《A Shade of Timeless Retribution》


 Chapter 01: An Unlikely Resolution

    I was the last man alive in this dying universe, which was being devoured by a super massive black hole. I was in my beloved spaceship Andromeda.


    All my crew were long dead and the ship was set on an auto-pilot trajectory for a head on collision with the black hole.


    I guess this is the best way to go, having achieved immortality and living for nearly a hundred thousand years. Life took its toll on me.


    Everyone I ever loved, all of them died right in front of my eyes, one way or another. So much pain, so much suffering and leading to what?


    I will have my retribution against time itself! Why?! Why, choose me in this charade of madness called immortality.


    As the spaceship crashed into the black hole, it started disintegrating instantly. I felt my body seething towards the darkness and then, there was nothing.


    I could still feel myself or something similar to it, I was raging in madness. Is there no end for me in this life!


    Then, I realised I was in my soul form. I wanted death, complete death!


    So, I started agitating myself towards complete disintegration and then there it was my soul dismembering itself bit by bit and then there was darkness.


    There was complete darkness, or something equivalent to it.


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    Darkness is just absence of light I believe.


    Then I woke up in a room barely able to keep my eyes open.


    I let out a cry, I feel something warm and then I stop crying, I then fall asleep.


    Meanwhile outside the room, a man in his late twenties is anxiously waltzing up and down the corridor; this man is Raleth Targ, one of the heirs of the once very prominent Targ sect.


    He then hears a cry and rushes inside towards his pale looking wife.


    She is Aleara Targ the wife of Raleth Targ.


    Currently she looks flushed with tears of happiness rolling down her face, having given birth to a baby boy.


    ¡°Aleara are you alright dear?!¡± asked Raleth in a concerned voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine dear...come have a look at our son! He is so beautiful, what should we name him?¡± asks Aleara excitedly.


    Pondering for what would seem like an eternity, but were only a few seconds ¡°His name henceforth shall be Azreth Targ!¡± announces Raleth rather proudly.


    I wake up, adjusting to the light falling upon my eyes with questions like who am I? Where am I? Where is this place? I grow tired and then fall back asleep.


    I wake up to a familiar scent and that same warmth from earlier.


    I open my eyes and I see a woman, her facial features seem to be impeccable.


    Compared to whom? I don¡¯t seem to remember.


    I look into her light blue eyes; I feel happy and let out a soft cry.


    She had a wide smile on her face; I think she should be my mother.


    A while later a tall man walks in with prominent cheekbones and a well-defined face with scarlet eyes.


    He gives out a sense of authority, with an air of safety and certainty.


    He must be my father; he then proceeds to take me from my mother¡¯s arms.


    I let out a small happy cry and he grins widely looking at me showing his all whites in the process.


    A few months pass by; I am now six months old.


    I seem to have grown quite a bit as I can crawl quite well. I try to avoid my mother¡¯s grasp as I try to explore the mansion.


    To my best efforts, as I try to crawl towards outside the mansion.


    I always find my mother with the ¡®stare¡¯ and then she proceeds to spank me.


    Other than my mother and father, there seems to be no one else in this huge mansion, I wonder why?


    My mother brings me a lot of books with hand drawn pictures within them.


    They usually are the ones with different types of beast and plant species.


    Father is usually not around, no idea why.


    A few months later, it¡¯s my first birthday.


    I can walk and run now, but it is still impossible to evade from my mother.


    I can speak coherently, much to the surprise and happiness of my parents.


    On the dinner table, I ask my mother ¡°Can you teach me to read and write?¡± much to her surprise, she asks ¡°Azreth, where did this sudden inspiration come from?¡± ¡°Mother, if I am not allowed to go outside and play, at the very least you can teach me how to read and write, so I could read some books in the library¡± I pout with a bit of anger.


    There is a sudden tear from my mother¡¯s eye, she then starts crying and then proceeds to hug me. For some reason I start crying and hugged her tightly as well.


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    The very next day, my mother starts to teach me basics of the language and calligraphy.


    In the short period of three months, I master the language; much to the astonishment of my mother and father.


    In the few times he came home to visit me and mother, he was extremely surprised with my progress and each time he frowned with a face of worry, I wonder why.


    Shortly after, both my mother and father took me to the library.


    Outside the gate there was a small dragon statue, my father told to me to place my hand in the dragon¡¯s mouth.


    As soon as I did, I felt my fingers being pricked and blood being drawn out of them.


    A few minutes later I fell on my knees with my head feeling like it was about to explode.


    My mother was shocked and scared, my father was astonished with an incomprehensible look on his face, but he did not do anything to interrupt the process.


    A few moments later, which seemed like an eternity to me, the blood leeching stopped.


    After that, there was a humungous roar which shook the very foundations of the heavens.


    Azure golden clouds started forming on the top of the mansion, as large crackling lightning started raining towards the mansion.


    At the very same moment, an extremely thin strand of pitch black radiance seemed to envelope the mansion.


    As the lightning rained down upon the mansion, the black radiance seemingly absorbed everything and started to grow thicker.


    A good few minutes later, the lightning stopped and the azure golden clouds dissipated into nothingness.


    In a place very far away, deep within the mountains there was an old man with a profound and ominous expression, with a deep sigh he said ¡°and let there be blood¡­¡± Deep within the pits of hell, there was a young man sitting on a golden throne with a slight smirk on his face.


    This heavenly tribulation seemed to have awoken many powerful beings from their slumber across the expanse of the continent and piqued the curiosity of many others.


    Meanwhile, back inside the mansion father and mother were huddled together with me between them with a scared, shocked and confused expression.


    I was mostly confused more than anything else, wondering what was happening outside.


    My father was the first one to speak ¡°W-What was that?!!¡± he said frighteningly.


    Suddenly the gates of the library flung open. As we stepped inside, my mother tried to console me that everything was alright.


    There seemed to be two levels in this extremely large library.


    Father said he did not have access to second level as he did not have the qualifications.


    I did not understand what he meant by ¡®qualifications¡¯.


    I was curious about the second level but did not pay much heed to it.


    My head was buzzing with excitement upon the soon to be gained knowledge of this world.


    My mother and father still had a worried expression with regards to the previous event.


    That which they could not understand in response to the roaring statue or the thundering outside made them pale in thought.


    They realised that these events might be related with Azreth and were worried about a sudden calamity befalling upon him.


    Oblivious to everything else I ran to the very first row of books and asked father to pick a very large book and place it upon the table.


    It piqued my interest; its name was ¡®A time of Kronelock¡¯. The name of the continent in which we were living was Kronelock.


    It has a width of 900,000 Km¡¯s. It is the second largest continent, the first being the Dark Continent.


    Not much is known about the Dark Continent as it seems to be extremely dangerous and many people have died trying to explore it.


    I also found out the vast number of species on this continent seemed to be cultivators.


    The term cultivation filled me up with a sense of profound thought, it felt like something I experienced before but in actuality; I hadn¡¯t.


    Putting this thought at the back of my mind.


    I kept reading on as I learnt about the different species inhabiting this continent; there were elves, dwarves, demons, beastmen, titans, dragons, angels and lastly humans.


    It was quite surprising as I thought only humans inhabited this continent.


    There were also various professions like enchanters, alchemists, array masters, mages and blacksmiths.


    But I was most excited upon learning that I could become an extremely powerful person who could fly!

 Chapter 02: Knowledge and Love

    Flying, for some reason it feels really natural to me. I guess it is something I don¡¯t know about.


    There were certain instances where I felt like I knew much more about the world. It was more like instinct; ingrained in your very soul.


    Anything I read I could understand quite a bit of it. I¡¯m not sure why that¡¯s the case, but I feel like it¡¯s something natural to me. I spent the entire day in the library going through all the various books from history, geography to basic alchemy. I was like a sponge soaking in all the knowledge I could get my hands upon.


    I discovered that we lived in the city of Khar. This city was the capital of the Kingdom of Terelia. The Kingdom was located in the Eastern section of the central plane of the continent. The Capital was extremely large with a width of about a 1000 Km¡¯s. For non-cultivators, there are teleportation arrays set up about in different parts of the city.


    The population of the city was about 250 million. About 95% of it being humans, considering this was a human kingdom.


    I also discovered that I had no access to certain books, one of them being ¡®History of the Targ Sect¡¯. It was weird because as soon as I tried to touch them, I was pushed back by a gentle shock to my hands. I realised certain books and journals were enchanted.


    I find a book called ¡®basics of cultivation¡¯. It lists general information about the cultivation ranks and methods at the beginner level.


    The cultivation levels are as follows:


    1.      Mortal Realm


    2.      Lord Realm


    3.      King Realm


    4.      Emperor Realm


    5.      Divine Realm


    Each realm is divided into four stages; early, middle, late and peak.


    I find that none of the cultivation methods are suitable for me as I am too young. The meridians in a person¡¯s body start to open up and join together around at the age of five. Once the meridians are all joined up, the root of the dantian starts to sprout above one¡¯s pubic region; it usually happens around the ages of eight or nine year olds. This represents the true start in one¡¯s journey onto the path of cultivation. Not everyone is able to form their dantian though; some people go through their entire lives trying to form a connection to their dantian.


    It is something that cannot be forced and must form naturally.


    The book also mentions something about the legendary soul cultivators. Though, none of them have appeared in the past One hundred thousand years. Everyone just considers them as myths of a bygone era.


    The key to increase one¡¯s cultivation depends upon the way in which one can absorb the world Qi from their surroundings.


    Qi exists in everything from the plants, earth and air to small animals and large beasts. But not everyone has the ability to form an ethereal connection to their surroundings.


    It depends upon a person¡¯s latent talent to sense their surroundings. In order to test a person¡¯s talent, an object called the soul stone is used. This stone is primarily used by large cultivating schools to select the best talents.


    Preceding the Mortal Realm, there are five stages:


    1.      Qi sensing


    2.      Qi gathering


    3.      Qi condensation


    4.      Skeletal manipulation


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    Generally your average cultivator gets stuck in the Qi gathering stage for a really long time and when he does advance, it usually is very late to realise one¡¯s potential.


    The average lifespan of a normal cultivator is a hundred and fifty years. Once someone breaks into the Mortal Realm, their lifespan increases to about five hundred years. If they then break into the King Realm, their lifespan increases to five thousand years. Anyone above the King Realm is usually considered to be an immortal as there are no Emperor Realm experts in the Kingdom of Terelia. There may be some outside the kingdom, but currently they are an unfathomable level for me. As for Divine Realm cultivators, there are no recorded existences. The divine realm is considered as a mythical realm.


    There is also something called magic or elemental manipulation. Basically it involves the ability to sense, control, direct and implement the forces of nature; fire, water, wind, earth, light and darkness. Any subsets of these elements like ice, magma, lightning etc. can only be achieved upon the mastery over their precursor elements.


    Anyone, who is unsuccessful in the path of martial cultivation, tends to pick up one of the other professions. A mage is usually their top option as it is usually considered the next best thing.


    The combat ability of mages is severely restricted. As in any close combat situation, 99 times out of a 100 they come out second best. Mages are usually useful for long range combat and that is where they shine.


    But any normal mage is easy pickings for a cultivator in the Mortal Realm. Mages, other than their elemental defenses have extremely weak bodies. A single hit from a Mortal Realm cultivator is usually fatal. Hence, one will find that many cultivators in the Mortal Realm or above are usually proficient in the manipulation of at least one natural element.


    Enchanters are people who are not proficient in manipulation but in magic spells. These spells have various uses like making powerful weapons and artifacts.


    Arrayists are skilled in magic formations. These formations are useful in setting up very strong defenses against enemy combatants. A large scale array has the ability to cause extreme large scale destruction. Though the downside is these formations are that they take a long amount of time to set up and if an arrayist is disturbed while setting up a formation they would have to start all over again as the mind link is usually severed.


    Then the most common professions are blacksmiths and farmers. Blacksmiths make simple iron and steel weapons. They also make other construction tools. Farmers on the other hand just grow food and herd cattle and small beasts.


