls into the horizon at Sol¡¯s suggestion and stood side by side with her brother awaiting the wave. The flustered cultivator stood behind them as a support form the reason that they told him he would get in their way. The clock hit zero soon after and the twins were ready to jump into the battle until they noticed something strange. The skeletons that usually ran at them at full speed without any sense of unity stood there as if awaiting orders. A sense of foreboding crawled into the back of the cultivator minds at the scene, why were they waiting? Why weren''t they attacking? Questions filled their minds as four black figures crawled out of the ground wielding massive greatswords. They stood at seven foot tall, their armor intertwined together with their bone armor, their eyes shone with a darker shade of green lanterns. They didn¡¯t rattle like the other skeletons giving off a somewhat noble aura despite being made of bone and metal. One by one they raised their swords into the air and like a signal, the skeletons around them started to get into a formation. Seeing how the skeletons were moving sweat started to form at the back of the silver-haired man as he shouted loudly, ¡°Kill those Death Knights! Don¡¯t let them get into formation!¡± Hearing the command Luna rushed out with Sol soon following behind her heading towards the nearest Death knight. Smoke started coming out of her mouth as her hair and eyes turned crimson she had activated spirit procession. With a roar, Luna drove straight into the army of skeletons making a beeline towards the Death Knight stabbing straight out with her spear. As expected of a being called a Death Knight it didn¡¯t let her kill it in one blow blocking her attack with its greatsword a boom could be heard as the two weapons clashed. Luna wasn¡¯t sad her attack didn¡¯t work on the contrary she was excited, ¡°Sack of bones let''s fight!¡± Chapter 31 - Scene 3 - Luna Vs. Death Knight Scene 3 - Luna Vs. Death Knight The Death Knights green eyes flared with anger sending its massive fist straight down towards Luna''s face, down her neck she could feel her hair stand on end filling her with excitement. Using her shield to block his fist the impact was so immense that it sent her in a half kneeling position, but she didn¡¯t take the blow fully on and used the force to roll backward. Standing up again Luna rushed forward turning her spear in her hand to get extra reach aiming for its head. But the Death knight countered her in kind smashing his fist downwards on the spears head he hacked with his greatsword at Luna¡¯s neck which she promptly crouched underneath the blade feeling the wind pressure pass over her head. Sol at this time struck from behind aiming at the back of the skull only for the skull head to turn around and catch his blade with its teeth! Letting go of his sword Sol smashed with his shield downwards on its head but the Death knight fist hit the shield head on and pushed him back a few meters. This action freed up Luna¡¯s spear to which she stabbed upwards from down low impaling the awkward standing Death Knight through the gut breaking into his bone armor and lifting him into the sky above her head before slamming him into the ground. She thought that would be the end of the Death Knight but the crafty skeleton had used his hand to roll dislodging her spear in the process. Luna was about to keep up the momentum but an anchor arrow flew across her eyesight mere inches away from her head. Doing a quick look around she noticed that the skeletons were marching their position, with that info in mind Luna shouted at her brother who had retrieved his sword, ¡°Brother take care the minions I¡¯ll kill this big guy!¡± Sol didn¡¯t bother to argue and started to wreak havoc on the normal skeletons, ¡°Alright! But don¡¯t get killed sis this one¡¯s pretty crafty!¡± With Sol watching her back Luna could focus on the battle on hand with the Death Knight who currently had regained its balance wielding its greatsword with both hands. Having the blade rest on its shoulder inclining it¡¯s left foot forward Luna guessed the Death Knight was setting up for a charging slash. If so she would counter it! Feeling confident Luna readied herself as the Death Knight charged at her, its eyes flaring green flames jumping out of its eye sockets. It moved fast slashing towards Luna¡¯s right shoulder intending to split her in half with one move! But how could Luna allow such a thing? Despite its fast movement she waited until the Death Knight to swing his blade before dodging it¡¯s slash by a hair''s breadth away before using her spear to slice off the Death Knights leg.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. With the Death Knight¡¯s leg now gone Luna could finish it off at ease that it made her chuckle at how easy it was going to be. Walking up to the pitiful Knight Luna raised her spear in her hand and stabbed at one of its eye sockets, ¡°Die!¡± Hearing his sister shout with such bloodlust Sol turned to her to see how she was going to kill it before he saw a faint glint in the Death Knights mouth as it let it¡¯s jaw loose. His eyes widened with shock seeing that the Death Knight had a dagger in its mouth! ¡°Luna dodge its mouth!¡± Hearing her brother yell so frantically about the Death Knights Mouth Luna tried to move out of its sight, but the blade had already shot out of its mouth aiming at her head! ¡°LUNA!¡± Blood splattered from Luna¡¯s face as a long red lined formed from cheek to cheek across her nose. By sheer willpower, Luna had managed to move her head out of the way from being pierced by the dagger, yet the blade had still wounded her face. Shock filled her body at how close she was to death, and in a moment furry overtook her not caring about the blood flowing from her face Luna threw away her shield and pounced on the Death Knight. She cut off its another leg and then its arms for good measure before mounting the Death Knights body and in a rage ripped the head off the bone armor with brute force before smashing the skull into its ribcage. Over and over again until over fragments remained of both the skill and the bone armor, Sol left her to her anger and took out the skeletons together with the other contestant. The skeletons around them who lost their leader had once again turned into mindless skeletons that randomly attacked were easy to take care of. The other sides had held their ground and despite some injuries, everyone had made it through. Sol and the contestant kept some distance between them and Luna seeing that she was still fuming as steam kept coming out of her mouth. When they got inside the fortress Luna started to calm down letting go of her spirit procession and sat in a corner mulling over how she was sneak attacked. The blood was still running down her face so Sol took out a tier one potion from his bag and gave it to, ¡°Here drink this and that wound will be gone.¡± Luna snorted at her brother and pushed the bottle away, ¡°I refuse! I¡¯m keeping this wound!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To remind me from now on to not play with my opponent!¡± ¡°That¡¯s stupid!¡± ¡°So what little brother?¡± ¡°Why you!¡± ¡°Is there a problem here?¡±, Turning their heads to see who was talking the twins saw Grorc walking over to them with curiosity. Sol shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s nothing its just that my sister doesn''t wanna get rid of her wound, but she¡¯s losing blood and it wouldn¡¯t be healthy for her.¡± Stroking his chin Grorc thought of something and started searching through his cube until he pulled out a small container, ¡°Then use this, it¡¯s a fast acting gel that my village made to heal wounds the only drawback is that it¡¯ll leave a scar permanently. Even if you use a healing potion the scar won¡¯t change in the slightest.¡± Eyes sparkling blue Luna snatched the gel container from his hand and smiled, ¡°Thanks, Grorc! I''ll use it now!¡± Chapter 31 - Scene 4 - Skeleton abominations Scene 4 - Skeleton abominations Wave after wave passed for the contestants from that point on fortunately it seemed that then on the Death Knights were only summoned every five waves and would increase by one per one hundred skeletons. Their presence on the battlefield strained the contestants if they weren''t taken out fast enough causing injuries whenever they appeared. On wave thirty, two things happened the wait between the waves increased to fifteen minutes. The other thing that happened was that a nightmare appeared making some of the contestant''s skin crawl as the skeleton archers were transformed into four-legged crossbow skeleton abominations. They were like walking mini ballistas shooting out bolts from their human skulls as a hundred or so bolts were stuffed into their expanded rib cage being loaded into the crossbow planted inside. It made Sol¡¯s stomach turn seeing how twisted these creations were. It didn¡¯t help that these skeletons were fast and had sharp claws that would attack with their hands and feet while shooting bolts when they least expected. Despite the surprise, the contestants were able to handle it well enough. The twins walked back out at wave 36 and went to town on their fount crushing skeletons left and right inspiring others around them to fight harder against the undead. When they reached the end of wave 39 what they expected came the time increased to a twenty-minute wait. Luna didn¡¯t feel the need to rest and started collecting skulls on the ground and using them as baseball practice. A few other deranged people nearby joined her in hitting skulls into the air as far as they could. They even treated it like a competition to see who could go farther, her brother Sol, on the other hand, sat nearby drinking a bottle of water conserving his energy while trying to communicate with his weapon spirit with no luck. Of his siblings, he only knew that Saren, Luna, and Xue had formed a connection as for the others he didn¡¯t know if they had already. He didn¡¯t want to be left behind, but his weapon spirit seemed to be ignoring him for some reason. It frustrated him that his weapon was being so stubborn in not talking only sharing the memories of his ancestor. Master Mo told him that he was a blood descendant of the Sun-Moon Clan, but it didn¡¯t end there he wasn¡¯t just some run of the mill branch descendant he was actually a direct descendant to the original ancestor who had slain a god.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The weapon he wielded now was used by his very own late ancestor filled him with mix feelings, he wondered why then he and his sister wasn''t killed on the bloody eclipse who ended their clan. The thought made him question how he ended up in that godforsaken city so far away from the clan it didn¡¯t make sense to him. It felt like he was put there by someone for some purpose how else could nine heaven-defying geniuses be gathered together in such a way. Whenever he tried to think of why his mind grew cloudy and was directed to another line of thought on a completely different subject. To him, it felt wrong that no matter what he tried he couldn¡¯t remember his past up to a certain time. Another thing he noticed was that slowly, but surely his mother''s face was getting erased bit by bit and his feelings of her were being lessened as well. It almost felt like his mind was being manipulated, but he had no proof of such a thing he just grew more frustrated at his lack of understanding. While lost in his thoughts Luna poked his side with the butt of her spear, ¡°Hey brother it¡¯s time to started fighting soon get off that pile of bones.