《Tales of the Gold Immortal》


 Prologue: Nathan Chase

    Writer''s Note: This is my new side project. Releases at random due to college and main story. More chapters will be released once I finish writing seven or eight chapters. I am currently establishing the setting of the story for it and have started the sixth chapter. Thanks for reading.


    Prologue: Nathan Chase


    "Guan Xiang, why? Why betray our empire, me?" a man asked his sister as she pointed her sword at him. Behind her were fifty archers and five hundred foot soldiers. "You go this far for Meng Yi? The Meng Clan defected to the enemy."


    "I have no choice, brother. I bear my husband''s child. He is to be the next emperor," Xiang said. "You are too loyal to the emperor. The empire was always first on your mind, your military prowess the reason the Zhou Dynasty does not fear attacks from the north. Men, aim your arrows at Commander General Guan Zhu."


    "The sages say that fate lasts countless lifetimes. In the next life, I hope that I am born into an ordinary family so that I may live my live in peace together with them," the general said and drew his sword. "Your goal lies in the pavilion behind me. Do not waver, sister. You chose the path of blood. See it through or the deaths are in vain."


    "I''m so sorry, Zhu-gege," Xiang cried and said. "Release your arrows."


    "Long live the emperor!" Guan Zhu yelled and ran toward them, unafraid of the storm of arrows. His last image was that of his crying sister. His steps wavered and he felt blinding pain as he reached out as if he could brush her tears away. His vision blurred and the Zhou general was dead before he hit the ground, over a dozen arrows in his chest alone.


    ...............


    ......................


    ...............................


    "Always the same dream, or nightmare," a fifteen year old boy muttered as he awoke. He had short black hair and bright orange eyes. He was once Zhu of the Guan Clan. Now, he was Nathan Chase, his mother''s maiden name. Her name was Helena.


    He was once a general of the Zhou Dynasty. However, he died at the hands of his sister who supported her husband''s treasonous ambition. He had hoped to be born to an ordinary family. However, his mother was a maid who the head of a powerful clan slept with while in a stupor. The wife finally killed his mother when he was seven and he barely escaped with his mother''s corpse.


    Now here he was, sleeping before her gravestone. His father was a city lord and the boy stole his birthright before he escaped. One was a purple jade stick on a steel chain with a gold dragon coiled around the smooth jade cylinder. The second was a storage ring that had a third of the clan''s wealth. The last was a black box containing a magically shrunk spirit crystal vein.


    The world he was reborn in had architecture of the Chinese. Apparently, the Zhou Dynasty did not have his name, Guan Xiang, or Meng Yi''s name in the annals of history. He was on a planet called Earth, but different than the one he lived and died in. In this Earth, magical beasts from legends he heard as a child were real.


    People called scientists were experimenting with a substance they found from a meteor in America. The experiment was a success on living tissue, but went horribly wrong on live test subjects. The experiments could not be contained and they escaped to infect the world. The year was 5,017I.E (Immortal Cultivation Era). The planet of Earth seemed to thrive as the animals began to mutate to monsters.


    Thirty thousand years ago, mankind lived in the last days in the Era After Christ (A.D.). They discovered that humans were infected differently, now accessing more of their brain and gaining supernatural powers. Over time, these developed and became similar to what Derek read was a xianxia novel.


    Cultivation of spirit energy was possible and spirit crystal veins sprouted all over the earth, deep under it. Technology was lost, remade, and lost countless times over the centuries and millennia. The Immortal Cultivation Era began after the first person reached the pinnacle of cultivation and ascended. That was when people knew of the Immortal Realm and accepted that their reality was truly like a xianxia.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Humanity, the creatures now called magical beasts, and a third species were at war. The third species were called devils. No one knows when they arrived, but they were humanity''s biggest threat for a long time. It was only before the First Immortal stopped the war. He scattered his teachings in jade sticks all over the world, each one containing five spirit techniques.


    The First Immortal was a Chinese who believed in the world as Yin and Yang. He believed in the five elements of wood, fire, water, metal, and earth. Of course, there were other elements he discovered. However, he mastered those five and was the first to ascend. Other people ascended but his name would always be the first people think of. His methods were considered obsolete, but commoners still revere it and have deified him.


    The purple jade stick necklace was precisely one of those jade sticks. He stole it from his father''s vault. The reason he learned nothing was because he had been on the run for eight years. Humanity only had nine countries and forty nine human cities outside those countries. Naturally, it was very difficult for him to escape America and come to China.


    The whole world was mixed, but some countries stuck to traditions of past records. He had smuggled himself and his mother''s ashes in a jar in countless ships. His life was farther than the peace he had hoped for in his new life.