    After absorbing all this information, I decide to call it a day. The sun is about to set and I¡¯m hungry as well. I wonder what mother has made for dinner.


    The next day I don¡¯t go straight to the library, instead I decide to play with mother. ¡°Azreth, why do you want to play with me, don¡¯t you want to go and read some books in the library?¡± asks my mother. ¡°Mother, I love you¡­¡± and I start bawling on my mother¡¯s bosom. She caresses my head and plays with my hair. I hug her with all the strength I can muster. ¡°Azreth, what¡¯s wrong what happened?!¡± mother asks in a concerned manner. I rub my face filled with tears and snot on my mother¡¯s shoulder and reply ¡°nothing¡­¡± Then I spent the entire day playing with mother without a care in the world. My father came home that evening and then I played with him for the rest of the day.


    I have realised the time I get to spend with my parents is going to be extremely limited when I tread my path on cultivation.


    There is no one I love more than my mother and father. I also really like the warmth of my mother.


    The path to cultivation is a really long one and one must cherish every moment they can get with their loved ones.

 Chapter 03: Journey

    A few months later;


    I am currently two years old and I am now allowed to roam outside the mansion.


    The mansion has a massive garden with many different types of plants and trees. There is a giant forest overlooking the mansion. Mother has said that under no circumstances should I have to go to the forest as it is an extremely dangerous place. Otherwise, well I shudder upon thinking about ¡®otherwise¡¯.


    It was late in the night, I just had my dinner and it was almost time for bed.


    I was out an about in the yard of the mansion, when I saw mother walking towards me. I ran up to her and jumped up into her arms. ¡°Mother, why do the green lilies glow and sway in the night?¡± I asked her ¡°It¡¯s because they absorb the energy of the stars and illuminate the presence of star dust.¡± she said ¡°Then what do the stars in the sky represent, if not the energies of the world?¡± I ask.


    I actually discovered that star light is very conspicuous in nature. Its energies are directly absorbed by various plants and animals. They tend to have a gentle soothing effect upon the recipients of the energy. In some cases, it has also helped curing an unstable state of mind and various ailments related to one¡¯s consciousness.


    ¡°Each star is said to represent one¡¯s wishes and feelings, the stronger the way you feel, the brighter your star will illuminate.¡±


    ¡°Feelings can vary from one spectrum to the other. They can be both over and under whelming. Anger, sadness, happiness, fear, guilt they all contribute one way or another towards the formation of our consciousness.¡±


    ¡°This world is a terrible place, where a moment is all it takes to change your life for better or worse. Mostly for worse, because moments of happiness are few and rare and when they come, they are generally overshadowed by the regrets of your past.¡±


    ¡°These moments of happiness are few and far between. You do not realise when they are there, until they are gone. This starts an endless cycle of guilt and regrets.¡±


    ¡°Azreth, I would ask you to live for the moment and not get too bogged by the present. Harshness and heartbreak will be ever present in your life. Do not dwell too much over things you have no control over. ¡±


    ¡°When me and your father will leave you or vice-versa, you must live and stay strong my son!¡±


    She explains with moist eyes.


    I do not understand what she means by leaving. Is she and father going to leave me alone, is it soon? I feel spit forming up by lumps in my throat. I am not able to get any words out of my mouth. This terrible feeling, why does my chest hurt so much?


    I hug her, with silent tears forming in my eyes. She hums a lullaby to put me to sleep. The sound of her voice has an air of relaxedness.  Her gentle and smooth voice has been the highlight of my life thus far and then my mind goes blank and I fall asleep.


    Fast forward a few more months:


    I am currently three years old. Today is the first day my mother is going to take me outside towards the market. I am extremely excited as I have always wanted to explore the outside world. We will leave soon and I am currently sitting in the garden outside the mansion.


    My mother arrives; she is wearing a long flowing purple skirt. She then proceeds to pick me up in her arms. I don¡¯t mind walking but given the opportunity, I always like to be in my mother or father¡¯s arms.


    She removes a golden bracelet out of thin air, I was shocked! Is this what people call magic? My mother lets out a laugh when she sees my expression of disbelief.


    ¡°Azreth this is a storage ring. It¡¯s a dimensional artefact created by a high level enchanter. It was given to me by your father on our wedding day.¡±


    ¡°It has the ability to store a large amount of things in it. There is no limit to the size of the object because the space in the ring distorts according to the size of the object.¡± She says.


    Well, the thing about space distortion is something I don¡¯t understand. I will check for it in the library once I get back home from the market.


    ¡°Mother, then what is this golden bracelet?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Son, this is a teleportation bracelet. It has the ability to teleport to other large fixed teleportation arrays. This was also given to me by your father. Huh, on that note, your father hasn¡¯t got me anything in quite a while.¡± She then mutters to herself.


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    ¡°Anyways, there is a large teleportation array outside the central market in the middle of the city¡±


    ¡°Since our mansion is located in the northern outskirts of the city, it will take us at least a few hours on foot. Considering flying is not allowed inside the city limits.¡± She continues.


    ¡°Wait What! Mother you know how to fly?¡± I ask with amazement.


    ¡°Uh ¨Coh¡­it¡¯s not flying per se, but a movement martial technique using the air element. Anyways, it¡¯s not something you can think about in your current state. Only King Re-¡­You shall naturally come across these things when you grow up.¡± She hastily interrupts herself.


    ¡°Anyways, we shall get going now.¡± says my mother.


    She then touches her bracelet and then closes her eyes. The golden bracelet glows brightly and then lets out a projection. It¡¯s a pitch black rectangular shaped projection. Mother opens her eyes and tells me ¡°Azreth, hold on tightly. It will barely be a second before we enter from the other side.¡± I nod to her warily, not sure about my first teleportation experience. I then proceed to clutch my mother tightly.


    As she steps into the pitch black portal, all I see is darkness. Suddenly, it gets extremely cold and mother is nowhere to be seen. I shout for my mother at the top of my voice, but I can¡¯t hear my own voice. Not sure whether it¡¯s due to me becoming mute or deaf or both. I may have gotten blind as well, as all I can see is the pitch black darkness.


    At the very least I can feel my body. I steel myself and start to walk in a random direction, hoping it would lead close to where my mother is at. I keep walking for what seems like an eternity, well not really but maybe for a few hours or even days. I¡¯ve lost track of time.


    The surprising thing is that there is not a single bead of sweat on my entire body. I keep wondering whether this is some type of illusion magic. In one of the books I had previously read regarding different types of magic, it is mentioned something like high level mages who have trained their mind, could distort the minds of their enemies. I seem to be running out of ideas regarding my current predicament.


    Then, I get some sort of an idea. Why don¡¯t I start meditating? It¡¯s something I have never done in my life before. I have read upon several basic meditating techniques, but one must be at least five years old in order to use them; since five is the age, when all the meridians inside one¡¯s body are connected. Any type of meditation technique practiced before the age of five will only lead to a loss in the absorbed energy. It¡¯s something akin to pouring water in a pot full of holes; unless and until the holes are shut the water will never be accumulated inside the pot. It shall remain an empty pot for the rest of its life.


    I sit down cross-legged and close my eyes, I keep breathing in and out at a steady pace. I try to remove all distracting thoughts in my mind as I want to achieve a blank state of mind. I slow down my breathing, till it¡¯s almost non-existent.


    As I stare into the abyss in my mind, I try to concentrate towards a single point in it. After a while, I see what can be described as a black ball. It starts rotating slowly until it starts to pick up its speed. I start to concentrate even harder upon the ball and its speed increases by leaps and bounds.


    It¡¯s now spinning so fast that I can feel the space around the ball sending out some sort of ripples. I can feel the space bending towards the spinning ball and the surroundings becoming quite unstable.


    Everything around me starts to become chaotic as I try to break out of my meditative trance. I can fell the ball trying to suck me in. It feels like it wants to devourer me and there is nothing I can do to prevent that outcome.


    I get sucked inside and then suddenly a big burst of heat hits my body.


    I slowly open my eyes and what I see utterly shocks me. I am still sitting on the ground cross-legged in the middle of an absolute barren wasteland with grey skies. All I can see in front of me is this absolutely massive mountain in front of me and nothing else!

 Chapter 04: The Obstacle

    I stare upon the grey skies, it seems like they emanate a putrid sense of feeling. It¡¯s like I am an indifferent existence in this damned of a place.


    I look at the massive mountain in front of me with a sense of awe. Well, this place is really weird as everything beside the mountain is a barren wasteland; so much for my first expedition into the outside world.


    I slowly get up with my legs wobbling for a bit. I set my self-up and then start to trudge towards the mountain.


    I keep walking slowly for what seems like ages but I¡¯m barely anywhere close to it. I do realise now that it is quite far.


    I walk for what is maybe a day at most and I am finally upon the foot of this humungous mountain. I¡¯m still not sure why I don¡¯t feel tired in this place.


    What I see is a cave, a very large one at that at the mouth of the mountain. With nowhere else to go, I steel my resolve and start walking towards the entrance of the cave.


    The entrance had no lights; it was just another pitch black cave. I start to walk in a unidirectional formation.


    Again, I keep walking, walking and walking until what I hear is the sound of flowing water. I walk towards that direction.


    What I see is three adjacent waterfalls facing towards me. The water is green in colour and it is going through what seems like a large metallic basin.


    It seems like a dead end to me. Not sure which way to go now.


    Then I do find something peculiar on the middle waterfall. The water seems to be hitting a very large metallic cup and then the water overflows from the cup and into the basin.


    The cup does not seem to be stable as it moves slightly up and down due to the overflowing water. I can¡¯t go anywhere near to investigate the waterfall as I am sure I will not survive its impact.


    I think about going back outside, but I¡¯m not sure what I will do then. As I try to peer hard towards my surroundings looking for something that I find different but to no avail.


    Then I start to analyse the movement of the waterfalls, what I then hypothesise is that the water which is flowing from the top to the bottom may be flowing in a cyclical fashion due to these basins being some sort of mechanical contraption.


    The walls near me are filled with long green wines leading to the top of the waterfalls. I then consider climbing these wines but in the end decide against this train of thought due to the probability of slipping and falling seeming to be quite high as these were quite high walls.


    I start to ruffle around the wines, hoping to find some sort of hidden gateway or something of the sort. But instead I find a lever which in itself was quite crude.


    Unfortunately, it was a bit too high for me. I then start climbing the wines hoping to reach the lever with my right hand.


    After climbing to a certain height, I make the jump towards the lever. I grasp it with my right hand and then quickly with my left.


    By the weight of my body the lever starts to move down slowly until I hear a clicking sound and the lever sticks to the position. I then let my hands go from the lever.


    Then the ground started shaking and a mechanical contraption started moving from behind the right waterfall. It started routing the water towards the middle waterfall and into the giant cup.


    Due to the excess pressure from the waterfall the cup started to sink until there was a loud clicking noise and then the cup stopped moving and the excessive water started flowing into the basin as usual.


    I then realized there must be another lever on the other wall hidden behind the wines. After I checked the other wall and sure there it was.


    I caught hold of the lever the same way as I did for the other one until it came down and stopped with a clicking sound.


    Then the ground shakes again and another mechanical contraption starts moving behind the left waterfall, rerouting the water towards the middle one.


    Now, with the excess pressure from the waterfalls the large cup starts moving until it sinks again and then it stops with a large clicking noise.


    Suddenly, the waterfalls stop as the water stops flowing from the top. Then the ground starts moving as the cup splits apart and a giant staircase from below starts moving towards the top.


    I can feel a way out now as I slowly start climbing the steps towards the top.


    As I climb towards the top step by step, I can fell some sort of pressure bearing down upon me. It becomes harder and harder to lift my leg for each step.


    Each step I take only leads to an increase in the pressure bearing down upon me. I then drop down upon my knees and start crawling towards the top.


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    I can feel my own breath defeating me as the pressure starts to become unbearable.


    I can¡¯t seem to go on any longer as I start to lose my senses. I can feel my eyes closing on me and I feel that if my eyes close now I might never wake up again.