¡± ¡°Eh? Oh yeah sure let''s go kill.¡± Leaving his thoughts, for now, he slapped his face then got into a battle stance, ¡®I can think about it later right now we gotta kill these skeletons.¡¯ Luna held her head arrogantly with her spear over her shoulder, eyes crimson she bit her lower lip with impatience she really wanted to impale something with her spear. The clock reached zero and what appeared instead of skeleton foot soldiers were zombies warriors being lead by six death knights. The zombie warriors looked almost human with the exception of their sunken in eye sockets that flickered with green flame. Another change from a human was their ears were longer than one showing that they were elf zombies in fact. The tone of their skin was gray with not much muscle to speak of, spikes of bone grew from their limbs giving them a sinister feeling. And last but not least the armor they wore wasn¡¯t just some rusted set of gear it was a shiny mix set of plate and chain mail. With their weapons sharpened full of glowing runes. On Luna''s face, a hint of joy appeared on her lips that her enemies had a little bit of flesh on them, it would make it all the more enjoyable to rip them limb from limb with her spear. First, though she had to take care of those annoying Death Knights who were pests in her eyes they wouldn¡¯t give off the good feeling flesh being pierced. Turning to her brother Luna gave of a pleading expression, ¡°Hey brother can you take care that Death Knight? I wanna play with those walking corpses.¡± Sol turned to Luna with a slight smile and nodded his head, ¡°Alright I¡¯ll deal with the sack of bones this time just watch my back ok?¡± Raising her spear with joy Luna replied, ¡°Yey~ Hey, you there take care of those abominations for us, don¡¯t touch those corpse those are my prey. If you touch them I¡¯ll impale you!¡± The contested felt fear as Luna crimson eyes stared at him hungrily. as if they would bite him to pieces. Face paling the contestant shook his head readily ¡°Understood!¡± ¡°Good. Now, lets claim some heads!¡± Chapter 31 - Scene 5 - Time Limit Scene 5 - Time Limit Watching the twins destroy the western front with ease made Grorc smile slightly, ¡®Perhaps we¡¯ll all make out with their firepower. But first I have to convince the egotistical to work together.¡¯ With such thoughts, Grorc went over to the fan maiden first who was eating some unknown type of grapes he had never seen before. Seeing the Orc walking over to her resting the fan maiden put away her food tilting her head, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°I wish to gather all the top experts together after the time limit is up which will be soon.¡± ¡°Time limit? What time limit?¡± Grorc ran his hand through his hair and bashfully smiled, ¡°Ah so you don''t know some of the insider information, it seems we got the ¡®hunters¡¯ this time. Since it¡¯s the hunters then they will only have eight hours to hunt us before closing up shop for the day.¡± Pulling out a small fan the Fan Maiden started airing her face, ¡°Meaning?¡± Grorc continued speaking, ¡°Meaning that we¡¯ll be stuck here for a few days or maybe even until the end of the exam depending on what they have in store for our group.¡± The Fan Maidens eyes shined brightly, ¡°Ah! That means we don¡¯t have to be running and escaping with the total points we gathered! Wait that¡¯s only if everyone here has more then at least one hundred points.¡± ¡°Exactly which is why I wanted to talk with you, that middle age man, that brown haired youth and those twins.¡± ¡°Eh? Those little shits? Didn¡¯t you hear that little girl pronounce that she would kill us all? Why would you want to talk to them? I mean do you see how she treats those skulls and how brutal she is in combat?¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. They both took a look at Luna when she said that and watched her jump on the shoulders of an Elf Zombie. She then impaled her spear on the top of its head until the spear was halfway in before doing a power throw flinging the body at an incoming swarm of Zombies. Her body was drenched in black blood and with her eyes crimson laughing as she toyed with the zombies to her heart''s content. A true psychopath thought the Fan Maiden as he turned to Grorc, ¡°See?¡± Waving with his hand Grorc replied, ¡°A minor manner, she has a brother does she not? See that boy facing off against that Death Knight? With him, we can keep her in line. Oh, he just killed it what an excellent move.¡± Turning her head in time the Fan Maiden saw Sol severing the Death Knight head with one well-placed strike before using his foot to smash the skull to pieces. ¡®What a profound slash for a child so young.¡¯ Grorc spoke up interrupting the Fan maidens, ¡°The silver-haired man already agreed to talk if we have you then it¡¯ll be easy to get the other three to agree. Besides group two is about to finish up.¡± Indeed as he said there was only about one hundred zombies life, they would be done in a minute or so. After they finished the next group expected to head out only to see the clock timer read 16 hours before the next wave. One of the youths itching to go out and do battle snorted, ¡°Whats the meaning of this! I wanted to fight those zombies!¡± To which the necromancer brothers appeared, ¡°Oh we forget to mention that we can only hunt for 8 hours a day meaning you guys can rest here for 16 hours. When those up we can start the next wave.¡± One of the youths dissatisfied, ¡°Than how are supposed to earn points! I only have 81!¡± The younger brother smiled cutely but his words were chilling, ¡°Simple really kill each other oh wait you can¡¯t haha! Enjoy your stay!¡± The two then faded out of existence watching the youths grit their teeth in anger and curse them under their breaths. The Fan Maiden didn¡¯t pay attention to cultivators and instead paid attention to this Orc, seeing that he had some insider information it would be best to hear him out, ¡°Alright I¡¯ll agree to talk.¡± With a smile Grorc held a hand out, ¡°Then let''s go shall we?¡± Chapter 32 - Scene 1 - Day Eight End Scene 1 - Day Eight End In the rest of the labyrinth, others like the twins were sucked into the cards of the zodiac bosses. Chaos ran rampant through the dungeon as teams started turning on one another, stealing the hard-earned points from their members either by killing or robbing. In the control room one old man sat watched on as the contestant numbers trickled down, Grand Elder Sao laughed in glee drinking his bitterroot tea as one of his helpers gave him a shoulder rub. Spitting on the monitor Sao berated the contestants, ¡°What idiots! Do you see my disciples? If you give out a little bit of information peoples hearts can easily change. Telling them at they would lose one hundred points if they were caught they betrayed their comrades at a single glance. If you have more people in your group you can act like a back of fin deer and sacrifice a few to save the many! Remember this my disciples this is human nature when bonds are not strong enough between people they will turn their back on you at a glance! Whatever only a few of them that will actually profit anyways that thief girl has already hit most of the high point targets. As expected of that youngster Celia she knows how to pick them, that reminds me Disciple 39! How is the report on those ¡®marked¡¯ targets?¡± Disciple replied calmly without error, ¡°Out of the fourteen targets marked for increased difficulty none have dropped out! Currently out of those 14, 8 of them were captured today and sent into the cards. Of those eight, five decided to take the cards test which three succeeded in passing and the last two are still in the Gemini world! Do you wish to know who the eight were?¡± ¡°Send me the names!¡± The list was quickly sent over to the Gamemaster to check over and this was the results. Sol Cloudstar Luna Cloudstar Rune Cloudstar Xue Cloudstar Raeki Nyui Jayce Volkter Garundi Rebara Karrin Fang Those marked yellow were still on the card, the names marked red have paid the 100 hundred points and those marked green were the ones that passed the cards test. Reading through the list old man Sao didn¡¯t expect that, that little thief would actually dare take the cards test and pass it with flying colors. Looking at the monstrous amount of points she had on hand he questioned her reasoning as she was first in the ranking by a long shot he wondered why she would risk her life.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Staring at her name he remembered something off hand, ¡®Last name Fang huh? Is she a descendant of the Spider Fang Clan? That clan is pretty well off why would one of their members show up here? Who cares as long as she does interesting things as a ¡®player¡¯ I won¡¯t step in.¡¯ Pouting Stoking a the pot of food Xue face was filled with agitation, while Rune on the other side was making sure the food kept boiling with her fire magic. The two sat in silence clearly in a bad mood about something that happened. Of the two it took awhile but Xue was the first to speak, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Virgo¡¯s test?¡± Rune signed replying in a simple manner, ¡°I felt we weren''t ready for a test of our Dao Hearts and we would lose.¡± With a twitch in her lip, Xue asked,¡°How did you know it was tested for Dao Hearts? We lost 100 points and now each of us has a total of three hundred odd points. We can only dodge two more times Big Sis before we¡¯ll have to fight to say in the competition!¡± ¡°I saw ¡®that¡¯ formation before in the library by chance while we were still on the tavern of dragons and that is was a high-level formation. The main thing it dealt with it was to affect Dao hearts into giving up on life, it is a very twisted formation to use as a trial for us when I see Master Mo again I¡¯m going to give him a piece of my mind! You know well enough out of the two of us you who fears herself and me whose filled with heavy bloodlust, that formation would be a perfect counter to us. Only a fool would make a gamble with their lives without even a chance of victory.¡± Clutching her spoon full of anger Xue was frustrated, ¡°I know that! It¡¯s just that¡­ That bitch was so smug about it! Ugh! I just want to beat her face in!¡± Rune was no exception, as a person who walked the path of the Asura her eyes were filled with bloodlust at how arrogant that lady was shooing them out it was even more annoying knowing that frail looking women caught both of them. Just the thought in her mind of burning that bitch to cinders made the fire she was currently cooking with expanding to a degree. Noticing her sister anger and how much heat she was giving off Xue quickly shouted, ¡°Big sis calm down you are going to burn the yummy food!