    "Mother, Tang City is right below the hill," Nathan said. "This is the land of your mother and mine, in a way. Rest now. Father and his whore wife cannot harm you anymore. I will become the strongest cultivator and travel across the ocean once more to destroy his clan. I will avenge you. Be at peace."


    As he entered the city, the guards did not think twice of him. It was incredibly dangerous for anyone to travel outside the city. Those who did were very dangerous and not advisable to anger, no matter how young they looked. As with every city, there were five powerful organizations. The country of China still existed.


    Naturally, one of the five organizations in the thirty six cities was the Chinese Army. They were responsible for suppressing the devils which sought to invade and destroy them. Another power would always be a council consisting of the nobles of the city. The other three powers were sects, but had more strength cultivation wise.


    Just like his father''s city, Tang City would have a Grand Plaza. There, most of the market was built around and where sects and the other two powers recruited. The official age of recruitment was fifteen, Nathan''s current age, because it was uncertain if people lived past age ten. No birthdays were celebrated before age ten because the child could die from the infection in the air.


    The infection became known as spirit energy and was omniscient, the only difference being the density and purity of the spirit energy. Until age ten, it would be too painful to get too attached to a child that could die at any time. Age fifteen was accepted by the five organizations to boost manpower.


    "Excuse me, when is the next recruitment test?" Nathan asked and held out his arm.


    "Hmm. Age is fifteen years. Name?" the attendant asked.


    "Nathan Chase," he answered.


    "The test is in three days. It consists of four trials. The first is the Spirit Awakening Ritual. It is also the trial with the highest death rate. The second test evaluates how much spiritual pressure you can endure. The third test requires you to kill at least five magical beasts in a monster infested town once we ensure it is safe enough. The fourth test is always a secret. Good luck," the attendant said as he received two gold after Nathan filled out the sheet.


    Nathan nodded and received an application number and identification card. All he needed to do now is wait.

 Chapter 1: Tang City

    Writer''s Note: You might have guessed I combined the xianxia element into an apocalyptic world. There will be some modern and future technology that will be implemented in the future chapters. Releases are random as it is a side project.  For that, I apologize and thanks for reading.


    Chapter 1: Tang City


    "Looks like Little Nathan is excited today," a man laughed as a teenager ate his bowl of noodles and dumplings.


    "I''m going to check out the city. This might be the last time as the monthly recruitment day is tomorrow," Nathan answered. He had spent the first first two days searching for information. Thus, Nathan Chase had decided to stay in the busiest inn.


    Despite the expenses, he was quite rich, richer than most noble families. He chose the busiest inn to hear the latest gossip going down on the first floor. The second floor was an open space and only had rooms on the sides of the inn, the center of the floor open so as to make it seem like they were V.I.P.s viewing the entertainment at the center of the inn. Only at the third and fourth floors, did someone stay the night. He frequently chatted with the cultivators he saw, asking for advice and the status of the three sects and the academy run by the council made of the noble clans.


    The other four organizations were discovered to refer to the four guardians from ancient Chinese legend. They were even built in the areas of the city as the four guardians of their namesake. The four guardians were the Azure Dragon of the East, The Vermilion Bird of the South, the White Tiger of the West, and the Black Turtle of the North. Tang City was divided into six sections, the central larger than Los Angeles. The city was shaped like a giant circle with four giant circles connected by a highway outside the central district. Only members of the noble academy and three sects were allowed there. Each was a third of the size of the central district. All other people lived in the central district as well as the Army of China which had a base there.


    The lone academy was known as the Divine Dragon Academy. It consisted of the top nine clans of Tang City and many nobles went there. Despite the rich connections, they never dared antagonize the three sects. Why? Each sect had a guardian beast with their race as part of the sect''s name. The northern academy was known as Blast Turtle Rock. The western academy was known as Sky Tiger Temple and the southern sect was the Vermilion Phoenix Palace. The guardian beasts of each of the three sects were the most powerful forces in the city, not the humans. They had mutated and lived for centuries, developing human intelligence and taught the humans when they founded the sects.


    The Sky Tiger Temple was the number one sect, its guardian beast was a four-winged white tiger! Disciples of that sect were known as Sky Sages. It was because the four-winged tiger was the Sky Sage Tiger, the number one tiger magical beast. There used to be two and the other had been slain only after it razed half of Europe thousands of years ago. However, that Sky Sage Tiger had six wings. Sky Tiger Temple lied to the west, in a valley that overlooked the central district in its higher elevation.