    No, I can¡¯t die here. I have a lot of things to accomplish and discover yet. I think about my parents and how heartbroken they will be when they discover that I am dead.


    I decide that I am going to overcome this obstacle and live. I then proceed to steel my resolve and then bite my tongue.


    The blood starts to flow from my mouth and the pain is what keeps my mind from fading away into the abyss.


    I keep going while clenching my fists. My nails dig deep into my palms and the blood keeps seeping out of them.


    The pain is unbearable but it is currently what is keeping me a whisper away from death itself. I can feel that I am a whisker away from the top.


    Just a bit more and then I shall get out of this mess.


    I finally reach the top and then the pressure stops. I find myself bruised, bloodied and out of breath. I don¡¯t seem to have the energy to walk. I can see what looks like a pond filled with the same green liquid.


    I start crawling towards it and then push my entire body inside the pond. My body feels soaked and then it starts to relax a bit. I just float on the top for what seems like a really long time, occasionally taking mouthfuls of the water and gulping it down.


    Then I feel something weird happening to my body. All my bruises and cuts start to heal by themselves and bit by bit I¡¯m as good as new.


    At this point in time I started to wish that I had a storage ring like my mother. This green water seems to have excellent healing properties and I wish I could store large amounts of it inside the storage ring.


    I stop this line of thought and remember that I have to get out of here as quickly as possible. Since my mother would be worrying about me now.


    I get out of the small pool and look around, I find that there is no exit in sight but I do find a large metallic gate in front of me. It seems to be tightly shut.


    I get near the door and as soon as I touch it to push it open, the door glows brightly.


    Suddenly, there is a massive roar around me and I can see a giant forming out of thin air about fifty meters in front of me. The giant has a grey body and seems about twenty feet tall and he has a big saber in his right hand.


    I look upon his face and find that the giant has dark red eyes. From the books that I had read previously only titans have dark red eyes. Hence, the being in front of me must be a titan.


    The door behind me starts to disintegrate and the titan lets out a massive roar.


    He then starts charging towards me with his saber positioned for an attack.


    I push my back towards the disintegrating door and hope I can run in the other direction. But it looks like this is going to be my end.


    As soon as the door disintegrates, I position my body to run but the titan lets out a wild slash with its saber.


    The saber slashes through the left side of my chest and if I were a split second late in rotating my body, I would have been split into two halves.


    The force of the saber manages to push my body away for a good hundred meters. I look back at the roaring titan; it looks at me and keeps howling but can¡¯t seem to cross the door.


    I let out a momentary sigh of relief but soon realised that the impact of the saber left a deep gash on my chest and that the wound was bleeding profusely.


    I could sense my mind dying out; it looks like I am really done for this time. I lift my head with a bit of difficulty to look around what seems like a hallway.


    At the end of the hallway, there seems to be three different types of flames burning. There was a jade green flame on the left hand side, a dark grey flame on the right hand side and a bit further back than these two was a pitch black flame in the middle.


    I realised I needed to live, I couldn¡¯t just kick the bucket now. I need a chance!


    I look towards the flames and start dragging my body towards them, creating a blood trail all the way.


    I can feel my mind disappearing but I still keep going in hope that the flames might help me in some way or another.


    As I get near the flames probably on the edge of death, I see the green flame flickering vigorously and it flies towards my head and then the grey flame follows suit and then finally the black flame flies towards me.


    The last thing I feel is mind numbing pain and then I pass out.

 Chapter 05: The marketplace

    I wake up in my mother¡¯s arms. I am panting quite heavily, not sure what is going on.


    My mother has a weird expression on her face ¡°Azreth, what happened?¡± She asks. I¡¯m not sure what to say, but then ¡°Where is the titan¡­the three flames¡­the mountain?!¡± I ramble incoherently.


    ¡°Azreth, we were barely a second inside the portal. I¡¯m not sure what you are going on about.¡± She says.


    I suddenly remember the wound on my chest; I grip my chest tightly, trying to feel the pain. But there was nothing. Was that all a dream, impossible! No, it definitely wasn¡¯t. But, were we there only for a second inside the portal?


    My mother has a confused expression on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it mother, I guess it was a dream.¡± I lie. At his moment my mother frowns ¡°What? How can someone dream for barely a second and that too inside the portal?¡± ¡°Anyways, let¡¯s head down towards the market.¡± She then decides to drop the subject.


    I can¡¯t concentrate on the rest of the journey. I feel groggy, like I almost died out there.


    We arrive at the marketplace; there were various kinds of shops selling books, meat, fruits and vegetables, jewellery, clothes, weapons, antiques, cooked food etc.


    The smell of roasted meat permeated throughout the entire marketplace.


    The entire marketplace was buzzing with the sounds of people laughing to haggling with the sellers.


    My mind it¡¯s all over the place, the various events that transpired kept on playing again and again within my mind.


    My mother she saw the uneasiness in my eyes. She probably laid it down to me seeing a large crowd for the very first time.


    After some time, we arrive in front of what seems like a very large antiques store. We step inside and walk towards the counter.


    There was a young woman with beautiful features standing there. She looked at my mother and let out a loud shriek.


    ¡°Aleara, is that you? I haven¡¯t seen you for quite a while!¡± She says excitedly.


    ¡°Yes, Tylene it¡¯s me. How have you been doing?¡± replies my mother.


    ¡°Whose child is that?¡± asks Tylene.


    ¡°It¡¯s mine of course¡± ¡°His name is Azreth¡± ¡°Azreth, this is my childhood friend Tylene¡± Says my mother to me.


    ¡°Greetings Aunt Tylene¡± I say to her with a slight bow.


    ¡°Oh, what a well-mannered child you have raised Aleara¡± Tylene commends my mother.


    I look around the shop and find that it was quite spacious with many ancient antiques spread around.


    ¡°Mother, can I go and have a look around?¡± I ask my mother.


    ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t break anything.¡± says my mother with a stern voice.


    I look around the shop and find various swords, shields, talismans etc. These items seem to be quite expensive as there was no price tag less than a hundred gold. This must be one of those upmarket antique shops.


    My mother seems to be good friends with Tylene I guess.


    As I am looking around the shop at the very corner there is a young girl with an even younger boy in her arms. She seems to be about 4-5 years old. The boy seems to be about 1-2 years old.


    I walk up to the girl and introduce myself ¡°Hi, I am Azreth and what might be your name young miss?¡±


    The girl flinch¡¯s her eyes and the young boy chuckles with a laugh ¡°Who are you and what are you doing here?¡± she says with a reserved voice.


    ¡°I came with my mother as she seems to be good friends with the lady behind the counter¡± I reply.


    ¡°That lady is my mother¡± ¡°Anyways, my name is Lyra and I am 4 years old.¡± She says with some pride.


    I¡¯m not sure why she is prideful for her age.


    ¡°This is my younger brother Mikhail and he is a year old.¡± She announces with further pride.


    I pat Mikhail on his head and he lets out a laugh. He seems to be happy, now I would also like a younger sibling as it might be some fun.


    ¡°I am 3 years old¡± I say to Lyra.


    ¡°Ha! See I am bigger than you¡± She responds.


    I¡¯m not sure whether this is some kind of competition or not.


    ¡°Come, I shall show you around the shop, But first take Mikhail in your arms as he seems to like you.¡± She then proceeds to thrust the baby boy into my arms.


    I take him into my arms and he starts giggling with his drool spilling over my shoulder.


    She then starts walking back towards the counter and I follow suit.


    ¡°Mother you have finally appointed someone as my personal servant¡± she says to Tylene.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your servant and I just met you. Why can¡¯t you be my servant?¡± I scowl back with a frown.


    Both my mother and Tylene have an amused expression on their faces and then they both start laughing wildly. It¡¯s not really funny or is it.


    ¡°My, Lyra has grown up to become a beautiful girl¡± Says my mother.


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    Lyra then proceeds to blush and cover her face. ¡°Lyra, do you recognise this lady? She is your mother¡¯s best friend.¡± Tylene says to Lyra.


    Lyra then shakes her head.


    ¡°I had last seen her when she was about a year old, of course she won¡¯t remember me Tylene.¡± says my mother.


    ¡°Oh, and who might this be¡± my mother brings her face close to Mikhail.


    ¡°He is my son, his name is Mikhail¡± says Tylene with a hint of pride.


    My mother then proceeds to take Mikhail from my arms and plays with him. He lets out a loud chuckle. Mikhail seems to be a really happy baby.


    ¡°Lyra, why don¡¯t you show Mikhail around the shop?¡± Tylene says to her daughter.


    ¡°I was going to do just that, but Azreth must give me a piggyback around the shop.¡± Lyra pouts to her mother.


    This woman must be crazy I think.


    ¡°Mother, I think I will be fine on my own¡± I say to my mother.


    Lyra frowns on the verge of crying and then she really starts crying. This woman in an instant gives me a headache.


    ¡°Ok¡­Ok, stop crying. I will give you a piggyback. Wait what¡¯s a piggyback?¡± I say to Lyra with a dejected expression on my face.


    She then immediately stops crying and then immediately jumps upon my back and latches on to me.


    ¡°Well if you can¡¯t be my servant, you shall be my personal horse from now on¡± she says aloud.


    Both my mother and Tylene start laughing loudly again. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s so funny about this situation I find myself in.


    ¡°You are really heavy Lyra¡± I smirk at her.


    She then proceeds to pull my hair. ¡°Am I still heavy now?¡± she says with a vicious expression on her face.


    ¡°Ouch¡­er¡­No, you are the lightest person in the world¡± I sigh in defeat. This only tends to further increase her prideful expression.


    Carrying Lyra on my back, she takes me around the store showcasing different antiques and their various uses. I start to get bored from her long incessant explanations and let out a yawn.


    ¡°Getting bored huh¡­let¡¯s go the basement where there are many useless antiques. While down there we might even catch a glimpse of the ghost!¡± she says excitedly.


    ¡°Ghost¡­What ghost, a spirit maybe, not sure about a ghost though¡± I say.


    As I carry this woman towards the basement, she then hops off me. Oh, my aching back! I must get back at her.


    As we enter the basement, it is in pitch black darkness. Lyra lights up a flame and that significantly lights up the room.


    Then I start to feel cold¡­really cold. ¡°Lyra, are you feeling cold?¡± I ask her. ¡°No I don¡¯t. Ha! Scared already¡± she haughtily replies.


    I can feel all the pores in my body opening up and the frost seeping within, unsure as to why this phenomenon was happening to me. My mind is going numb; I can¡¯t hear the chattering of Lyra as the frost is blocking my ears to all the sounds in my surroundings. I fall down on my knees with blood sneaking out of my mouth.


    Lyra looks at me with a frightened expression. She mumbles something as I can¡¯t seem to hear her and then she proceeds to run out of the basement.


    I look around the basement and I see there is a sheathed sword at the back of the room. I realise the frost is emanating out of the sword as I can see blue waves coming out of it and attacking me.


    I gather up my strength and trudge towards the sword. Suddenly, there is black smoke surrounding me. I no longer feel cold anymore; in fact as soon as the blue wave collides with the smoke, the wave then dissipates into the surroundings. I¡¯m not sure what this black smoke is or where did it come from.


    I can feel the smoke drawing energy from the surroundings and revitalising my body along the way. As soon as the black smoke touches any of the antiques; the antiques starts to break apart and then dissipate. All the antiques in my immediate surroundings were converted in to nothingness.


    As I approached the sword it grew agitated, I tried to control the black smoke but it would not listen to me. I willed it to stop and then it did.


    I picked up the sword and tried to unsheathe it. No matter how much strength I used it would not budge. Then I decided to try something, I tied to will some black smoke on my right hand and then gripped the sword.


    The black smoke covered the sword in its entirety and then it finally unsheathed itself.


    The blade had a pitch black radiance, it felt that everything in the world was beneath it and that it is destined to devourer all creation. Beneath the grip of the sword there were some words written ¡®Eternal Blade¡¯ I said them aloud and then suddenly the blade disappeared as if it never existed.

 UPDATE

    I''m sorry for not posting any new chapters over the last week or so due to me being extremely busy at work and hence writing has temporarily taken a back seat in my life.