¡± Startled Rune quickly took her flames down a notch and returned back to managing the heat, thankfully Xue warned her about the amount of fire she was giving off before the food burn she wouldn¡¯t forgive herself to waste any or burn her sister for that matter. Despite living in the Tavern of dragons for a bit, the commoner life of the slums was ingrained into her bones as to not to waste food that was editable especially good food. The two sisters didn¡¯t return to silence despite the awkwardness instead they started to laugh thinking about the things they would do to Virgo when they entered the sect filled them with glee. ¡°Hey, little sit what are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just thinking about how I¡¯m going to beat that bitches bottom black and blue for messing with us.¡± ¡°Right? I say we torment her by burning her golden hair to cinders and make her bald forever.¡± ¡°Hue hue hue I like the way you think Big Sis!¡± ¡°Ku Ku Ku shall we start making plans little sister?¡± Laughter filled the air between the two sisters as they began their plans to ruin Virgo in glee and somewhere in another part of the dungeon the girl who they were talking about had a sudden chill in her back. ¡®Who¡¯s talking about me? Do they want to die?¡¯ Chapter 32 - Scene 2 - Running Out Scene 2 - Running Out Days flow into the next like water down the side of a mountain, with each passing hour the Labyrinth that was full of the sounds of battle had grown quiet. There weren¡¯t any more battle cries as the remaining contestants stayed in the shadows. At this time the two sisters moved through the quiet hallways in search for any monsters or contestants to steal from. Alas no matter how hard they tried these days the couldn¡¯t seem to find many monsters gaining a few points and all contestants had seemed to up and vanished leaving not a trace in site. They knew that today the couldn¡¯t run away and had to gain some points to pay off another boss. Rune and Xue walked side by side, with Rune playing with a ball of poison under the faint light of moss surrounding them. Xue felt irritated that they ran into Virgo once more and another Dao heart challenge boss called Libra. She felt like they¡¯ve been having rotten luck running into the two with her hatred growing deeper for Virgo since they last met. With the time growing ever closer to the eleven day¡¯s hunt starting she grew more restless as time passed. She knew that they didn¡¯t have enough points to skip and if a boss found them they couldn¡¯t outrun their speed or stop them in the slightest. Giving a glance at her nonchalant elder sister playing with her poison making different shapes and forms in her hands was maddening to her. ¡°How can you be so calm Big Sis?! If they find us it¡¯s game over for us!¡± Rune turned to her worried sister and smiled, making the ball of poison float over her shoulder she patted her sisters head, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Little Sis. I have a plan don¡¯t you worry.¡± ¡°And that plan is?!¡± Rune bitterly smiled and stopped in her tracks making Xue bewildered,¡°I wish we had time so I could tell you the plan ahead of time, but unfortunately it seems our luck is bad.¡± ¡°What do you mea--¡± ¡°Hello, ladies!¡± As Xue asked Rune what she meant by that a manly voice from the shadows appeared, he wore orange robes detailed with scorpions. His violet red hair was long, neat, and orderly hanging over his shoulder in a braid. His eyes the color of a deep brown was deep and profound to look at matching his better than average looks. On closer inspection, Xue could see his weapon of choice was the claws hanging on his waist hooked together by chains.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. A smile full of venom-filled honey made Xue shiver as his aura excluded the power of a peak 11th HBR Expert. They had no chance to escape with their battle prowess, at most the sisters could exert the power of an 8th HBR Expert. The somewhat handsome man walked slowly towards the sisters making Xue sweat her hands trembling under the pressure while Rune was unfazed. Both knew it was useless to run knowing it wouldn''t be long before they were taken into a card once again. With this information at hand, Rune made her choice and put her plan into action. Turning to Xue and grabbed her hand and stared her in the eye, ¡°Take my odd points sister they will put you over 200 points allowing you another day.¡± Stunned Xue stood their motionlessly, ¡°Wha-- what are you saying, Big Sis?! Let¡¯s face the challenge together!¡± Shaking her head slightly with a sad smile Rune explained, ¡°This challenge isn''t suitable for you to take, Little Sis it isn¡¯t a Dao Heart challenge or battle or strength it deals with poison! Isn¡¯t that right Boss of the poisoned world Scorpio!¡± Wide-eyed the man now pronounced Scorpio stopped and gave Rune a deep look before chuckling, ¡°Haha¡­ That¡¯s right newbie I use and play the role of Scorpio! And you are also correct I do lord over the world of poison in this little card!¡± ¡°You heard him Little Sis now I want you to promise me not to stay in that world and directly pay the points to leave.¡± Tears started filling Xue¡¯s eyes flowing out of her masks eyes, ¡°But why Big Sis? Why won¡¯t you let me stay! I can fight!¡± ¡°Your path lies elsewhere I want you to leave once you enter promise me this or we won¡¯t be sisters anymore,¡± Rune expression was resolute and unchanging filling Xue with the heartache that her sister would say such words. As if she lost her soul Xue desperately pleaded, ¡°But Big Si--¡± Her eyes shining a frosty evil green Rune glared at her little sister, ¡°Xue! As the second oldest my words are final now do as I say!¡± Feeling bitter Xue bit her lip drawing blood as she held back her sobs, ¡°I understand Big Sister I Promise to leave¡­¡± Seeing the hurt expression of her sister Rune felt her heart was bleeding full of remorse, but she had to be strong and not relent her position. As her elder, she would be her shield and protect her no matter the cost! Scorpio stood waiting by patiently waiting for the two to finish their moment before throwing them in the card before shortly releasing the pained Xue back into the Labyrinth. Before she was kicked back out Rune left her some words with a slight smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Little Sis I¡¯ll do be fine, you just focus on tomorrow and prepare! I¡¯ll see you after the exams promise!¡± ¡°You better or this little sister will give you a beating!¡± ¡°Haha¡­ Ok, see you then Little Sis take care.¡± With Xue gone now, Rune and Scorpio stood face to face with a few meters in between each other, unlike the other Bosses of the Labyrinth he seemed very mellow despite his flamboyant style. He just stared at Rune which weirded her out somewhat, ¡°Wanna be my girlfriend? I like your attitude.¡± ¡°I refuse,¡± mercilessly Rune rejected the offer. Chapter 32 - Scene 3 - Seven Poison Islands Scene 3 - Seven Poison Islands ¡°Tch. The 947th time I¡¯ve been shot down. Ah~ When will I ever find a girlfriend?¡± Rune backed away slowly as Scorpio started staring into the distance as if coming across some profound meaning. Quickly though he returned from his thoughts and turned back to Rune with a sign and stated factly, ¡°Oh well it was worth a try, your luck is pretty good though in getting this challenge with your type of element you will have a ¡®chance¡¯ to pass it, newbie. Before we begin I have to go snatch up forty-nine others so I suggest you get some training in and attune yourself to the area, consider it your good fortune to be caught first. Well, for now, I bid you adieu Rune and wish you luck in passing this trial.¡± Rune listened closely with shock followed by agitation, ¡®He asked 946th times before and asked me to be his girlfriend? Does he have a screw loose? When I¡¯m stronger I¡¯m going to give him a beating for all those girls that came before me. Wait¡­ how did he know my name was Rune? We never mentioned that to him!¡¯ Watching him phase out Rune asked frantically, ¡°Wait how do you know my name!¡± Smiling Scorpio laughed not giving her an answer faded away making Rune gash her teeth in anger before turning away with resentment. With nothing else to do Rune took his advice and started to explore the area. A sun was blazing in the sky showing the surrounding area, herbs and trees grew in all directions, Rune noticed that she stood on a small mountain cleared of vegetation. The air was warmer than the dungeon and it carried an odd scent of fruit and salt. The earth beneath her feet was oddly a whitish color instead of the brown color she was used to seeing surprised her. Besides that, another curious thing was that at a hundred meters out stood a huge fog wall thick enough to block her site outwards. For now, she knew she was stuck here thanks to the magical fog barrier that gave off a compelling force that made sure nothing came in or out. Getting adjusted to her surroundings and seeing nothing dangerous she decided to sit on a large tree branch and gather the high-quality poison mana into her dantian. Time passed by while Rune sat in the tree contestants entered ranging from singles to pairs only one group of three entered together. The number had filled up to forty-nine within a few hours and despite being in one place none of them decided to fight each other thanks to the spell in the area restricting them from doing so. One weird thing to take note of was that no one was talking, instead, everyone was glaring at each other like pieces of meat just waiting to be plucked and eaten. The time in the Labyrinth had made their hearts turn cold with only themselves or in the rare instance another strong person to rely on.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Some of them had been in groups and forced to kill their partners when they were betrayed, others did the betraying and took everything for themselves. Although there was the rare case of Rune and her siblings that could count on one another. Most of the contestants here in the Labyrinth abandoned their compassion in order to reach for the chance to become immortal! The path of the immortality wasn¡¯t for the kind-hearted, to become immortal such ideals were wishful thinking. Cultivation was a path full of hardships. Cultivators used the bodies and blood of those that stood in their way to walk upon the road to becoming immortal. They would defy the heavens will to not die a mortal and struggle with all their might. Rune really didn¡¯t care about those below here staring daggers at each other and kept on cultivating, if she had the choice though she would rob them all of their points and walk away happily. She only started paying attention when there were forty-nine people in the room she was hoping to get this test started faster. Soon enough a weak looking boy with black hair appeared filling the fiftyith slot. Out of all the contestants here he looked the weakest out of everyone; his slightly hunched back, large rimmed glasses, and his passive face. Everyone stared at this prey in hunger wishing to eat this little lamb that walked into a pack of wolves. Looking at the boy in bewilderment Rune raised an eyebrow, ¡®Hmmm someone that could last this long in the Labyrinth shouldn¡¯t be so weak. Is he hiding his strength? No matter if he is I¡¯ll crush him if he tries anything. Now¡­ ¡®that¡¯ person should show up soon.