    Then, there was Blast Turtle Rock. It is a known fact that humanity can not recover its waters and that the oceans claimed many lives. Nathan had to take boats that traveled along the coast to Greenland and then take a boat down the Asian coast to China. Disciples of the Blast Turtle Rock were known as Sea Slayers. The blast turtle is the sovereign of the waters, ensuring no stronger magical beast dare make their way to land. The sect was the defense of the city against the magical beasts in the oceans to the north. Unlike other sects, they allow their disciples to use heated weapons like guns.


    The Vermilion Phoenix Palace was where Nathan wanted to go. It was the dream of his mother to go there, but circumstances brought her to serve as a maid in the city lord''s mansion. Disciples of the sect were known as the Undying, the vermilion phoenix being the oldest of the three guardian beasts. The sect mostly kept to seclusion, devoting itself to cultivation. They cared not for the threat of magical beasts, but the devils. They would venture south and hunt down the devils in the ruined cities. It was also lucrative as they would collect magical treasures of the dead or devils. It was not the strongest sect, but the most dangerous.


    "Hey, Nathan. Which sect you applying to?" a nearby regular asked.


    "The Vermilion Phoenix Palace," Nathan answered and left as the people in the inn looked at each other. They wondered if the boy had a death wish as it was the most dangerous sects. Magical beasts mostly had the intelligence of animals. Devils were too similar to humans, but more powerful than the average human of the same cultivation.


    "Ah, Nathan Chase. Finally browsing my wares?" a man greeted as Nathan appeared in his shop. His name was Wilbert Gills, shop owner of Gill''s Magical Merchandise. He was a rare traveling merchant who was a cultivator who specialized in stealth. Many people assumed he was once a great assassin that got tired of killing. Otherwise, how could he have so many magical treasures to sell?


    "So, you''re finally going to participate in the recruitment trials. I''m guessing you came here to buy items and weapons that would suite you," the man laughed. "What kind of cultivation do you practice?"


    "The path of the First Immortal," he answered, Wilbert nodding. Unless you came from an ancient or powerful clan, archaic cultivation methods were the only ones you can in public. Of course, the methods of the First Immortal were still expensive and worshiped by mostly the Chinese as the First Immortal was Chinese. He was a deity to the common folk as he was also not from such powerful clans.


    "So, you''re cultivating a five elemental cultivation. Does it also have the five element arts of the cultivation method?" Wilbert asked.


    "Mine is the five elements of gold, fire, death, lightning, and wood. As for the arts, I cannot say. I have bonded to the jade stick by blood, but I cannot hope to cultivate it until the Spirit Awakening Ritual," Nathan answered.


    "Gold? Not many people know what the element can do as it is one of the most difficult to learn, like poison," Wilbert frowned. "You sure you want to learn that element? Death is also a very dangerous element. Well, I only got two items that will befit you. Learning those elements is the hardest so having some items to boost your potential is advisable. Fire is one of the five elements of the First Immortal''s personal method and one of the four general elements. Lightning.... best to utilize that element for speed. Wood is the one you will master the most."


    "Gold will be the main element I use in combat, but why say wood is my affinity based on mastery?" Nathan asked.


    "The wood element is perfect for cultivation. Spirit energy comes from nature and wood is the closest to nature in itself. It can also nourish your body and enhance it. If I were your master, I would say that you should focus the lightning art on speed, death and fire on assault, wood for cultivation and defense, and gold as your ultimate trump card and offense. Metal elements are perfect for offense and defense cultivation techniques," Wilbert said.


    "I got a bone steel bracelet for you. You can store your spirit energy into the bracelet to shoot out swords of gold whose blade lengths and overall size could be altered based on your spirit energy. Bone steel talismans are the best as they are made by using the bones of magical beasts instead of normal medals. Once you carve a few magic runes onto the bone steel item, a bracelet for this discussion; then it becomes a talisman. You can bind it to yourself like a magical treasure. They are incredibly hard to make and weaker than magical treasures as they depend on the wearer. However, they are indestructible and cost less to buy," Wilbert explained as he brought a bone bracelet on the table. The bracelet could enlarge and shrink for easy access to wear. It also had glowing gold runes.


    "Since you say many people don''t cultivate the gold element, even on other cultivation methods, then I''ll take it. What is the second?" he asked as he paid the man 200 purple spirit coins.


    Spirit coins were the currency of the world. There were two kinds of spirit coins. One was purple and the other was green. Purple spirit coins were the main currency of all people. It was used because it could be smelted into magical weapons and did not rust or turn brittle over time.