    I will start to post a minimum of 1 chapter a week. There may be more chapters but it all depends upon my work commitments.


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I will post the latest chapter a bit later.

 Chapter 06: Uncertain events

    Aleara and Tylene rush towards Azreth with a look of worry on their faces.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± asks Aleara.


    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure¡± Azreth replies with a confused expression on his face.


    Both Aleara and Tylene have an astonished expression on their faces due to the absolute destruction of the surroundings.


    ¡°This¡­This, how is this possible!?¡± Tylene picks up a brown dagger with half its blade missing. The surrounding antiques were absolutely decimated, some of them devoured into nothingness.


    ¡°There was this sword¡­it was attacking me and after I touched it¡­it disappeared as if it never existed¡± Azreth left out the smoke incident in his explanation.


    ¡°Lyra said that you were bleeding from the mouth. Are you alr-¡± Azreth¡¯s surroundings go to black.


    Azreth wakes up to the smell of roses or what he presumes the smell to be. He had passed out. He looks around to find himself in someone¡¯s room with plenty of toys around.


    ¡°Ah! My head is killing me¡± Azreth looks around for some water and finds nothing. He tries to open his mouth to call for someone, but he can¡¯t seem to get any words out of his mouth.


    ¡°Mother! Look the idiot¡¯s woken up¡± Azreth hears a familiar voice. His anger flares up instantly after hearing this girl.


    Aleara rushes in and then tightly hugs him. ¡°Azreth, how are you feeling? The healer came in and said that there was nothing wrong with you and then left a while ago¡± Aleara says with a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°I am fine mother, just a bit thirsty¡± Azreth replies plainly.


    Lyra walks in with a glass of water ¡°Take this dummy; don¡¯t go around blacking out on me¡±.


    After quenching his thirst Azreth looks around ¡°Lyra this seems to be your room, why are there so many toys around?¡± he says with a smirk on his face.


    Lyra¡¯s face becomes red ¡°These are not mine¡­they are Mikhail¡¯s¡± she says with a blushful expression.


    ¡°Mother, why did you need to put him on my bed?¡± Lyra says bashfully.


    ¡°The smell of roses¡­its very nice¡± Lyra blushes at Azreth¡¯s statement.


    ¡°I¡­I really like the scent of roses¡± She says meekly.


    ¡°Now, become my servant and I will give you many roses as a reward¡± Lyra demands.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I be the one to give you roses¡± Azreth says confusedly.


    Lyra¡¯s face flushes with red. She then digs her face into her mother¡¯s skirt due to embarrassment at the words of Azreth.


    Both Aleara and Tylene let out a laugh at both these children¡¯s words.


    ¡°Aleara don¡¯t worry about the damage in the basement, they were all worthless antiques anyway¡± Tylene says with a smile on her face.


    ¡°That sword was as ancient as it could get. No one knows of its origins, everyone just presumed it to be a piece of scrap from a bygone era. As for the destruction that occurred I shall have it investigated.¡±


    Azreth lets out a sigh of relief; suddenly there were grumbling noises ¡°Mother, can we get something to eat¡± he says with an embarrassed expression.


    ¡°Sure, I will ask one of the servants to get you something¡± says Tylene.


    ¡°Mother, I am hungry as well¡± Lyra says unabashedly.


    Soon, one of the servants came in with a tray of what looked like meat buns and orange juice.


    ¡°Umm¡­I love spiced meat buns¡± Lyra had a mouth-watering expression on her face.


    Lyra kept chugging down meat bun after meat bun. It seems she has an endless pit instead of a stomach.


    ¡°Lyra, you are quite the glutton aren¡¯t you.¡± Azreth had quite a bit of difficulty in holding down his laughter.


    Lyra¡¯s face went red with half of a meat bun sticking out of her mouth ¡°Sht ub, wht wod u kno!¡± she mumbles incoherently.


    After we finished our meal, it was time to say our goodbyes as it was soon to be dark.


    ¡°Azreth, will you come again? It seems Lyra had a great time with you.¡±


    ¡°Who had a great time with this dummy?¡± Lyra pouts incessantly.


    Aleara takes Azreth in her arms and goes outside the house. She brings out her bracelet and opens up the portal back to the mansion. Azreth feels a chill run down his spine. The sudden thought of what went down the last time he went through the portal had his mind racking up all sorts of different thoughts.


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    The portal opens up and Aleara walks in with Azreth in her arms and then the next moment they are inside the garden outside of the mansion.


    Azreth has his eyes tightly shut and when he opens them up again, he lets out a sigh of relief.


    He thinks about all that has transpired throughout the day. It went from being a normal day to having two near death experiences.


    ¡°Azreth your father will be coming home today¡±


    Aleara then walks in the mansion with Azreth in her arms. She goes towards his room and puts him on the bed.


    ¡°Rest for a while. Once the food is prepared you can join me and your father for dinner.¡±


    Azreth starts to feel drowsy and before he knows it he fall asleep.


    He wakes up after some time and then proceeds to freshen up. He goes downstairs and sees his mother and father sitting at the dining table.


    ¡°Father you¡¯re back!¡±


    Raleth looks at his son with a bright smile on his face.


    ¡°Azreth your mother told me what happened earlier at Tylene¡¯s antique place. How are you feeling now?¡±


    Raleth looks on with a concerned expression towards his son.


    ¡°I just feel a bit light headed¡­nothing else really.¡±


    Azreth says with a smile on his face.


    Satisfied with the answer, Raleth decides to drop the subject.


    ¡°Father why aren¡¯t there any servants in our mansion? At Lyra¡¯s place there were plenty of them.¡±


    Raleth frowns at the question form his son, not sure what to tell him.


    Aleara interjects ¡°Because I like to do all the housework as it helps me keep fit¡± with a light smile on her face.


    Azreth seemingly unsatisfied with the explanation decides to drop the subject.


    ¡°Father, Mother I also want a younger sibling like Lyra¡±


    Azreth says with a proud expression.


    Aleara starts to blush while Raleth lets out a laugh ¡°Why do you want a younger sibling?¡±


    ¡°Lyra has a younger brother to play with. I also want someone to play with¡±


    Azreth pouts with a cute expression.


    After dinner Azreth was not feeling sleepy, so he decided to head towards the library. Azreth needed to find some information relating to the weird phenomenon he experienced previously. The mystery of those three flames back in the cave, the black smoke emitted from his body repelling the attack of the black sword and after that the sword disappearing somewhere.


    As he entered the library he started looking around various books and journals but to no avail.


    These books contained absolutely nothing related to the phenomenon he experienced.


    Azreth started to get frustrated due to the lack of information pertaining to these events.


    In his frustration he decided that he will try and enter the second level of the library. This was just instinct or a hopeful fantasy because he was running out of ideas on obtaining any information.


    As he approached the barrier, it started to buzz and vibrate. Azreth was not sure what was happening.


    Azreth tried to touch the barrier and then suddenly his hand went through. But, his hand seemed to be stuck on the other side of the barrier. He started to lose control of the movements of his body.


    Small strands of black smoke were coming out of his body and pounding the barrier. After some time Azreth managed to get his entire body across the other side of the barrier.


    Azreth started gasping for breath as this entire event sapped most of the energy from his body.


    He looked around to find that he was lying on the ground outside what seemed like a massive hall containing thousands of books.


    Surprisingly, all the books and furniture were well maintained and there was not a spick of dust on any of them.


    As he started to get up and trudge towards the hall, there was what felt like a massive explosion in his head. There was a large hoarse thundering voice.


    ¡°WHAT LIGHTS UP BUT DOES NOT LIGHT DOWN?!!!¡±

 Chapter 07: The Test

    Azreth¡¯s head started spinning. The searing pain from the loud voice was too overbearing.


    ¡°What sort of question is this?! It¡­it makes no sense!¡±


    Azreth had a hint of despair in his voice, unable to come up with a solution for this stupid problem.


    A few minutes later the buzzing in Azreth¡¯s head stopped. He lets out a sigh of relief as the source of the voice was nowhere to be found.


    He started to gather his bearings and get back up on his feet. Still feeling a bit groggy from the event, he trudges slowly through the hallway and into the large room.


    As he enters the room he feels a large amount of overbearing pressure around him. It makes it difficult for him to walk any further.


    Once again the black smoke, which is emitted out of my body, wades of the pressure. It feels like there is some sort of shield around me, constantly pushing back the excess amount of force.


    He walks up to one of the racks which encases thousands of books and tries to pick out a random book.


    As soon as he hand touches the book, Azreth receives a shockwave that blows him away a few metres.


    ¡°It would seem that most if not all of the books over here are enchanted.¡±


    ¡°I think my lack of cultivation power is acting as a barrier which limits my access to these books. The only reason I managed to get up to the second level was because of the black smoke.¡±


    Azreth wonders about his ancestry and the many ancient secrets kept in this library. It seems like the second level was bigger than the entire mansion itself. Azreth was confused at this phenomenon. He did not know how this would be possible.


    Azreth thinks about talking about all that has happened to his parents, but then soon drops this line of thought. He knows this is something his parents have no control over and will worry unnecessarily.


    Azreth decides to leave this place for now as his cultivation level is non-existent.


    He walks out of the library and then heads straight towards his room. He is dead tired and wants to go to bed as soon as possible.


    Time goes on the same for a few months. Most of Azreth¡¯s time is spent in the library, once or twice a week he goes to Lyra¡¯s house to play or in other words listening to her incessant chattering. Meanwhile, Aleara had fallen pregnant and was due in a few months. Azreth was really excited at the arrival of his sibling.


    Azreth was currently five years old and he was waiting outside the room with his father. His mother was in labour and it was a really anxious moment for him and his father.


    We hear the sound of crying and rush inside to find Aleara snuggling onto a baby. The midwives congratulate my father on the birth of a baby girl. My mother was crying with tears of happiness, my father goes up to her and kisses her forehead. He then proceeds to take my baby sister into his hands; he has a bright smile on his face.


    I walk up to the bed and look at my baby sister; she is very cute and currently napping.


    A few weeks pass like that in bliss. Azreth now spends most of his time playing and taking care of his sister. He sees that his sister has very unique eyes; they are deep crimson in colour. Her name was decided to be Natasha.


    Lyra did come by at our place along with her mother and brother to visit my mother and new born sister.


    Azreth knows his current free time is soon to be over as in a few days he will go along with his father to get his meridians checked as well as his elemental affinity. Once he starts walking on the path of cultivation, the amount of time he gets to spend with his family is going to be severely restricted. So currently he is enjoying himself as much as he can.


    Soon the day of the test arrives. It¡¯s unfortunate that mother can¡¯t go with me because she has to take care of Natasha as she is too young to go outside.


    Raleth opens up a portal towards the Jade Gemstone academy. This academy is where young cultivators and mages from the ages of 5 ¨C 17 hone their skills. This academy is located North West in the city of Khar. It is on the outskirts of the capital overlooking the nine stone mountains.


    We arrive at the entrance of the academy and there are plenty of parents with their children waiting for them to be tested.


    Lyra manages to spot Azreth in the crowd and then run towards him.


    ¡°Oh! Good, my manservant has come all the way for me to the academy¡±


    Azreth rolls his eyes towards that statement.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you six years old¡­why are you not still enrolled at the academy?¡±


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    Lyra slumps at my question looking visibly sad.


    ¡°My¡­my meridians were not completely joined up and hence I was told to try again next year¡± she says with a sigh.


    Behind her was a man presumably her father. My father greets him with a handshake and they start talking to each other.


    ¡°Azreth this is Lyra¡¯s father Tarekh Liantheum. He is one of my old friends and one of the best enchanters in the capital.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you sir¡± I give a curtsey bow.


    ¡°Nice to meet you to. Lyra you could learn a thing or two from him¡± Tarekh reprimands Lyra with a gentle voice.


    Lyra just snorts at his statement seemingly ignoring her father¡¯s words.


    ¡°Did you know that my father is at the middle stage of the mortal realm?¡± Lyra says with a proud voice.