¡¯ As she expected Scorpio soon appeared floating in the sky riding on a giant scorpion with a smile on his face. Everyone stopped looking at the lamb with hungry eyes and instead gazed up at the Boss staring down at them. With his arms wide Scorpio gave off a warm atmosphere that made Rune sick to her stomach, ¡°Greetings newbies!~ Welcome to my test! Now I will explain the rules to the test! It¡¯s really simple to pass, there are seven Islands and to clear the game you must reach the last island and touch the pillar for thirty minutes without stopping! But there is a catch the number of people that can cross each island will be reduced by seven meaning that only eight can pass this test! Another thing to know is that when the time is active every three hours an island will sink meaning you only have 21 hours clear the test! To make things interesting you will all start in different places on the first island and won¡¯t be able to attack each other for one hour. The fastest people will win although you could hunt your fellow contestants for points I won¡¯t stop you for that matter. The last things to mention are to move onto the next island you must cross the ¡®bridge.¡¯ Lastly, remember that you only able to move for eight hours actively a day before the ¡®beasts¡¯ come out to play so I suggest you head to a safe area then.¡± One of the confused contestants raised her hand and asked, ¡°What do you mean by active hours?¡¯ ¡°By active hours I mean you can only travel safely along the ground for eight safe hours. In actual fact, you will spend 72 hours here. Sixteen of those hours will most likely be spent in a ¡®safe zone¡¯ and trust me you don¡¯t want to leave those areas if you''re not confident in your ability. And don¡¯t worry about the time if you look up in the sky you can see it. Now with all the information all out of the way let¡¯s begin!¡± Chapter 32 - Scene 4 - Poisoned Scene 4 - Poisoned With a wave of his hand, Scorpio teleported the contestants along the beach, all in the opposite direction to the next island. Watching the light flicker around her Rune scanned her new surroundings, she was sitting in purple sand that smelled like rot. She got up from the weird looking sand and heard the crash of the water behind her. Turning around she opened her eyes wide to see the waters color behind was a pure purple, she knew it wasn¡¯t a normal sea but a sea of poison judging from the mana in the air. To her left and right she saw two contestants far away from her covered with a shield of light that was fading a bit for each moment that past. She had to make a choice fast, start tracking down contestants or start running through the forest. Both had their pros and cons, if she started hunting contestants she could earn points, but might fail the challenge if she wasted too much time. If she started running she could get a good position at the bridge and hunt those who crossed, the con would be if a coalition was formed and she had to fight more than one at a time. In a few moments Rune made up her mind and started running through the forest, she was confident in her stamina and her speed to outrun the others to get a good position. She figured with the spacing she saw that big groups wouldn¡¯t likely form on the first Island and instead form on the second island. The other contestants if they had a brain would understand this point and weed out the weaklings on the bridge crossing the second island. Now it was the thought of gathering allies or going in it alone was her next line of thought. Rune chuckled as she slid down a hill, keeping to her pace she kept on running through the forest. If they were strong and had a good personality it wouldn¡¯t be bad to team up with someone, but if they were lacking on strength or had a bad person she would eat them without a second thought. Rune kept on running through the forest without stopping and noticed something immediately that the trees were getting thicker and the plant life was growing lush making it harder for her to find a path forward. It got so bad to the point that Rune had to make up her mind and start jumping from tree to tree with her mana supporting her. Thankfully with all the poison mana around her it would be easy to recover the mana she spent when she needed to rest. By now the shield surrounded her had disappeared and the forests started to make strange sounds. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡®It seems that the forest has a life other than us contestants. I wonder how dangerous this life is?¡¯, In the midst of her thoughts, a jade colored shadow shot out of the brushwork aiming for Rune¡¯s neck. Despite bringing somewhat flustered Rune made a claw gesture with her hand and swatted the incoming projectile. Bones and flesh exploded outwards from Runes attack where a snakes body fell downwards. ¡°Humph what a death-seeking creature. Die pitifully-- What the fuck!?¡± As soon as she crushed the snake a dozen more shot out of the brushwork targeting her body in all directions making her shocked before a fit of rage took her. ¡°You¡¯re all¡­ SEEKING DEATH!¡± Streaks of green mana started to crackle from her eyes as she swatted the incoming snakes to death causing a haze of blood around her as she pushed forward filled with strength. With each step, she took more and more snakes rushed her with the intent to stop her making her chuckle at their futile attempts. Rune figured they were at the around the 3rd HBR level completely underneath her level, Jumping through the air sending out claws of flame and poison throughout the field her blood boiled from the smell of blood in the air as she jumped from tree to tree. Despite the dozen or so snakes jumping at her every few seconds, she dodged over half of them and the rest she killed head-on. At this pace should reach the bridge pretty quickly if nothing tried surprising got in her way. As soon as she thought a foreboding feeling started tingling across her back making her stop on her spot. Since she stopped she was forced to kill the snakes that were following her from behind in place, it took her a few minutes to kill them but the cleared the area. Despite clearing the area there was danger lurking somewhere, she stood there for a minute and couldn¡¯t find anything which frustrated her. Finding nothing Rune grew frustrated and depressed to keep moving figuring if something strong came out she¡¯d kill it if something stronger came out she¡¯d poison it then kill it, if something too strong came out she¡¯d run. Jumping to the next tree she landed on the branch and strangely no jade snakes came out of the wild to attack her, but her danger senses shot through the roof putting her on edge. Looking all around her blood was pumping as thoughts filled her mind. ¡®Where is this danger coming from?!?¡¯ No matter where she looked nothing stood out of place driving her mad as the sense of danger grew inside her. ¡®If the danger is not above, to the sides or below where is it?¡¯ The sense of danger then reached its peak in her mind and then suddenly pain filled Rune¡¯s left leg, she instantly reacted and smashed the wooden snakes head apart. Blue venom started leaking from her leg mixed with her own blood. She had been bitten by an unknown poisonous snake, despite using poison cultivation at best she was immune to one hundred poisons thanks to the help of Master Mo. She Instantly figured that she wasn¡¯t Immune to this poison as she started to feel weakness in her body and she started to sweat hard. She had to act fast, quickly she burned the floor down below and hollowed out the middle of the tree. She wobbled inside and sat down cross-legged, Rune didn¡¯t want to but she had to fight the poison inside her off with her own poison arts as fast as possible! Chapter 33 - Scene 1 - Against the clock + Plus Rune Art Piece + Announcement! Scene 1 - Against the clock Her breathing started to grow heavy as sweat poured the size of peas started flowing down her body. Where the snake bit the skin had started to turn purple and like little threads started to climb up her leg causing her to feel nauseous as her hands started shaking uncontrollably. Like a snake she would feel the poison racing towards her heart a steady speed, if she didn¡¯t deal with this poison soon she would die. Using her poison Mana she began to fight back against the venom. The heated battle against the two forces battle line was drawn at the lower part of her knee. The two clashed head on to one another trying to devour one another, with the venom showing a small upper hand with its powerful concentration. Luckily Rune¡¯s Poison Mana was easily replenished from the outside world with how dense the poison mana in the air was. Still, at this pace, Rune judged that it would take more than four hours to a destroy the venom fully. With the three-hour time limit ticking down she wouldn¡¯t be able to make it, she needed to cut down the time or be forced to quit the competition. And her pride wouldn¡¯t let her quit, she had to keep moving she had to win. Making up her mind Rune gathered up her fire mana as well and used it to battle against the venom creating a large circle formation around the bite like a seal to stop the venom from spreading. At this point, Rune was using up about fifty percent of her mana reserves to keep the venom at bay and destroying it bit by bit. By this pace, it would take her about twelve hours to remove, but for now, she could move again. Only that she could only move at a reduced speed and her combat prowess was reduced to a middle 6th stage HBR expert. BY now twenty minutes had passed since the beginning of the contest that Rune started moving again. Gritting her teeth Rune stood up and clenched her hands into fists to stop them from shaking and took her first step forward. Her leg was throbbing with pain, but it was manageable she had gone through worse things in her life she wouldn¡¯t be stopped with this! Jumping from tree to tree snakes descended upon her in the masses with hidden snakes hiding along as branches wishing to bite her to death. But despite her power being lessened, Rune moved unfazed igniting fire around her feet and hands. Smashing heads into blood and gore with her feet and piercing bodies with her hands making claws Rune eventually reached the halfway point at the one hour mark. If she wasn¡¯t injured she bet she could get to this point twenty minutes before, right now she stood in a familiar spot before starting the contest.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°So this was the place we were before.