    The second type of currency was green spirit coins. These were valued by cultivators because they contained spirit energy within them. There was also a one-in-a-billion chance that a cultivator could learn a spirit technique from the coin. While the spirit energy contained is smaller than a magical beast core or spirit pill, the latter use of the coin was what made it valuable.


    "The bracelet known as the Gold Sword Fiend Bracelet. It is very powerful, but that is only if you cultivate the gold element. Since you don''t cultivate it yet, you cannot use it," Wilbert said and took out a long blade with a skull at the center of the cross guard right beneath the blade.


    It wasn''t just a sword, but was extremely heavy. However, it looked light in his hand. It made Nathan reassess the strength of Wilbert. The edges of the blade were the color of steel but turned black toward the center. Along the sides of the blade were purple runes and a round, purple jade stone at the pommel of the sword. As soon as Wilbert took out the sword, the air became hard to breathe as the blade released killing intent, almost as if it were alive.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "This sword was used by a famous assassin more than seven hundred years ago, by one I admire. He had affinity for the death element and slew many cultivators. He was an warrior who destroyed many gangs and bandits. Even assassins feared and recognized his strength. The sword almost feels alive after absorbing so much death qi, or spirit energy," Wilbert said. "This sword costs seventy green spirit coins and is called Death Repulse. The sword drains death qi so death qi won''t cause a problem for you. In this way, you have no fear for death qi attacks of spirit force of death qi cultivators. Most are assassins, but their pulse of their spirit force is deadly no matter the strength."


    Also, Death Repulse has the weight of a heavy sword and the size of a regular long sword. You have no need to fear heavy weapons and still have the advantage of a more agile sword play. It is made from crystals devoured by a mysterious dragon species that lives in the southern regions of South Korea, another of the nine surviving countries of old. The previous owner of the sword was a smith friend of mine. He claimed there were three sister swords, two he sold in South Korea and one he kept for his son when he returned to Japan. Use Death Repulse well. Again, seventy green spirit coins," Wilbert said.


    "Seventy green spirit coins....okay," Nathan said and paid the money. He did not have much, just a little over seven hundred, but Wilbert obviously knew more about cultivation. If he said the sword would assist in his death qi cultivation, he would be foolish not to consider it. He bound the blade to himself and had it strapped on his back. He also bound the bracelet and put it on his left wrist.


    "Nathan, do not take the Spirit Awakening Realm lightly. Exceptionally talented people will undergo drastic changes, like you will. You have exceptional talent, but that is only because I sense a huge accumulation of spirit energy inside you. I do not know why your body has spirit energy so early, but it is enough to break you through to the tempered body fourth layer," Wilbert said. "Good luck."


    "Thanks," Nathan said and left the shop. He realized that the spirit energy might be due to the monkey wine he drank whenever he was exhausted or felt hungry or thirsty while he smuggled aboard the many ships to get to China. Another reason would be the spirit crystal vein. He felt whole again as he had a sword. Now, all he needed was a sword style to integrate the five element qi he would absorb when he began his cultivation.


    Although cultivation methods had techniques, they paled in comparison to others. A fighting manual was essential as those spirit techniques were created for fighting. He would learn the techniques of the sect, but it was also better to learn your own techniques for weapons. Thus, Nathan headed to the Tang Fighters Pavilion. He could also buy weapons and armor, but he felt no need to.


    "Hello, young man. How may I help you?" a man in lavish red robes smiled. There were many people inside the giant gold pavilion, many other attendants assisting them.


    "I came here to buy a sword manual," Nathan answered.


    "Sword? Ah, of course. Do you know how you prefer to fight? Do you value speed or power?" the attendant asked.


    "Power," Nathan answered. He had used swords as Guan Zhu. Most used quick fighting styles, but generals had to take charge and overcome several men at once. Most swords were light and flexible, but some swords were heavier and durable. Most were the size requiring two-hands but some people were strong enough to wield just as heavy swords of smaller size with one hand.


    Naturally, he understood how to fight with the weapon and take advantage of its shape, weight, and capabilities. Wilbert advised him to utilize the lightning qi for movement skills. Thus, speed was not an issue. A part of him even believed the rumors that Wilbert was an assassin in the past.


    "Sword with a power-oriented fighting style, but not a two-handed great sword. Hmm. Alright. Please follow me," the man said and Nathan followed the man to the north eastern part of the pavilion, several manuals arranged in the shelves. There was also a small plaque with pictures of the technique being used in action.


    "Pictures?" Nathan cried, surprised.