    I am unsure as to how to rebuke her. Previously, when I asked both my mother and father about their cultivation levels they always somehow evaded the question and hence I still don¡¯t know whether my parents have a high or low cultivation.


    ¡°Lyra that is nothing to really brag about, Raleth is in the early stages of the Mortal realm but he is one of the best alchemists you will find in the capital. Also, did you know that Azreth¡¯s mother Aleara is much more powerful than me? She is in the late stages of the mortal realm¡±


    Lyra is shocked at the words of her father but Azreth is in an even bigger shock.


    He realised that both his parents were powerful mortal realm cultivators and his mother was much more powerful than his father. He also realised that his father was apparently a great alchemist. Azreth¡¯s father never even talked about the work he did.


    Azreth looks at his father with a confused expression and Raleth just awkwardly smiles back at him.


    Soon all the children start to get tested for their meridians. They all line up in multiple rows. There are thousands of children waiting to be tested. There are many test stalls set up, at least a hundred of them to speed up the process for everyone involved.


    It basically involves, first placing your hand upon the qi stone to check your meridians level and then touching the soul stone to check your elemental affinity.


    Out of the thousands only a few hundred are selected since this is the top academy in the capital. The rest of them go to other smaller academies or other professional schools.


    Azreth and Lyra are patiently waiting in line for their turn. Azreth sees many kids, some with happy but most with dejected looks on their faces.


    As he moves to the front of the line he can see the testing process. A young girl places her hand on the qi stone and it glows yellow which is a standard colour. It means that her meridians are joined up and her dantian has started to sprout. She then proceeds to touch the soul stone and it glows with a light yellow colour. It means she has an affinity for the wind element. She seemed happy as she started walking back.


    Soon it was Lyra¡¯s turn. She seemed nervous; I just told her to relax and wished her the best of luck. She walked up to the stage stated her full name and age and then proceeded to touch the qi stone.


    It started to glow yellow in colour and Lyra lets out a sigh of relief. She then goes on to touch the soul stone and it lights up; half of it with white light and the other half with blue light. Lyra was surprised and really happy.


    ¡°A dual affinity in light and water¡± The administrator lets out an exclaimed expression. He has an expression of approval towards Lyra.


    She seemed really happy and stands on the side of the line. She was waiting for my test to be over.


    I walk up to the stage and the administrator¡¯s assistant asks me for my name, ¡°Azreth Targ, 5 years old¡± I reply.


    Suddenly the administrator looks at me, scrutinising me from head to toe.


    I walk up to the stage placing my hand upon the qi stone. It starts glowing green.


    ¡°This¡­this how is this possible?!¡± the administrator lets out with a shocked expression.


    ¡°Brat, place your hand again on the qi stone¡± and sure enough it starts glowing green again.


    ¡°Kid your meridians are fully joined up and your dantian is fully formed as well. This is the first time in my life I have seen or even heard someone at the age of five with a fully formed dantian.¡±


    My mind was absolutely buzzing with joy, currently I felt like I was the happiest person in the world.


    Then I placed my hand on the soul stone and nothing happened.

 Chapter 08: The Headmaster

    Azreth placed his hand over the soul stone again but the result was same again. There was no glow in the stone. As if it didn¡¯t react to his hand placed upon it.


    The administrator seemed visibly shaken at the result.


    ¡°This is very weird, how can someone have no affinity for any elements. In all my time I have never seen anyone with absolutely no elemental affinity. Everybody has some level of affinity albeit a very tiny proportion but some affinity to any element nonetheless.¡±


    The administrator was very confused at Azreth¡¯s results. He was probably a heaven sent genius with a fully formed dantian at the age of five but having no elemental affinity whatsoever.


    ¡°Kid, wait until everyone¡¯s tests are over. I have to consult my seniors regarding your case.¡±


    Azreth visibly confused just nodded and walked back towards Lyra.


    ¡°Azreth what happened? Why did the soul stone not glow when you touched it?¡±


    Azreth just shrugs his shoulders and starts walking back to his father. Lyra did not know whether she should be happy or sad for him.


    ¡°Lyra, how were your results?¡± asked her father.


    ¡°My meridians have been fully formed along with a dual affinity for light and water.¡± Lyra beams proudly.


    Tarekh was visibly proud at the results of his daughter. He was now sure that she would get admitted in to the academy.


    ¡°Azreth how were your results?¡± asked his father.


    ¡°My...my dantian is completely formed but I have no elemental affinity whatsoever. The administrator told me to stay behind, once everyone else¡¯s tests are over, he would consult someone senior in the academy regarding my case.¡±


    Raleth was extremely terrified. Having your dantian formed at the age of five, one could consider Azreth as an abomination or a heavenly sent genius. He had never heard anyone having a fully formed dantian at the age of five. On top of that, having no elemental affinity whatsoever was something impossible. The soul stone detects the affinity of the soul towards the elements. The soul and the elements have a symbiotic relationship. One cannot exist without the other. Everyone in the world, all races and beasts have some level of affinity be it large or small, having no elemental affinity can be considered as having no soul within the body.


    Raleth was unsure about what to say to his son. Tarekh could see the visible distress upon the face of Raleth.


    ¡°Azreth, don¡¯t worry about it. There must have been some mistake with the stone. I¡¯m sure everything will be fine once you meet someone from the academy.¡±


    Tarekh consoles Azreth with a wry smile on his face.


    Both Lyra and her father decided to stay behind in support for Azreth.


    Soon all the tests for the other children were completed. The administrator walks towards Azreth and asks him and everyone else to come inside the academy.


    ¡°You must be Raleth Targ, father of Azreth. I must say your son is one of a kind a really special case. We will now go and meet the headmaster of the academy.¡±


    Both Raleth and Tarekh were extremely surprised. The headmaster was a very prominent figure within the kingdom. His name is Kirth Breglin. He is a peak stage Lord Realm expert nearly 4000 years old. Having caught the attention of such an expert they did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse.


    They all silently walked towards the headmaster¡¯s room.


    Once they reached the room, they all entered the room together. There was a young man looking like he was in his early thirties sitting behind a desk. He had a sleek jaw, pointed nose and green eyes. He had a casual smile on his face.


    The headmaster Kirth gave out an extremely sharp aura. It was extremely fascinating for both Azreth and Lyra.


    ¡°So you are apparently the boy with no soul.¡± The headmaster gets straight to the point.


    ¡°Come over here; let me check your dantian and elemental affinity personally.¡±


    Azreth walks towards the desk of the headmaster. The headmaster then takes Azreth¡¯s hand and closes his eyes. Soon sweat starts to be formed on Azreth¡¯s forehead.


    After a few minutes the headmaster opens his eyes and then let¡¯s goes of Azreth¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You are the first person I have seen who has a fully formed dantian at the age of five. When I was young my dantian was fully formed when I was eight years old and I was considered a genius sent from the heavens. On the other hand you have a fully formed dantian with Qi gathering around it. It seems you have already stepped into the Qi gathering stage. Tell me what cultivation technique have you practised?¡±


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    Everyone in the room is shocked at the statement of the headmaster. A Qi gathering cultivator at the tender age of five, no one in their right mind would ever consider this to be possible. Raleth, Tarekh and the administrator are visibly trembling at the statement of the headmaster. Lyra is just standing there with a confused expression on her face oblivious to the words of the headmaster.


    ¡°I have never practised any cultivation techniques in my life. I definitely have read many of them but considering I was too young I never practised any of them.¡±


    The headmaster raises his eyebrows at the words of Azreth but hen calms down. He feels that a five year old kid has no reason to lie to him.


    ¡°It does seem that you have no elemental affinity whatsoever. But when I try to reach and study your soul, there is something which is blocking my path. This only happens when someone has a higher cultivation level than the one who is trying to analyse that person¡¯s soul. I definitely know that you are no king level expert.¡±


    ¡°So tell me Azreth, What are you?¡±


    Azreth is visibly shaken at the question of the headmaster. Raleth tries to interject the conversation.


    Suddenly, the headmaster lets out an extreme amount of pressure in the room. Everyone else in the room gets on their knees unable to stand against the extreme amount of pressure. Lyra just faints on the spot.


    Meanwhile Azreth looks at his father and Lyra with a worried expression. Azreth realises that the amount of pressure released by the headmaster was miniscule compared to the pressure he felt in the cave. He could move around his body without any problems.


    The headmaster looking at the careless expression of Azreth is extremely shocked. He releases an even greater amount of pressure. Then everyone else in the room is faced with an even greater level of danger. The pressure released by a peak level Lord Realm expert is no laughing matter.


    Raleth, Tarekh and the administrator are having a really difficult time in fending off the pressure. Soon blood starts to leak out of their eyes and ears.


    Azreth after seeing the visible pain and blood on their faces stirs up. Something inside Azreth instantly flares up. This kind of anger is something he has never felt in his life.


    He looks at the headmaster; his irises shining with pitch black radiance ¡°STOP!!¡± he roars loudly. The shockwave shakes the very foundation of the academy.


    The headmaster went flying across the room and slams into the wall with an enormous amount of force. The wall breaks into many deep cracks. Blood starts to seep out of the corner of his mouth.


    Everyone else can¡¯t believe what they just witnessed. A Qi gathering stage disciple, going against a peak level Lord Realm expert and then coming out on top. If someone said this story outside no one will believe them and just laugh at their faces. But just now, that is something exactly what has happened.


    Azreth falls to his feet; it felt like all the energy in his body was drained.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!!!!¡± The headmaster lets out a loud laugh.


    ¡°That was amazing; it seems I have found a gem in you Azreth. After a thousand years I finally get to taste my own blood.¡±


    The headmaster seemed to be ecstatic like a madman. Everyone is just stunned at the chain of events which have transpired.


    Lyra wakes up from her slumber and looks around not sure what just happened.


    ¡°Father, why is the headmaster laughing like a crazy person?¡±


    Before her father could reprimand her statement, the headmaster interjects ¡°Hmm, a dual affinity for both light and water. It seems the young lady is another genius within our midst.¡±


    Lyra blushes at the words of the headmaster because of being called a young lady.


    Meanwhile, Azreth is panting loudly because of the immense exhaustion he was facing. Raleth runs up to Azreth and checks on him. Raleth checks his vitals and lets out a sigh of relief. Azreth¡¯s life was not in danger and he was just out of breath and severely exhausted.


    The headmaster walks up to Azreth and says ¡°Azreth, would you like to be my personal disciple?¡±


    Everyone in the room is surprised at the headmaster¡¯s proposition as having a peak level Lord Realm master is a very prestigious and difficult thing to achieve. In the headmaster¡¯s 4000 years of existence he has not taken in a single disciple. He has even rejected children with the royal bloodline. Therefore this proposition seems all the more unbelievable.


    ¡°NO!, I am not interested in becoming your disciple.¡±

 Chapter 09: Resolution

    There was pin drop silence in the room after Azreth¡¯s straight rejection of the headmaster.


    Raleth and Tarekh felt like they misheard him as his words felt like an explosion inside of their heads. They were not sure what to say to placate the situation as Azreth¡¯s outright rejection left no room for discussion. People will try to kill each other for a chance to become a disciple of a peak level Lord Realm master. If word got out that that someone rejected this grand opportunity, all the people will be after the idiot¡¯s head.


    Kirth Breglin, the proud headmaster of the Jade Gemstone Academy, one of the peerless Lord Realm experts in the kingdom of Terelia who has almost never faced any sort of rejection from anyone was absolutely stumped. Throughout his life he had never thought that he would come across someone who might be worthy to be his disciple and when suddenly he does find someone he straight up rejects him. It felt like a bitter blow to his pride.


    ¡°Kid, people will throw their lives away for an opportunity to become my disciple and you straight up reject me¡±


    The headmaster growls angrily at Azreth.


    ¡°I do not take well to people who try to harm my family and friends. If your intention was to test me you could have led me to another room, but no your inherent pride, arrogance and the need to show off got in the way. If anything happened to my father or Lyra and her father, my chances in succeeding were negligible but I definitely would have tried to kill you.¡±


    There was a bit of bloodlust leaking from Azreth towards the headmaster.