¡± With a thought in her mind, Rune climbed one of the tall trees to get a sense of how far the bridge was. Ever since she started cultivating her eyesight had gotten much better she could make out objects with much more clarity. Putting her hand over her eyes to block out the sun she narrowed her eyes and scanned the area. Ahead of her she could see in the vast green every so often flashes of color, she judged ahead of her were about twenty participants. If she wasn¡¯t stupidly wounded in the beginning she knew she would have been at the head of the pack. Just the thought of her carelessness frustrated her greatly, quickly she shook away from her thoughts and got back to moving towards the bridge. By now the number of snakes in front of her was a headache to kill if she had a choice she wished she could run away from them instead of fighting them. Alas, until she got rid of all the venom inside her leg she would have to brutally slaughter all that stood in her path. Step by step as she jumped along the trees Rune noticed something strange, that in front of her a large amount of destruction among the trees lay bare; the trees mangled in various ways be it explosions, cut to ribbons, on fire, ice pillars, etc. A great battle must have taken place among the contestants here making Rune sad if she wasn¡¯t injured she could have joined in the fight! Sulking to herself Rune moved along the wartorn path at ease with no snakes jumping at her making her slightly happy. Jumping to and forth along the wreckage Ruen could start to smell an all to the familiar stench of rotting corpses in the air. Inspecting the area Rune could see the cut up bodies of snakes and a few contestant bodies ripped to shreds it seems a great battle royal got fought in this place. It made her wonder who made it out of such a battle? Did they get out unscathed from such a battle or did they get wounded? Or was their more then one? She could only guess as to what happened and move forward with a quickness lest those still behind her catch up to her. Walking only for a few minutes more Rune had finally reached the bridge, but stayed in the forest cautiously checking out the bridges gate. What she saw made her eyes narrow in displeasure, standing in front of her was ten contestants standing shoulder to shoulder guarding the bridge ill intent. What a garbage play to pull on the first bridge instead of problems arising in the later bridges this group wanted to finish of many contestants her then later. And judging by their aura of killing intent they weren''t pushovers that she could fight alone in her weakened state. They was only one annoying method she could use, she would have to team up with others to take down this annoying bunch of pests down. And speaking getting teammates Rune turned to her left to see two people walking towards her, one a silver haired woman and the other a nervous boy fidgeting with his fingers. If she remembered right this the guy she saw before the island contest started. Chapter 33 - Scene 2 - Flame Witch Scene 2 - Flame Witch Rune walked along the path slowly towards the two contestants keeping on her toes with her magic ready to go at a moment''s notice. The silver-haired women in comparison to Rune¡¯s stature was very tall towering an astounding seven feet, while the black haired boy was just at five feet much shorter than Rune. Of the two the silver-haired woman kept her large Kukri machete at the ready, while the dark-haired boy had a strange instrument strapped to his back that Rune had never seen before. While Rune thinking about the boy''s weird weapon and she kept an eye on the towering silver-haired women, as the two parties stood only a few meters apart. The air was thick with tension as the two girls sized each other up with Rune standing on a fallen log to keep eye contact. The two stood with arms crossed arrogantly staring at one another, like two hoodlums declaring turf in a foreign land. The first to speak was the silver-haired girl breaking the ice, ¡°How many are there?¡± Rune tilted her head back with disdain, ¡°Ten, how many can you fight? I can take on four no problem.¡± With a snort the silver-haired women, ¡°I can beat up four as well, leave the other two to glasses here. After we beat them we part our different ways.¡± Giving an arrogant smile Rune turned away showing her back walking towards the bridge making the silver-haired girl grow with shock, ¡®How powerful is she to show off her back to a potential enemy?! She¡¯s mad!¡¯ Turning her head back after noticing the two weren''t following Rune tilted her head slightly upwards, ¡°You commin coward? If you are going to back out now¡¯s the time to run away with your tail between your legs.¡± Throwing away her useless thoughts the silver-haired women and glasses jogged over to Runes size about a meter apart. With a humph, the silver-haired women gave Rune a cold stare, ¡°My name isn¡¯t coward its Qao Xingshi remember it or I¡¯ll have your head!¡± With a lazy smile, Rune waved her off, ¡°Yeah, yah names Rune Cloudstar if you forget my name I¡¯ll cut your limbs off one by one and feed them to the pigs.¡± As the two girls threatened each other glasses stood on the sidelines wishing not to cause trouble least the two lionesses turned their fangs on him. Cracking her knuckles Rune walked out of the jungle with Qao and Glasses side by side. The people guarding the bridge noticed their exit stood in bewilderment, making Rune laugh her lungs out as a tear escaped her eye duct from all the amusement, ¡°Ha.. ha¡­ I hope you''re ready punks, those that bar my path only one destiny lay bare and it¡¯s Death!¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Eye¡¯s flashing green flames Rune¡¯s gauntlets lit up in a crimson fire as she rushed towards the bridge her face full of wrath, ¡®I¡¯ve been bluffing my way till this point I hope lady luck will carry me all the way through!¡¯ Up to this point, everything had built on an act of full confidence and now she needed to squeeze out enough energy to finish these guys off and cross the bridge. She hoped with her meager power right now would carry her through and slaughter the people in front of her. One of the contestants on the bridge used a bow and notched back an arrow aimed at Rune¡¯s head wishing to put down this beast of a girl in one shot. Letting loose the arrow with only a ten-meter distance Rune in her weak state didn¡¯t have the care or energy to dodge. So the only thing she could do was be driven by madness and use her mouth to catch the arrow! Turning her head at the last second Rune caught the arrow with her teeth while running full tilt showing not a moment of hesitation! The people at the bridge once stunned expression showed turned to fear as Rune closed the distance quickly at the anchor and made a fang hand jester. Before the anchor could do anything Rune dragged her fingers thru his eye sockets from left to right with enough power to explode his eyeballs. A hollowing scream came from his throat before it was swiftly silence as Rune removed the arrow from her mouth and impaled it into his throat sending blood flying in streams. Holding his throat the anchor would soon die choking on his blood but Rune didn¡¯t pay him any more attention moving to attack another contestant. She was fighting to survive, to show to herself and the world she would never be weak again, she would kill and kill and keep killing those who bared her path. As she moved to her second target Qao had caught up with Rune and taken an arm from one of the contestants before caving their chest in with a powerful kick. All while the boy with glasses sat on a rock setting up a strange contraption, but Rune didn¡¯t care of what was happening behind all she wanted to do was see the world dyed red at this moment. As she moved to rip the next contestant to shreds holding his sword at the ready with shaky legs a figure dressed in gray battle armor rushed in fount of Rune aiming at her head with a trident. Rune hopped away with her good leg and managed to get out of the tridents attack range. At that moment Rune wanted to rush in to attack the new opponent only for her scenes warning her not to attack. There was a slight amount of fear tingling at the back of her neck telling her this wasn''t an easy opponent to fight with brute force at her current condition. Rune decided to take a moment to gauge her opponent''s strength, the person was a male with short brown hair and a shaggy beard. Long vertical scars ran down his exposed arms, he wasn¡¯t a beefy man, but he wasn¡¯t a string bean either his eyes were cold and full of confidence in his skill. He stood ready to strike in his battle stance waiting for Rune to strike again. Seeing as Rune wasn¡¯t charging at him trident mocked Rune with a hand gesture,¡°Come flame witch let us do battle!¡± With a cold snort, Rune¡¯s eyes lit up full of anger, ¡°Humph as if you have the skill! Prepare to die!¡± Chapter 33 - Scene 3 - A Life for an arm? Scene 3 - A Life for an Arm? Gritting her teeth Rune rushed at the figure with fury clashing against the tridents head with her fists in a chaotic manner. His trident moved like a snake as he moved along the land dodging and slashing Rune¡¯s magic that she sent to him. The wind carried his life a feather as he attacked Rune¡¯s defenses dancing almost in her eyes, as small wounds started appearing on her body. But that alone left her in bewilderment as she clearly dodged his thrusts still blood was flowing from her body it took her a minute to figure out why clashing with the spear once again Rune grew a distance and spat at the ground with a frown. ¡°Humph as expected ticks of a weakling using parlor tricks. You''re a wind mage, right? Why use such weak application of your element?¡± With a chuckle, the man held his trident over his shoulder in arrogance, ¡°Heh, only a fool would go all out at the beginning of a fight! I Danidon will kill you slash by slash kekeke.~¡± Like a villain straight out of a b-rated film Danidon laughed, but despite his edgy and shameless manner, his skill wasn¡¯t something to laugh off at. It was the real deal even if Rune was at full power he wouldn¡¯t be an easy target to kill. Still, Rune even knowing that she was at a disadvantage moved forward despite the pain, despite the disparity wrapped in rage laughed, ¡°Ha ha¡­ An eye for an arm, a leg for a life, a wounded animal is the worst thing to fight against. Tell me how much are you willing to lose!¡± Full of wrath flames rolled over Rune¡¯s body like a flaming beacon that couldn¡¯t be extinguished easily. She clashed against Danidon¡¯s trident as if processed as the word kill kept repeating in her brain as an unstoppable force. She didn¡¯t know where this emotion came from, this hate that drove her to insanity, to kill all those who defied her, all those that laughed at her. It was something calling in her mind to end this desirable world to ruin everything lay within an unquenchable wish for destruction that kept arising within her. Rune did not try to hold back this wellspring of emotion and embraced it when it came to her. Her attacks would grow stronger, her hesitation would fall away, and bloodthirst would be at its peak. She needed to win and win and keep winning to wash away the memories of being weak and protect her siblings. Even if she had to become a demon, she would gladly hand over her soul to become stronger. While Rune was fighting against Danidon, Qao was smashing through the enemies with the support of glasses sending blows of wind from his strange instrument is someone saw it¡¯s setup they would be surprised his weapon was a Zephyr. He didn¡¯t just hit the notes randomly a song played at his fingertips. The song played carried the tune of the rush a heated beat that made one¡¯s blood boiled with excitement, it was so unexpected coming from a meak looking to play something so bloody. With his support Qao fought against her enemies with ease even against eight opponents she smiled widely. The fought against each other for a length of time not finding an opening for one side to finish the other, although Qao was having the time of her life battling against such odds on the other hand Rune was fighting a bitter battle against Danidon.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. No matter what attack she tried nothing seemed to go through, his wind pushed away her flames and her poison was containing the venom within her leg unable to move. Impatience kept nagging at the back of her mind growing stronger by the second as sweat trickled down her face. They had fought so long that Rune had stopped using the fire around her body to save energy brow as her breathing started to sound forced. She could hear her breathing of her heart in her eardrums pounding against her, her heart hammering at her chest wishing to explode outwards. Vision getting cloudy she knew that the venom was breaking through her poison defenses from her overextending herself. Rune knew she had to finish this battle soon, but the bastards trident always seemed to know what to block next. And as the cuts piled on her body Rune could see the hand of death closing in on her neck constructing her breathing as a sudden fear of death broke into her emotion of rage. Blocked, cut, blocked, kick, cut again the demoralizing feeling of not landing one attack on this man hit against her self-confidence. Danidon gave no quarter when seeing Rune¡¯s distress and kept on the attack mocking her openly. ¡°Haha, An eye for an arm, a leg for a life, a wounded animal is the worst thing to fight against. I expected more from you speaking such ¡®heroic words.¡¯ What a joke just lay down and die already, weakling. No one will miss you when you die.¡± From his words, Rune moved away from his tridents attack range and stood still her scarlet hair covering her face. The veins on her arms popping outward pushing against her skin, as her fingers made odd cracking sounds as from head to toe her whole body was trembling. Seeing such a move by Rune, Danidon figured that Rune had given up and accepted death as she wasn''t looking at him anymore. With a frown, he started twirling his trident in hand building up to win mana along his tridents head. ¡°Humph as I guessed you bitch can¡¯t stand the heat of the battlefield when death looms over you. Women like you should just stay in the kitchen and make me a sandwich! Now die, weakling!¡± With scorn written alongside his face, Danidon sent a wave of sharp wind in Rune¡¯s direction it was one of his killer moves that cut down experts in half. He figured it would end with this attack no matter how he cut it so he turned his attention to Qao and glasses who were currently battling the rest of his group. As the blade traveled toward Rune everything felt slow to her as the word ¡®weakling¡¯ resounded through her mind. Someone dare call her weak¡­ some bug? Rune let loose the venom she contained in her leg and gathered the poison in her core. With that, the venom instantly flared up and started to make sting like patterns crawling up her leg in a slow and steady pace. But despite the pain running through her body, her power returned to peak condition in an instant. Danidon felt the wave of power from Rune and turned to her direction with wide eyes as he watched the unthinkable. Rune didn¡¯t dodge the incoming wind blade that tore through the ground with terrifying speeds. Flames and poison twisted around her right arm like a leviathan that flowed two her into two fingers that formed fangs. Eyes bloodshot she smashed her hand into the blade of wind creating an explosion of force pushing her back into the forest. Danidon watched in bewilderment as Rune walked out unfazed after facing his full power attack. With a wild anger, Rune yelled in rage and charged into Danidon with wild abandon, ¡°KILL!¡± Chapter 33 - Scene 4 - Ill take an arm! Scene 4 - I''ll take an arm! Waves of fire and poison ran around in a torrent on rune¡¯s body as the venom started to eat away at her flesh. An inhuman chuckle escaped from Rune¡¯s lips as Roko¡¯s appearance appeared in her shadow as her bones could be heard crackling. Danidon expression didn¡¯t change coldly staring at Rune, ¡°Humph you think your tough shit with a spirit weapon? Two can play it that game!¡± He shoulder muscles started to bulge slightly as the power of wind carried around his eyes flared a light green as a figure similar to Roko appeared behind him. Unexpectedly Danidon was holding back his powers revealing that he was an Awakened that had a weapon above gold tier! A built man reaching four meters tall stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His green hair flowed down his shoulders with wind tattoos covering his arms and chest. Facial features fierce and unrelenting eyebrows drawn like swords and a thousand-eyed glare carried full of contempt for all he saw. Danidon and the green figured roared in unison making the wind around them increase in intensity as wind tattoos flared up upon Danidon body. The forces of wind, flame, and poison clashed against one another causing an explosion of force. The force even grabbed the attention of Qao who had just beheaded one of the contestants blocking her. Such a clash amongst warriors made her blood boil wishing to join the fight, unfortunately, these pesky bugs were truly hard to kill as she only managed to kill half of them before a powerful expert appeared in their ranks blocking her massacre. A woman wielding the power of earth tried relentlessly to bury her in a coffin of poison sand. If it wasn¡¯t for the nerd in glasses playing his Zephyr she would have been in a more troublesome predicament. As Qao battled against her troublesome opponent and lackeys, Rune was trading blow for against Danidon as their weapon spirits fought against each other with the forces of nature above their heads. By now the surrounding area of fifty meters was greatly affected by the two¡¯s confrontation causing a three-meter creator to appear below them. Fists and trident bashed against one another in a frenzied manner in close combat. Despite the pain coursing through her body Rune kept on the flow of attacks not letting Danidon pull any distance from her. While on Danidon side he wielded his trident with one hand and casting wind scythe spells in the other. Of course, Rune would be able to crush them with her hands, it was annoying her that when she had an opening he would use these spells as cover. Rune wished she could keep fighting on, but she knew the venom inside her kept moving closer to her heart. If she didn¡¯t finish this fight soon the venom would have progressed too far for her to cleanse it herself meaning she would have to drop out of the contest. Just thinking about not meeting her siblings expectations as a big sister drove her to hate herself at the thought.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Didn¡¯t she promise Master Mo once before she would carry the weight of her sibling on her back? Would she go back on her word? Absolutely not her pride wouldn¡¯t allow it! How could she lose to this guy in this place? She wouldn¡¯t allow it even in death! Unknown power within her rippled throughout her tired body all of a sudden her eyes lit with green flames she made the decision to discard her defense and end it all in one attack! Her opponent Danidon could sense the increase in power in Rune and increased his focus at once he had a bad feeling go through his spirit as if the flame witch was planning something. The change was gradual in the fight as more blood started to flow from Rune¡¯s body and the intensity of her attacks climbed had started putting Danidon in a tough spot as the area around them had turned into a raging inferno of wind and flame. Then Rune saw it the moment she was waiting for when Danidon was pulling back his trident hand to attack with another wind scythe a moment to go all out. While she waiting to attack Poison had silently been building up in her right hand waiting for this moment to move with peak strength in one all-out attack. With a demon-like roar poison ignited around her arm as a burst of fire shot out of feet increasing her speed in an instant closing the distance. Her hand formed a fang gesture as she brought it down like a mighty ware hammer, ¡°<=Spider Fang=>!¡± The fang hand appeared right in front of his face leaving him no time to dodge! But as someone who wielded a weapon above gold tier, he didn¡¯t hesitate to block using his arm and attack with his trident aiming for his head! ¡®Humph, if wanna die then die!¡¯ Rune didn¡¯t stop to pull back at the impending trident aiming for her head and kept going ripping into his arm like paper. Her attack even reached a quarter inch into his chest! But it didn¡¯t come without cost as her attack luckily shifted his trident hands attack direction one of the prongs stabbed into her right eye socket crushing her eye in the process. Even more, luck was that when Rune severed Danidons arm the pain distorted his magic for a few seconds meaning the wind blade effect on his trident didn¡¯t cut her head in two. In pain, the two fell back from one another. Clutching her eye Rune laughed like a mad woman as the venom coursed through her body, ¡°I told you I¡¯d take your arm, too bad it wasn¡¯t your life. Although if my poison has anything to say about it you are going to die a painful death bastard!¡± Danidon was clutching his chest in agony as Rune¡¯s poison started to eat into him from his chest and arm. He started coughing off black blood and knew he needed to immediately start treating his wounds or face death. Unhesitantly he pulled out a scroll from his bag of holding and crushed it in his hand, light surrounded his body making him an orb of light. In the next moment, the orb of light shot towards the bridge at incredible speed leaving Rune shocked as it continued forth to the next island. This wasn¡¯t the only thing to happen as the expert fighting Qao seeing the orb of light also pulled out a scroll and crushed enveloping her in an orb of light sending her in the direction of Danidon clearly showing that they were partnered up. With the annoying pest gone Qao and the nerd quickly made short work of the rest. Now the battle had grown quite with Rune, Qao and the nerd standing there the victors. Rune wanted to sit down right there and contain the venom that was wrecking her body but Qao¡¯s wolf-like gaze landed on her. Turning her head to the nerd she asked respectively, ¡°Prince Carl shall we do away with¡­ This one?