    Everyone was stunned at the words of Azreth. Raleth started to prepare for an attack if need be to protect his son. Tarekh caught hold of Lyra¡¯s hand and was on full guard. The atmosphere was extremely intense.


    ¡°This is the first time in a very long time that someone actually talked back to me and even dared to threaten me. I¡¯ll give you this kid; you¡¯ve got balls of steel. I could have gone about things differently but what¡¯s done is done. I apologise to everyone involved and I hope we can start from scratch again.¡±


    The administrator was stunned, a lord realm expert apologising to trivial Qi gathering disciple. Just what did he see in this kid to go to such great lengths? It is true that he was not affected by the headmaster¡¯s pressure and even sent him flying across the room in the end. But, it was still unbelievable that the headmaster gave an actual apology. If word got out then the headmaster would lose a lot of respect.


    ¡°The offer still stands kid but the fact that you¡¯re my disciple must not leave this room because it will bring a lot of unneeded attention towards you. Your life will probably be in danger because the other clans and sects will be after your head because a five year old cultivator who has massive prospects will be a big danger to them. So what is your decision?¡±


    ¡°I think it will be best if you postpone this offer for three years until I¡¯m eight years old. For now you will be my teacher as I will not be attending any classes at the academy.¡±


    Raleth feels like just walking across the room and smacking Azreth until he is black and blue. Regardless of the outcome Raleth is just waiting until he gets home to teach him a lesson.


    ¡°If I were to accept your demands there would be certain conditions. You will follow my training to boot and you will train with me personally for three years. Oh and by my word these three years will definitely be hell to you. During this period you are not allowed to visit your family or friends.¡±


    Azreth felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Being away from his family for three years, especially from his baby sister Natasha, he felt like he could not agree to the conditions set by the headmaster.


    But on the other hand the pursuit of power seemed to tantalising. He knows that there are certain dangerous reasons his father has never talked about the Targ sect. Azreth realises that power dictates everything and the strong always prey on the week.


    Azreth feels like he must take the cards dealt to him. He realises that he has got an early start on the path of cultivation. He must take this chance to establish an extremely solid foundation. Also three years in the grand scheme of things seems like an acceptable condition.


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    ¡°I accept your offer headmaster.¡± Azreth responds with a heavy sigh.


    ¡°Get you affairs in order. I will give you a weeks¡¯ time and after that you must report back to me.¡±


    Raleth did not know what to say as it had been a really long day. In the end his son was departing from him for three years. He was not sure how it ended up this way. All the thoughts about going home and teaching him a lesson instantly vanished. He was worried about Aleara as this piece of news would be a massive shock for her.


    Everyone silently walks out of the academy. Finally Lyra¡¯s the one who breaks the silence.


    ¡°Now who is going to play with me, I don¡¯t know anyone else, you did not even ask my permission.¡± Lyra grimaces with big droplets falling from her eyes.


    Azreth goes forward and strokes her head ¡°Dummy, you will make plenty of friends at the academy.¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling dummy? But I don¡¯t want to play with anyone else I only want to be around you. Now who will give me piggyback rides?¡± Lyra buries her head on the chest of Azreth and starts bawling.


    Azreth is not sure how to placate this girl¡¯s crying ¡°I will be training and studying hard for three years. You must also not slack off during this period.¡±


    Lyra noddingly pouts towards him ¡°I will become very strong just wait and see.¡±


    Looking at these children, Raleth and Tarekh both have a wide smile on their faces.


    Saying their goodbyes with a promise that Lyra will definitely come and visit during the week, Raleth opens up the portal towards their home.


    Upon arrival Aleara looks at the glum faces of both father and son. She starts to worry, sensing the discomfort Natasha starts to cry. Raleth comes forward and takes Natasha into his arms and starts to gently shake her to stop her crying.


    Raleth instructs Azreth to tell his mother what happened throughout the day. Azreth starts explaining everything that transpired from scratch.


    At the end of the explanation Aleara starts crying and storms out of the room. Azreth did not know what he should do and hence just sat there.


    After a while Azreth decides to go to bed since he was exhausted. As soon as he climbed onto his bed he fell asleep.


    He wakes up after what seems like a few hours. Feeling hungry he decides to go and look for his mother. As he was walking towards the dining area, he overheard his mother and father talking.


    ¡°Aleara, why are you angry with him? Our son is a genius who gets to train under a Lord Realm expert¡±


    ¡°But he is only five years old. At his age all he should be doing is running around and playing not thinking about cultivation.¡±


    ¡°But, his dantian is fully formed also I don¡¯t know how but he has already stepped into the Qi gathering stage. If we hold him back now we will only be destroying our son¡¯s future prospects. Plus he has no elemental affinity; I think the headmaster is the best person to find a solution. Also, when he attacked the headmaster the blood lust he was letting out was really abnormal.¡±


    ¡°I know all this is true, but I don¡¯t want to let go of my baby. Natasha will not even recognise him when he comes back.¡±


    A silent tear falls down from Azreth¡¯s eye. Since being born his family was everything to him. The pain he was feeling right now is nothing compared to the pain he felt when he was on the verge of death.


    He walks up to his mother and buries himself in her bosom. He starts bawling like a baby. Aleara rubs his head and tells him to stop crying. After a while he stops crying.


    ¡°Mother I am hungry¡± Azreth realises he is going to miss his mother¡¯s cooking.


    ¡°I will get you something to eat in a moment¡±


    Aleara heads towards the kitchen to get some food.


    Soon, Aleara comes back with plenty of food and Azreth starts gobbling it all up.


    After he finishes eating, he looks towards his mother and father with a serious expression.


    ¡°Father, I would like you to tell me everything regarding our family and the Targ sect.¡±

 Chapter 10: Past Events

    Both Raleth and Aleara were stunned at Azreth¡¯s words.


    Raleth had a miserable expression on his face. He was feeling uncertain about telling Azreth the history of their family. Raleth realises that his son is going away for three years and this talk must happen now.


    ¡°Let me start by talking about the history of the Targ sect. Supposedly our sect is over a hundred thousand years old. In times gone by our sect used to be one of the prominent forces of the continent. Over the course of time a natural decline set upon the sect. Currently our sect is headed by your uncle Lakthier Targ. Now our sect is just based in this city and there are constant troubles with other sects and clans.¡±


    ¡°I have two brothers. Since I am the youngest and have no interest in taking over as the position of head, I generally try to keep out of the affairs of the sect. My family was always opposed to marrying your mother. They wanted a political marriage with a sect who are our allies to strengthen their relationship. I refused my family and married your mother anyways.¡±


    At this point Aleara interjects.


    ¡°Son, I am from the Avon sect. The Avon sect is a very prominent sect situated in the northern plains of the continent. Your grandmother is an elf and your grandfather is a fallen angel. I did not inherit my mother¡¯s long ears before you ask. Since I was young I always wanted to be carefree in life. Once I entered into the mortal realm initial stage I decided to travel the continent. Both your grandfather and grandmother were dead against it but I left home anyways. On my travels I met a stupid fool and fell for him. At that time your father was weak and only was at the marrow cleansing stage. Your father¡¯s first love is alchemy and due to this he always ignores improving his cultivation level.¡±


    ¡°We travelled for many years together and decided to get married. We waited for a few years because I wanted Raleth to breakthrough to the early stages of the mortal realm. I sent word back to my parents about me falling in love with Raleth and wanting to marry him. Their reply to say the least was disappointing; they had already fixed a political marriage for me. I decided to not go back home and marry your father anyways. I have not seen my parents since I left home many years ago.¡±


    Aleara was on the verge of crying after talking about her past.


    ¡°After I married your mother in secret, we lived happily for a few years. Did you know this mansion is not what it seems? It is an ancient artefact created by one of our powerful ancestors. This mansion has the ability to move itself and it is believed to have some sort of sentience as well. This mansion in controlled by the ring I am wearing and it was given to me by my late father. My¡­my father was poisoned and the culprits were never found. On his death bed he gave me this ring and told me to keep it safe. None of my brothers know about the power of this mansion. My father strongly suspected my elder brother to be the one who poisoned him.¡±


    There was visible anger on the face of Raleth as he narrated the past events.


    ¡°My elder brother, now being the new head of the sect decided a political marriage for me. I rejected him and left the sect permanently. I married your mother and we lived blissfully for a few years. We used to have twelve servants in this mansion. My elder brother constantly tried to coerce me into making your mother a concubine and accepting the political marriage. One day he came and said that if I did not accept the marriage there would be dire consequences for Aleara. I just ignored his threat. The very next day one of the servants poisoned your mother and stabbed her heart. In my rage I killed all the twelve servants regardless whether they were innocent or not.¡±


    ¡°Your mother was on her last breaths at that moment. In order to save her life I sacrificed her cultivation force to heal her terrible wounds. Your mother was a prodigal talent and used to be an initial stage Lord Realm expert. I sacrificed her cultivation and in effect crippled her to give a new lease of life. Your mother¡¯s cultivation dropped down towards the Mortal Realm late stage. Since her Dantian is permanently crippled, she can no longer advance in her cultivation.¡±


    ¡°After that I moved the location of this mansion to the outskirts of the city. No one other than Lyra¡¯s family knows about the existence of you or your sister. I had to do this protect you and your sister.¡±


    Azreth¡¯s eyes were bloodshot. Intense bloodlust was leaking out from his body. Aleara looking at Azreth was absolutely terrified.


    ¡°Father I will eliminate the Targ sect and all those responsible for harming mother.¡±


    Raleth did not know what to say. This is the same hatred that he lives with every day in his life.


    ¡°Son, don¡¯t be foolish the Targ sect is an indomitable existence. Currently you are an ant looking at a mountain. Even though your mother can¡¯t advance anymore she is still very strong and can protect herself. We have many enemies and it is still not 100% certain that my brother was involved in the assassination attempt.¡±


    ¡°All I ask you is that you take care of yourself. Do not worry about me or your mother and just focus on your cultivation. Any distracting thoughts will only impede your future progress.¡±


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    After listening about his parent¡¯s past, Azreth starts to plan his future. The first thing he thinks about is a way to heal his mother and getting stronger in the process.


    ¡°Mother I swear upon myself that I will find a way to heal you and take revenge upon our enemies.¡±


    Both Aleara and Raleth were moved by Azreth¡¯s statement. Aleara takes Azreth in her arms and just hugs him tightly. Tears start to form in Aleara¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Azreth, just take care of yourself and keep us in your thoughts. Don¡¯t worry about anything else. Above all you must understand that we really love you and if anything were to happen to you we would be distraught.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry mother I will be the most powerful person on this continent and then no one will look down on us.¡±


    Azreth says with a big smile of determination on his face.


    The next few days pass peacefully in bliss. Azreth spent most of his time with his sister and mother. The other time he was in the library brushing up his knowledge. Azreth was surprised at his own ability to almost remember everything he read over the past couple of years.


    Lyra visited three times over the course of the week and each time all she did was bawl like a baby. Lyra was definitely one of the people Azreth felt he would miss the most. Even after her incessant chattering, she was a nice girl and Azreth liked to play with her.


    Azreth also decides upon a plan of action regarding the black smoke. He realises that he must figure out how to control this power and put it into good effect.


    Soon the day of departure arrives. Aleara decides she will take Natasha and come along as well to bid Azreth goodbye.


    Raleth opens up a portal towards the Jade Gemstone Academy. In an instant they are outside the academy. They walk up to the guard and tell him that they have a meeting with the headmaster. The guard sends the word and soon receives a reply, allowing the Targ family to enter.


    They walk up to the headmaster¡¯s room.


    ¡°Come in¡± says the headmaster.


    As we enter the room, the headmaster has a bright smile on his face.


    ¡°AH! The prodigal disciple returns.¡± The headmaster says with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember accepting to become your disciple.¡± Azreth says with a smile.


    ¡°That is just a matter of semantics. All in due time though.¡±


    ¡°By the way, are you ready for your three years in hell? You can still turn back now if you want to. Don¡¯t say later that I never gave you the chance.¡±


    The headmaster had a smug expression on his face.