¡± Chapter 34 - Scene 1 - Tower of Mirrors Scene 1 - Tower of Mirrors Meanwhile, as Rune, Qao and the geek figured out where they stand, in another part of the labyrinth Saren was fighting his own battles. Spitting blood on the ground Saren drank a tier 2 potion pulling the glass dagger from his gut. He drinks it all and poured some on his wound to staunch the bleeding. With his body treatment done he kicked the glass figure beneath him into pieces. ¡°What nerve reading our memories to attack us in those glass form, whoever came up with this twisted idea should offer his head to me.¡±, Saren scuffed as he checked his surrounding quietly with a watchful eye as he allowed his wound to heal. He had been dragged into this twisted plane where mirrors and fog gathered around him in layers. It was a building of glass that stretched twenty-one floors full of hardship, deception, and deceit. He had only climbed to the third floor and he felt the rage building up within his body. Attacked by glass look-alikes of his siblings, his master, apprentice sister, and even his dead mother. Everyone he had ever cared for or had some affection to popped out the unknown, saying sweet words of kindness as they reached out with open arms. They glass dolls were so life-like and he knew other contestants were forced to take apart in climbing the glass spire. He just didn¡¯t know their faces as a faint fog cover everyone''s features and changed their voice. He didn¡¯t know if one of these blasted glass dolls were his family so he could only wound their legs and talk afterward they would understand. Unfortunately, his plan that worked for the first two floor stopped working as the glass arms and legs of the glass dolls had grown stronger making it harder to only deal minor damage to limbs allowing for one to get in close and stab his but. Fortunately to his weapons memories allowed him to take little damage and dismembered the glass doll before any more damage could be done. But with the stronger dolls, he knew in his head that he couldn¡¯t go on like this. He must go forward and put more power in his bow and not hesitate to fight who came at him. His logical mind knew the answer, yet his heart kept bleeding every time he fought the doll look-alikes. Even though his heart bleed he had to proceed forward he couldn¡¯t fail his master and siblings in forfeiting over some stupid game. Take a break to heal his wounds Saren took a deep breath and got his mental state in check, locking his emotions tightly in his chest Saren¡¯s eyes grew cold as his senses grew heightened.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. He moved forward without looking back going through room by room in silence as his reflections played tricks on him. Strange words seemed to be chanting in his ears testing the strength of his heart as he proceeded forward. ¡®Why did you kill me, junior brother?¡¯ ¡®How Dare you strike your master!¡¯ ¡®Why would you kill your mother?¡¯ Such whispers made the veins on his forehead twitch with annoyance at the voices pecking at him with no end. Reaching the staircase in a hurry to get out of this place as fast as possible Saren almost didn¡¯t notice the figure that walked out at the same time from another hallway. His eyes widen seeing that the figure was familiar to him, the man chest was bare with tons of scars covering his body and a scar under his eye that made him look menacing was no doubt his elder brother Vince. Vince also noticed Saren and smiled saying a few words, ¡°Younger brother! I¡¯m glad you got away from that beast hoard it¡¯s good to see you safe and sounds! Man these glass golems are real pricks just one before looked like Rune and I had to ki--¡± And arrow knocked in a flash Saren shoot straight at Vince''s heart not giving him any time to dodge as the arrow sunk straight between his brows. For the first time instead of broken glass, blood started to pore, yet Saren didn¡¯t move forward and instead cursed at Vince. Vince stared at the arrow in his chest in shock holding then stared at Saren in disbelief coughing out blood he fell to his knees, ¡°Little brother why¡­¡± His eyes filled with rage and anger roared with furry Saren made an arrow condense from thin air pulling it back to a full moon aiming at Vince''s head, ¡°How dare you! How dare you pretend to be my elder brother! Elder brother would never harm elder sister! He loves her too much! Whoever made this shitty place is going to taste my fury!¡± Letting go of the string Saren let the arrow fly straight for his big brothers head and Saren didn¡¯t skip out on the power drilling into Vince''s head causing blood to splatter outward making a massive hole through his forehead. Vince fell back and when he made contact with the glass his body shattered to pieces of glass. Saren walked over the bits and ascended the stairs his face cold and emotionless to the next floor, despite the voices nagging his ears every so often Saren had figured something out after facing the fake Vince. Every doll of glass looked so perfect, they might have the same voice, they might look exactly like the same figure of his memories. But Saren could tell they were too perfect to be his loved ones, be it their clothes, their words, their posture, something would always give them away. Despite being a test of the heart it had given him a way forward it seemed and that was don¡¯t trust anyone he came across, suspicion, suspicion, and more suspicion. Trust no one in this tower rely on himself, everything was false move with caution close off your heart, break mortal ties. His life was on the line and couldn¡¯t take the risk of being killed by the glass dolls it would make his siblings sad. So he must live! Live on his wits and make it to the top of the glass tower! Chapter 34 - Scene 2 - Archer Scene 2 - Archer The voices pounded into Saren brain in a torrent of water suffocating him making him gag and choke on his breath as he reached the fifth floor. He could feel himself reaching the limit of his heart taking the abuse from the sound driving him insane. The floor before this he fought his first contestant instead of a glass doll that was most welcoming to rip him to shreds by making him a pin bag. But the agitation clawing at his body was too much to bear alone making no choice but to call out his weapon spirit. ¡°Archer come out and talk with me.¡± Like a ghost, a man appeared behind Saren wearing a gray torn robe. His robe was open at his chest revealing the slim men''s rock hard muscles with a scar running down his face all the down his chest. His hair hung low like Saren big sister Len covering his eyes. Honestly, he looked more like a drunk hobo ruff around the edges you find sitting in the alley. Still, the man''s face wasn''t that bad to look at and was charming in its own way, ¡°What is it, trainee? Do you want another lesson in archery?¡± Saren shook his head, ¡°Second Master Archer talk with me the voices in this place are driving me mad is there anything I can do?¡± The spirit frowned decking Saren on the head, ¡°What second master? I told you to call me Archer! And what about the voices just use your qi to block them!¡± ¡°Eh? Archer, how do I do that?¡± Placing his hands behind his back Archer instructed, ¡°Ues your qi boy and imagine a wall around your mind. Although this isn''t the best method since it isn''t a technique it should be enough to get you through this tower trainee.¡± Hearing Archer answer Saren felt a little embarrassment lift in his stomach at something so mind-boggling dumb he should have thought of it in the first place. Of course! It was so simple that he started right away focusing on his mind he started making a thick shield around his brain. It wasn''t smooth or perfect there were places that were thicker and thinner all around. It wasn''t pretty but with the barrier put up in his brain the voices that hammed in his ears grew to whispers.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He was able to focus again breath and take stock of his surroundings. He had just reached the fifth-floor meaning at this time all he had to do was go up four more floors and be finished when he finished this one. If he remembered correctly he had about two more days until he would be forced to fail. Looking up at the ceiling Saren could notice a clock ticking down with an hour left remaining. Since they could only move eight hours a day he figured he made pretty good time getting to the fifth floor and decided to make camp at the entrance. He remembered that the only safe spots were at the beginning of the floors and didn''t wanna find out what happened if he broke the rule of traveling. Saren and Archer talked for a bit about cultivation and how to better shield the mind with qi. Every so often a glass figure or contestant appeared to where Saren stuck an arrow in their head or went in with his battle knives. At the end of the time limit, Saren was exhausted mentally and physically from all the fighting and voices. Thankfully when the time limit ended no more people or glass figures appeared allowing him to tend to his injuries and eat some food. His eyes had grown heavy and Saren wanted to sleep badly. With his mind made up, he asked Archer to watch over him and wake him if anything dangerous happened. Taking his clothes off and washing his body of sticky blood with some water he changed into new clothes. He mused about becoming an awakened that could clean his body with mana. Qi could do it as well but it took more effort and he needed all the energy he had to keep ascending. Rolling out his sleeping bag which was thick and warm he crawled inside with his blades at the ready. He made sure the zipper wasn''t zipped up for easy access out, Heavy eyes Saren didn''t go to sleep right away and thought about his siblings. How he missed them the real ones instead of these glass figures that tried to trick and stab him death. How were they fairing? Were they facing similar challenges? If so were they in this shitty glass tower of death? Who could say just thinking about it wouldn''t give him answers. He just had to keep pushing forward and pray everyone made it. Other than that a selfish desire clawed in his mind about wishing to read a good book. He had beforehand handed the demon king and princess book over to Rune for safe keeping. He regretted it now thinking he could have finished it by now. There were afterall 21 volumes and he hadn''t finished the first one. Putting his useless thoughts away Saren cleared his mind and hit the pillow entering a deep slumber in an instant. While his trainee slept Archer watched over the room by floating over Sarens body cross-legged using a bit of Saren qi to set up a warning system. Later on, he''d have to teach the boy to do this unconsciously. But there was a time and place for things so he would baby the boy for a bit until they got out of this place. Then the harsh training his old master had put in place would be set in motion. Just thinking about it made Archer chuckle and Sarens body unknowingly shiver. Chapter 34 - Scene 3 - Tree Mountain Scene 3 - Tree Mountain In another examination test, Xue was currently hiding in the cover in a branch on tree mountain. She wanted to curse under her breath at the predicament that she found herself in. Below a swarm of fang rats ran along forest ground squeaking full of hunger. She didn¡¯t dare heavy for the rats although small were at the range 6th-8th HBR level she could fight a few of them toe to toe maybe but not tens of thousands of them. Currently, they were devouring a few contestants that were not quick enough to take to the trees. Only a few minutes since they had entered this mountain and four had already died out of sixty the rest were in the trees riding daring not to make a sound. They thought this test would be easy survive two days for eight hours each. It was so simple, the didn¡¯t have to fight each other or any limit on how many could pass. Only now did they figure out how much damage they were in. The crunching sounds could be heard by all within the cursed screeching. Some of the contestants decided to run along the trees in hopes of escaping the fang rats below to find a better hiding spot. Unfortunately for them, the fang rats noticed this and a few of them sprouted wings from their backs and took flight. They were faster than the contestants running drilling holes in their bodies causing them to lose their balance and fall below. For one lucky contestant, he had his brain drilled out dying on the spot while the others were eaten alive. In under ten minutes, seven out of the sixty contestants had died. Of those staying still on the trees, they were hoping for the rats to finish their snacks and run away. It took another half hour before the swarm left taking another casualty when one of the contestants slipped up and made noise. The rats reacted instantly clawing up the branch which made the contestant scream in terror as the rats climbed. He tried to run away only to be drilled by a dozen flying rats making his body drop into the swarm. Xue watched on with open eyes not blinking studying the fang rats below her. She watched them eat, how they fly and how they found prey. She was pretty sure that they didn¡¯t hunt by eyesight or smell they hunted by hearing. It was a completely monstrous ability they had to hunt with, giving up their other senses for hearing. Knowing that Xue relaxed her guard slightly yet didn¡¯t move a muscle in great hindsight she got in the position to sit on the branch.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that the rest were struggling to keep standing, Thankfully the rats left after feasting on that last contestant allowing for the contestants to relax their bodies and breath in heavily. No one wanted to fight in such a strange place so they all stood in their trees trying to think of their next move. While they were hesitating on what to do Xue sniffed are air deeply relying on her noses strength and began moving in a certain direction. But not before collecting a few of the talismans on the ground before moving in haste. The other watched wide eye as she disappeared into the bushwork. Using the instincts of the beast blood she drank she moved along the forest ground in silence. Breathing the air to tell where danger could be hiding waiting to strike. Soon after she left a large roar shook the contestants still on the trees. They wondered what that could be before a large black muscled figure blasted through the woods. The aura of peak 10th HBR expert radiated of its chiseled body. It resembled a humanoid shape for the most part with the exception of its naked body and four arms. It didn¡¯t have eyes or ears instead it had holes all over its head that breathed in the air. Smelling the air it turned it¡¯s body upwards and a chilling smiling suddenly appeared revealing it¡¯s large fangs. Before the contestant''s eyes, the black humanoid body transformed, metal spikes arose along its body. Crouching down slightly the black figure jumped cracking the bark below. In frightening speed appeared by a shocked contestant and struck with one of his hands. The hand hit the contestants head ripping the head and spine from the body. A fountain of blood flew up in the air and the stunned contestant ran away with their life on the line. A few of the smart ones even tried to follow after Xue who had left first. Black teeth didn¡¯t chase after them lazily crushing the body before him into paste taking bites every so often. He didn¡¯t chase after them for a few reasons, he wasn¡¯t that hungry and his family needed to eat as well. For Xue none, the wiser of the other contestants being hunted by Black Teeth and his family kept following her senses passing by dangerous zones. Along the way, she caked her body with mud, branches, and leaves covering her sent. She controlled her breathing and retracted her aura, trying her best to erase her presence. This wasn¡¯t a contest of strength, wits or guts it was a test of survival. In the jungle, only adaptation mattered those that could conform to the laws would keep living on. The strongest didn¡¯t matter, take for example the rat tide and Black Teeth. Of the two the rat tide would win ten out of ten times thanks to their numbers. A few tens of them might die, but Black Teeth would be eaten alive even with its metal armor and higher cultivation level. Xue walked around aimlessly along the forest floor using her senses to the peak until she found up above a nice large branch with a hole carved out of it. Climbing upwards she kept smelling and listening as she approached and by luck, the hole wasn''t occupied. Entering inside was quite roomy, if she closed off the entrance it would make a nice place to hide. But she decided against it and walked away without another thought. Chapter 34 - Scene 4 - Survive Scene 4 - Survive Xue didn¡¯t bother to erase her tracks as she moved forward along the forest looking for a spot to rest for the night. She¡¯d found various places to hide away, a hole in the ground, a stone cave, and closed off ravine. Yet she didn¡¯t choose any one of those for one reason, there wasn¡¯t any scent of creatures staying there. Once an that would be fine, twice and it would be weird, only when it happened thrice that she rejected all those places. Every sense told her it was fine to stay in those places, but alarm bells rang in her head at how fishy they were. They all had only one entrance, gave off no creatures scent, and was void of all sound. These places were dangerous she didn¡¯t know why, but her gut told her to keep moving forward. Mear kept an eye on her masters from within the hammer world slightly smiling at how she was thinking on her feet. If she truly tried to stay in one of those deathtraps she¡¯d given her a good beating. Mear wouldn¡¯t give her any advice unless her master got into real danger. So she sat back lazily watching her master act so careful along with the little birds for a good show. One by One Unbeknownst to Xue, a group of contestants followed behind her trail of footprints. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to find the tree branch with the opening. The group of ten looked at each other and one of them whispered harshly, ¡°This will be my spot! All of you scram!¡± Some of the contestants showed discontent to being bossed around one of the girls stepped forward. She sneered at the man full of scorn, ¡°Take it you trash! Those who wanna fight for this place go ahead. Those that actually wanna survive to follow me!¡± Flicking her orange hair behind her back the girl didn¡¯t look back at the crowd and kept moving forward. Seven of the nine remaining contestants decided to move on figuring that the noise of fighting would draw in wild creatures to attack them. The two contestants gave each other a death stare pulling out their weapons getting ready to fight. The loud contestant wielded his saber first intent on cutting the man before him down in a single slash. The other held a mace and shield defending with his shield against the sword he swings down with his mace at the swordsman''s head. No fancy moves or powers went off they wanted to avoid the draw of creatures coming to their position. They fought for more than a hundred rounds before the swordsman foot got snagged in a branch and fell. Taking the chance the mace user gathered the force of his weapon and smashing the brain matter of swordsman.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The body fell twitching on the ground, but the mace user wasn¡¯t happy with the result seeing all the wounds on his body. He left the body as is and bandaged his wounds and ingested a pill that made his wounds seal up. Taking the dead man points he crawled up the tree branch with the hole and sealed the entrance leaving a small part to breathe. With such a good hiding spot he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about passing this test so he decided to get some rest. It had been a long time since he gotten any good rest ever since the test start. His heavy eyes closed without much thought by tomorrow he¡¯d regain most of his energy he expended in that fight. Time past by for the man who was sound asleep. He didn¡¯t notice that the tree hole was slowly closing up around him. It was a slow process as the wood surrounded his feet first then his legs then up to his chest. Only when the reached up to his neck did the man wake up in cold sweat unable to move his warm and comfortable body. Fear gathered in his mind as he tried to activate the qi in his body only to feel needles stick into his body. He noticed he qi and lifeforce was getting sucked up by tree ever so slowly making him unable to break out of this iron class wood. He started to scream hoping someone would hear him, ¡°Help anyone! This tree has trapped me inside! If anyone helps I¡¯ll give them one hundred points!¡± Only his voice fell to deaf ears of the forest no one was going to save him from his predicament. Sighing to himself he opened his mouth to speak once again, ¡°I forf-¡± A branch of wood suddenly shot out clogging up his mouth making him choke on his words. The branch didn¡¯t stop there it dug down his throat and entered his stomachs intestines filling every inch of his body missing all his vitals. The contestant''s eyes widen with fear feeling the branch dig around his body feeling his QI being sucked away dry. A realization struck him, he was going to die here alone in a tree branch. All his dreams, all his ambitions were going to fall away now that he couldn¡¯t escape. Then out of the corner of his eye, a mutilated head came into view. It was the man just a short while ago he killed, his remaining eye looked at him and sneered. ¡°My, my brother look what greed has brought you I can¡¯t wait to see you at the gates of hell brother! Ke ke ke¡­ KEKEKE!¡± Mace started to cry his eyes out trying to his best to claw his way out. His struggling seemed to provoke the branch as without mercy stabbed straight into his brain from his throat. The man''s eyes rolled over as root dug into his brain replacing all his fresh with white roots. When it finished the job the branched retreated from the body as well as the woodlands new resident. Kicking the new puppet out to join it¡¯s new family, after doing so it dragged the body on the floor into the hole next. The puppet stuttered and trembled as the roots took over the nervous system of the body. Bones could be heard cracking twisting and turning. Of those in the sect they didn¡¯t call this tree a mountain tree, instead, they called it a Demon Tree!