    ¡°Oh and where are my manners. You must be Azreth¡¯s mother Aleara, the prodigal daughter of the Avon sect.¡±


    Aleara trembles at the words of the headmaster.


    ¡°How did you know I was from the Avon sect?¡± Aleara asks in disbelief.


    ¡°There are not many things I don¡¯t know Aleara. I definitely have to do background checks on prospective disciples. Also, please don¡¯t worry all your secrets are safe with me.¡±


    Without giving a chance for Aleara to rebuke him;


    ¡°So Azreth how do you feel on being a quarter fallen angel and a quarter elf?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel any different from anyone else¡± Azreth gives an indifferent reply.


    Saying goodbye to his parents was an extremely tearful expireience for Azreth. It was extremely difficult for him but he had to harden his resolve in order to become a powerful person.


    After Azreth¡¯s parents left the academy;


    ¡°So, when do we start?¡±

 Chapter 11: Hidden Threat

    The moon was at its full in the night. The light illuminating a great number of plants and trees, swaying along with a gentle breeze cascading under the eternal moonlight. The shadows cast with an impetuous flair bowing to no one under the sky, there sat a child outside a small cottage.


    The cottage was located outside the academy on the edges of the nine stone mountains. That child was of course Azreth. Having left his home nearly one year ago on a path towards transcendence of the body and mind, he was meditating outside under the guise of the full moon.


    Channelling his Qi throughout his meridians, refining them in the process then storing the purified Qi in his dantian seemed like an easy process but it was the most difficult one.


    Cultivators who absorbed Qi from their surroundings were an absolute rarity, more like one in a hundred. This was because this method requires an extreme amount of determination and patience for barely a tenth of the result. Most of the cultivators increase their cultivation using pills.


    Pills are separated into three grades:


    ¡¤        Earth grade


    ¡¤        Heaven grade


    ¡¤        Divine grade


    Each grade is divided into ten levels. Earth realm pills are the most common throughout the kingdom and the continent. These pills have no restrictions, meaning they are accessible to cultivators from all species be it humans, demons, fallen angels etc.


    The cheapest and mass produced is the level-1 pill. All the subsequent levels have higher effectiveness but the price rises significantly with each level. For example a level-1 pill costs at a fixed price of two coppers which is accessible to people from all walks of life. Subsequently a level-2 pill costs 50 coppers and every further increase in level increases the price exponentially.


    This is the main reason why alchemists have a god like status. Not everyone can become an alchemist as the requirements are extremely stringent. Most of the aspirants are stuck at the apprentice stage for their entire lifetimes. All apprentices can produce a level-1 pill. An apprentice is truly considered as an alchemist when he/she can produce a level-2 pill.


    The refining process for an alchemist is directly related with one¡¯s cultivation level. The higher one¡¯s cultivation, the greater the amount of pills one can produce without exhausting all their Qi. An average alchemist cultivator being at the Qi condensation stage can at maximum refine a level-2 pill. One who has reached the Marrow cleansing stage can refine a level-3 pill. A Mortal Realm cultivator can refine pills up to level-5, a Lord Realm cultivator can refine up to level-8 and a King Realm cultivator can refine up to level-10 possibly even level-1 Heaven grade depending upon his/her cultivation level.


    An average alchemist who can eke out level-2 pills can live comfortably with respect for the rest of their lives. The currency system is as follows:


    ¡¤        1 copper coin


    ¡¤        1 silver coin (1000 copper coins)


    ¡¤        1 gold coin (1000 silver coins)


    ¡¤        1 diamond coin (1000 gold coins)


    An average family for one year can live comfortably with one gold.


    Many people want optimum results with the least amount of effort; this has led to people becoming over reliant on pills for their cultivation growth.


    There are side effects to using pills to grow one¡¯s cultivation. Each pill taken and refined by a cultivator leads to an accumulation of impurities in the meridians. The impurities cause no direct harm to the body per se but they stunt the growth of one¡¯s cultivation. This is the primary reason why most of the people are stuck in the early stages for the rest of their mortal lives.


    The true path of cultivation is an extremely difficult and torturous one. Azreth realises that taking pills will cause him many problems later on in life.


    Azreth has been stuck in the Qi gathering stage for the last one year. Since he found that he had directly broken into the Qi gathering stage skipping the Qi sensing stage entirely, he was not entirely sure how that happened. He came to the conclusion that it happened because of the black smoke.


    Over the last one year Azreth has tried his level best in controlling the black smoke with minimum results to show for it. At best he can form thin strands of smoke on the tip of his fingers for a few seconds. The result of these strands on barks of trees is that they slowly wither and die completely.


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    Azreth realises that this technique can be a life saver in the most critical times. This will be his most prominent trump card.


    He has tried multiple times to indirectly ask the headmaster regarding the black smoke but to no avail. It seems that ordinary cultivators are not able to see the black smoke. The previous time when he was tested by the headmaster he released a bit of it and the headmaster was not able to sense or see it. The headmaster being a Lord Realm expert still was not powerful enough to see the black smoke. Azreth came to the conclusion that his best bet on finding more answers will be at the second level of the library back home. In order for him to access certain things, he guessed he must in the very least be a Mortal Realm expert.


    Other than training the entire time he reads books brought by the headmaster to his cottage. Since he living there is a secret, he cannot talk to the other children or anyone else in the academy.


    Since he was in the Qi gathering stage, he was eligible to learn some fighting techniques. The headmaster gave him a common technique called star fist. This technique basically involves the coagulation of Qi onto the fists increasing the attack strength by leaps and bounds.


    Since the Qi refined by Azreth was extremely pure compared to pill cultivators, his strength in theory was at least two times more powerful than a person in the same stage. His punches were equivalent to those in the skeletal manipulation stage. This was the major advantage for natural Qi cultivators.


    His punches were currently strong enough to destroy a normal tree. That for a six year old is a never before heard accomplishment.


    Azreth was meditating calmly, when suddenly he could sense an unnerving presence not far from the cottage. Over the past year, Azreth had grown accustomed to the sound of nature as he usually always meditated outside the cottage. His perception had grown to the stage where he could sense something or someone unusual compared to the normal surroundings.


    Azreth quickly opens his eyes and runs towards the forest overlooking the cottage; he had grown quite nimble this past year. A few moments later he hides behind a large tree on the edge of the forest.


    He calm¡¯s his breathing in tandem with the wind, slowly peering towards the cottage.


    There was a black shadow or something akin to a man dressed in all black floating towards the cottage. Azreth when thinking about it assumes it to be some sort of movement or agility technique.


    The man enters the cottage and moves out of Azreth¡¯s view.


    After what seemed like a good fifteen minutes, the man reappears again and like the way he floated in, he disappears into the night again.


    Azreth starts racking his brains on who it could be. There was nothing in his possession worth stealing for or it could be someone from the Targ sect. He realised whoever it was, he was not here for a chat.


    ¡°This place might not be safe anymore. The next time the headmaster comes around I must ask him for a new place to live.¡± Azreth mutters to himself.


    Over the past year after moving within the confines of the academy, the headmaster usually visited Azreth only about twice a month to check on his progress. The food was delivered everyday via a teleportation array built inside the cottage.


    The very next day the headmaster arrives to pay Azreth a visit.


    ¡°There seem to be some unusual characters moving within the confines of the academy. I recommend you to stay alert towards any possibility.¡±


    The headmaster speaks with a stern voice.


    ¡°Nice of you to mention that, just last night a man dressed in all blacks came floating towards the cottage. Luckily for me I sensed him earlier and hid inside the forest until he left. I¡¯m pretty sure he was not here just for a chat.¡±


    Azreth replies with a great deal of sarcasm in his voice.


    ¡°Wait¡­What? The man floated? What¡¯s with the sarcasm in your voice¡­Clearly you are still alive or are you some sort of ghost?¡±


    The headmaster had an annoyed expression on his face. Clearly he was not amused at the tone of Azreth.


    ¡°Oh, so I must praise you for me managing to stay alive. Anyways, isn¡¯t it your responsibility to look for intruders in the academy?¡±


    The sarcasm was not lost in Azreth¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Brat, you should be bowing down in front of me every day for taking you in. Such a useless brat you are.¡±


    Every meeting between these two would usually start at these two bickering at each other for a while.


    ¡°Hmm, anyways this place is no longer safe for you to stay.¡±


    Azreth felt a bit worried looking at the not-so-subtle evil grin on the headmaster¡¯s face.


    The headmaster grabs Azreth by the scruff of his neck and then flies away along with him.

 Chapter 12: The Forest

    The wind was blowing straight against Azreth¡¯s face. Flying a few thousand metres up in the air can be bit of a suffocating experience for starters.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to get this crazy old man for this.¡±


    ¡°What were you saying there?¡±


    ¡°Oh nothing but how you are the best teacher in the world. So, where are we going anyways?¡±


    Sarcasm clearly apparent in the tone of Azreth, clearly he was not impressed by the headmaster¡¯s actions. He was expecting at least a discussion towards their next destination.


    ¡°Brat, the place where we are going to next is going to be your new home.¡±


    Azreth felt a bit uneasy at the words of the headmaster. Currently they were extremely far from the confines of the academy. He was not sure how this was supposed to help him in his training or otherwise.


    After a while we started gliding down towards the vast forest. The sounds of howling emanating throughout the forest, the loud chirping of various birds and the wind whistling through the trees prove to be a nerve wracking experience.


    ¡°This will be your new home for the next two years. I will come and find you after two years if that is I can find you. I have just one piece of advice for you ¡®survive¡¯¡±


    ¡°What¡­no, you can¡¯t do this to me. You can¡¯t leave me here for the next two years! Take me back you senile old man.¡±


    ¡°Brat! Who are calling senile! Do I look old to you?!¡±


    Azreth was getting nervous at the disposition of the headmaster. He does not think he will survive two days let alone two years in this hostile environment.


    ¡°I think this will be a perfect test for your acumen. This will help you instil some respect for your seniors.¡±


    Azreth thinks this old man has really gone crazy, still going on with his seniority complex with my life on the line.


    ¡°How do you think I will survive here? There are many beasts in this forest equivalent to the strength of a Mortal Realm cultivator; some even may be at the Lord Realm level!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are right about that though. Anyways, this not my problem now but it is yours. Also don¡¯t go roaming in deep places as there are some rumoured King Realm beasts.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Azreth was speechless.


    ¡°I will be leaving now, see you after two years. Though don¡¯t die on me please. It will be a hassle to explain your death to your parents.¡±


    The headmaster says that with a sneer on his face. Azreth¡¯s not sure what this crazy old man¡¯s intentions are but things are not looking too great for him.


    The howling noises were increasing in intensity and Azreth was starting to get worried. The difficulties of surviving in a forest are innumerable. One wrong step can lead to death or a fatal injury which is death anyways in this place.


    The headmaster gives out a bitter laugh. He lifts off the ground and then flies away from this place. Azreth was absolutely fuming at this senile old man. He wows to himself that if he survives this place the old man is going to definitely pay for his actions today.


    Azreth realises that the first step should be his immediate survival. He must find a place to rest peacefully in this part of the world. Well peacefully is a relative observation and will definitely be subject to change during his time here.


    The number of supplies Azreth has on him was also quite limited as he was not prepared for this outcome. His father had given him a storage ring, which he was pretty sure, would have cost an arm and a leg for his father.


    All he had were a few basics like some techniques given to him by his mother and about ten gold coins which were useless in this part of the world. What he did have in abundance were clothes. His mother had made it absolutely certain that he would never run out of clothes. Which was good, but in his current situation he thought otherwise.


    He wished he had a small shield to defend himself and a knife of a short sword to protect himself. Azreth also starts cursing the old man on why he did not leave any kind of weapon with him.


    His instincts tell him to find shelter in the first place. As there might be many dangerous beasts much more powerful than him lurking around in this part of the woods. He also realises that he does not have a map or a layout of the area around him.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.His options start to look bleak as he wonders whether he will survive the night. He hopes the old man chokes to death on his food.


    The sun was soon about to set and finding some sort of shelter was paramount as he could not survive in the dark on his own. There are many reasons why humans so desperately are afraid of the dark primarily the innate disability towards their lackadaisical self-awareness and the inability to trust their instincts due to the primal sense of fear overtaking their tiny sense of self-satisfaction.


    Azreth thinks about love, familial love to be precise. This is the first time in his life that he is truly alone. The despair of loneliness starts to seep within him as he thinks about his past with his family. In a truest sense humans or any of the other races are social creatures. Extended periods of loneliness are troublesome for the psyche to say the least.


    Azreth felt a shiver run down his spine as thoughts started to spin around in his head. He was not sure what was happening to him. His inability to sort his thoughts was disrupting his decision making process.


    He falls down on his knees clutching his head with a trembling expression on his face. Surrounded by what seemed like whispers emanating from the trees. The sounds or the lack of it was deafening. The inability to differentiate sounds and a lack there of was causing havoc inside the head of Azreth.


    Slowly a glimmer of black smoke started to form around Azreth¡¯s body. It acted as a defense-mechanism towards any outside threats.


    His senses started to return to normal activity, not sure what just happened he knows that he needs to get out of the open.


    He starts to run in a random direction looking for a water source. This was because of the presence of caves near water sources. A cave was his best option of surviving in the wilderness.


    After running for who knows how long, he found no evidence of any water sources nearby. He was growing tired and was also starting to feel hungry.


    After some more running and still no luck in finding a water source, Azreth grew exhausted. He started panting and bleak thoughts started to fill his mind.


    Suddenly, he saw an extremely large clearing within the forest. It looked like a wide, dense and scarce plane without a speck of grass.


    The only thing standing in the middle of the clearing was a giant tree about ten metres long and five metres wide. This tree had an ancient feeling to it and it also had a powerful aura.


    Azreth looking at his options which were none at the moment decided his best bet was to take rest under the tree as there was no beast roaming anywhere near it.


    He slowly starts walking towards the tree due to exhaustion from all the running.


    He arrives near the tree and then proceeds to touch the bark for a feel. There was a firm yet a soft feel for the bark. It did not feel like he was touching wood but it felt something along the lines of tough leather.


    Other than the unusual feel and sensing no other type of danger emanating from it, he slumps his back across the tree in sheer exhaustion.


    Reminiscing about the day gone by and how quickly his life had turned upside down, he thinks about the unknown expert the previous night at the cottage and the irrational behaviour today by the crazy old man or the headmaster. He tried to connect the dots towards the two events but he was just too tired to think about it.


    His throat was extremely perched due to lack of hydration which in turn caused his senses to become dull. Hunger was something he decided not to think about as the more he thought about it the more hunger he felt, he ignored the vicious growling of his stomach.


    Slowly he drifted into the realm of dreams. He was standing in a wide space completely filled with white light. It was not over bearing in any sense of the word, it was just gentle. Then there was a sudden cataclysm of sorts. The world became upside down or it felt like that anyway.


    There was a sudden explosion of yellow lights masking a charade of emptiness in the surroundings. The yellow lights settled on what looked like a doorway leading out of this place. This place for what it was, emoted the sense of nothingness.


    The doorway seemed like an escape from the reality of nothingness.

 Chapter 13: A Utopian Realm

    As he entered the doorway, time in itself seemed to slow down to a certain degree. The look and feel of the place around him distorted as space seemed to be collapsing on itself.


    As the speed of Azreth¡¯s movements seemed unnatural compared to his surroundings; the lights around him contracted towards the space enabling a certain degree of stability.


    The distortion amounted to the elimination of the outsider; in this case it was Azreth. This realm or whatever it was, was very fragile and an outsider could cause the destruction of the entire realm.


    Soon, Azreth¡¯s movements started to stabilise around the time of the realm. The constant distortion and contraction of the realm abruptly stopped when this happened. Everything returned to normal as if nothing ever happened.


    Azreth unaware of the things occurring around him kept blissfully walking in a single direction. The reason was because of a subtle yet tempting sound. His surroundings soon started to change and take shape in the form of a gigantic forest with beautiful flowers and trees.


    The birds chirping, the animals grazing on the grass and coexisting peacefully with each other with no ill intent was a sight to behold. It was almost like a dream, well Azreth was most certain it definitely was.


    The sound was permeating throughout the dense forest, not overpowering but gentle in nature complimenting the bright sunny day and the gentle wind. It was almost like heaven on earth, but that seemed too good to be true for Azreth. He was certain that he would wake up any moment now as he believed he was having a vivid hallucinatory dream due to the sheer exhaustion he experienced throughout the day.


    Getting closer to the source of the sound Azreth felt like it was attacking his mind. He soon felt like he would fall into a trance and never snap out of it. There was this vivid nature in the sound which epitomised the very fragility of a person¡¯s mind. The key component in a creature¡¯s mind is its awareness, any attempt at a minute or subtle change can cause havoc and lead to a permanent disability but most likely death itself.


    Azreth started practising his meditation technique in his mind trying to ward off the influence of the perfunctory sound. The space around him kept flickering as the ripples sent out from his body kept him sane and his consciousness being lost in the abyss.


    As he approached near the vicinity of the sound the scene in front of him shocked him to the core.


    There was this absolute peerless beauty playing the zither. She had snow white skin and dark green eyes. She was dressed in a white imperial robe which further accentuated her grace and beauty. Her presence was akin to a lone snowflake in a barren wasteland.


    Azreth cautiously approached this mysterious woman as she was the only other person around in this place.


    ¡°I am surprised that the sound of my zither has no effect on you boy. You are my first visitor in well over a thousand years¡­no, ten thousand years. Well, I stopped counting a while back so I apologise for my misrepresentation.¡±


    The woman speaks in a soft voice while still playing the zither. She did not make any sudden movements; she just spoke in a gentle but confused tone.


    ¡°Hmm¡­you don¡¯t look that old. How old are you miss?¡±


    Azreth asks in a doubtful and reserved manner. If what she says was true she must be a peerless expert and a foot placed wrong most likely would lead to an instant death sentence for him.


    ¡°Boy, Is that the first thing you ask a woman you just met, her age?! With that kind of attitude you will have no luck with the ladies when you grow up.¡±


    Azreth was stumped; he was not sure what to say. Was asking a woman¡¯s age some sort of taboo? Azreth just couldn¡¯t figure that out.


    ¡°Anyways, my name is Keira Lockburn, what might your name be young boy?¡±


    She introduced herself without stopping her hands for a moment from playing the zither.


    ¡°My name is Azreth Targ and I am six years old. The name Lockburn, it does not ring a bell.¡±


    Azreth had a smug expression on his face for some reason as he proudly announced his age.


    Keira frowned and fell into a trance of deep thought at the words of Azreth. She kept thinking for a while until


    ¡°So, you are a descendent from the almighty Targ sect. Of course with all their Emperor Realm experts they were bound to thrive after the war with the Trakfern Continent.¡±


    Emperor Realm experts¡­War¡­Trakfern Continent? Azreth felt this woman was crazy as she implied that the Targ sect was filled with Emperor Realm experts.


    ¡°Old hag, you have definitely gone senile. There are no emperor realm experts in the Targ sect or the entire kingdom of Terelia. There may be some outside but I would not know of that as they are an extremely indomitable and rare existence. Let alone the Emperor Realm, even King Realm experts are few and far between.¡±


    ¡°Kingdom of Terelia? Brat, are you looking to die? Who the hell do you think you¡¯re calling an old hag?¡±


    Keira was absolutely fuming at the statement of Azreth. No one in her entire life had so much as spoken a speck of insult upon her face. Then this stupid Qi gathering stage brat comes along and calls her a stupid old hag. This was the biggest insult she had to ever face in her life. Not even her enemies dared to insult her on her face.


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    ¡°Well, you did say you were more than ten thousand years old and my headmaster is nearly four thousand years. So, I call him an old man and in your context you are definitely an old hag.¡±


    A vein twitches on the forehead of Keira. She just could not understand this outlandish brat who repeatedly kept calling her an old hag.


    ¡°By the way, what are you doing here playing this zither? If I hadn¡¯t practised my meditation technique the sound of your zither would have invaded and then destroyed my mind.¡±


    Azreth was still wary of this woman as he could not even guess her cultivation level. It felt like she held many deep and profound secrets.


    ¡°Brat, who are you and how can you not be affected by the sound of my zither. All those who have walked before you became mindless creatures and soon perished without a doubt. Do you even know the kind of situation you are in?¡±


    ¡°I know that you definitely are a figment of my imagination and this is all a dream. I came across this giant tree in the forest and am resting beneath it. This is probably a hallucinatory dream I am having right now.¡±


    ¡°How can this be a dream if you realise that this is a dream. If you still think this is a dream, go and bash your head upon that tree and then bleed out and die. Then you probably will wake up or maybe you won¡¯t.¡±


    Keira had a smirk on her face. All sorts of questions began ringing in the head of Azreth about the giant tree. Was it some sort of portal or an array which transported me to this place? Am I stuck here forever or more importantly how do I get out of here?


    ¡°How do I get out of this place and can you please stop playing your zither as it is quite distracting.¡±


    ¡°You are a funny kid. Do you think I enjoy playing this zither? I have been playing this zither for over ten thousand years without stopping. This is because as soon as I stop playing the Zither this place will collapse and I will die along with it. My enemies created this extremely peculiar realm to trap me inside without a chance of escape.¡±


    Azreth was shocked; people powerful enough to create realms? Just what sort of person was this old woman?


    ¡°Wh¡­What is your cultivation level and who are your enemies?¡±


    ¡°Ah, now curious aren¡¯t you? Very well, I am not really that powerful though just a peak level Emperor Realm expert. I haven¡¯t cultivated in well over ten thousand years and that is the reason I have not been able to increase my cultivation level.¡±


    Azreth felt like his jaw dropped to the floor. A peak level Emperor Realm expert who was just a whisker way from the fabled Divine Realm, this was the sort of existence that Azreth could only dream about.


    Keira was not sure why Azreth was so surprised but she did enjoy the astonished look on his face. She hadn¡¯t felt this look of worship in quite a long time and she was relishing in every bit of this moment.


    ¡°Emp¡­Emperor Realm? You are just a few breaths away from the Divine Realm?¡±


    ¡°Brat are you an idiot? How can I skip two entire Realms and enter the Divine Realm? I have never seen or heard about a Divine Realm expert in my entire life!¡±


    ¡°After someone breaks through the Emperor Realm, they enter the Legend Realm and after they break through that they enter the Ascension Realm. Only after breaking through the Ascension Realm can someone enter the Divine Realm!¡±


    ¡°I have also never seen or heard about anyone being in the Ascension Realm. This Realm is like a mythical existence to everyone forgetting about the Divine Realm.¡±


    Azreth was extremely shocked and confused about what he just heard from Keira. There were two entire realms after the Emperor Realm, why was this not written in any of the books he ever read? Azreth was sure that even the headmaster did not know about the existences of two more Realms after the Emperor Realm. He himself in the grand scheme of things is just a mere Lord Realm expert.


    ¡°I have never heard about the Legend Realm or the Ascension realm in my entire life. From all the books that I have read, these existences are not even mentioned. I have read journals which were more than one hundred thousand years old and even in them there is no such information regarding these existences.¡±


    ¡°Also, what about the war with the Trakfern continent? I have never heard about a war taking place in the past one hundred thousand years and don¡¯t even know that such a continent existed. Before the period of hundred thousand years is known as the Dark ages and there is barely any information regarding that period. The only other continent besides ours I am aware of is the Dark continent, which is an extremely mystical place.¡±


    Keira silently takes in all what Azreth has said and thinks about it. After some time she says


    ¡°It seems time flows differently in this realm compared to the outside. From what you have said, maybe I have spent more than a hundred thousand years trapped in this place. But, alas there is no way for me to get out of this realm and now you are trapped here along with me as well.¡±


    ¡°That may not necessarily be true¡­¡±