    "Yes. Our pavilion indeed has the ancient artifact once known as a digital camera. We took pictures of the styles to help with the purchase of the manuals. However, some books do not have pictures as the manuals are magical themselves. For those, there is only a single copy. It is best to learn those as no one else could possibly learn them. However, there is a risk of dying as it imprints the techniques in your mind. Most don''t even remember the stances and motions for the first technique of the manuals. You can try your luck, but we are not responsible if you die. If you succeed, it is free but remember the risk of death," the attendant warned. "I will be out front when you are ready to make your order. The photos will be arranged in a photo book for preservation so just bring the manual with you and you will be given the photo book shortly after."


    Nathan immediately looked at one of the magical book. He opened one and got a searing headache. Soon, a voice began screaming in his head and he immediately shut the book. He sweated heavily for a while before his body recovered. As the attendant warned, he really did not remember even a single stance or motion. However, he was determined to learn the one-of-a-kind style. He read four more and finally fainted after the sixth. He awoke an hour later and a nearby attendant warned him that the next manual might really kill him as he was lucky to live past two.


    He had no choice but to consider his choices. He browsed the titles of the manuals. The Tang Fighters Pavilion was only able to determine the fighting style of those magical books and the weapons they used. Otherwise, many more would be gathered in a single place and these manuals would not be grouped with the regular sword manuals. Finally, he found one he liked. It was called the Black Dragon''s Fury Manual.


    According to the description, the slaves who were forced to open and died to glean the information claimed there were nine stages. With every stage reached, his spirit energy could be manipulated into the shape of a dragon. Of course, the description said every person who didn''t survive had died by their heads exploding.


    "I faced a storm of arrows before my death and slew countless armies. I already died once. I need the power!" Nathan roared and opened the manual. Then, he saw an illusion from the manual. It was a majestic black dragon with a body that stretched for miles. Its amethyst eyes stared at him and the black dragon roared. Nathan trembled violently as the dragon soared into the heavens.


    In reality, Nathan released an ear-piercing scream. The manual turned into gold light and entered his body. Beneath his robes, the purple jade necklace shined and the coiling gold dragon around the jade and silver chain turned to ash. The purple jade then soared into Nathan''s body and the five-elemental cultivation method was also imprinted directly into his mind. More spirit energy accumulated in his body and a purple jade energy flowed in Nathan''s meridians. These were the veins which cultivated and spread the spirit energy in the body, and they became enlarged and more crystalline. The purple jade energy was that of the black dragon and would remain latent until his awakening. While cultivation would improve his body, the purple energy improved his regenerative qualities, even making his bones golden.


    Nathan sighed loudly as he fell to his knees and awoke from the illusion. The knowledge was all in his brain now. Stances and blade strokes were flashing in his mind and he now knew the five element arts of the cultivation method. They were the Art of Golden Storm, Art of Black Sun, Art of Phantasmal Eclipse, Art of Lightning Stars, and Art of Serene Lotus. He could not use or understand the first level of each element spell.


    The cultivation method of the First Immortal was truly different. It was as if they were magic. He had heard of mages, but they were extremely rare and highly valued. They kept the knowledge to become a mage a secret, but Nathan now realized it was due to the cultivation methods of the First Immortal. He wondered what kind of man could create magic, and so many kinds for each element?


    "I am sure to be recruited into Vermilion Phoenix Palace now," Nathan said after he informed a rather shocked attendant of his success. He later discovered he had a gold dragon tattooed on his body. He surmised it was due to the necklace as the eyes of the dragon and some strands of his hair were the color of the purple jade.


    "Hey, Nathan! How did it go?" the man from earlier asked. "Get anything good? Did you dye your hair too?"


    "I''m rather tired. Sorry," Nathan said and turned to the hostess. "Deliver my usual dinner to my room. I will be resting until morning after a hot bath. I stink of sweat."


    "Yes," the hostess said and many regulars laughed as they agreed. They guessed he must have done something rather laborious to stink his robes in a single day.


    "This strange energy feels great. Could it be that the manual I read was one the First Immortal used? Dragons are the most powerful, on average, and the black dragons are the most powerful of them all. I can finally cultivate tomorrow and start enhancing my strength. Vengeance will finally be a future possibility. Those bastards better still be croaking when I have the strength to return," Nathan said before bathing and eating his meal. He gazed at the moon one more time before sleep took its hold.

 Chapter 2: The Recruitment Trials

    Chapter 2: The Recruitment Trials


    It was the dream of many humans to become cultivators. Why? It was because only those people would have no fear against the devils and magical beasts outside the city walls. If the walls were to fall to the enemy, only the cultivators were expected to escape with their lives. Only the nobles wanted to go to the Divine Dragon Academy.


    Common folk knew they would be bullied and bossed around by those from richer clans. The Chinese Army was also not an ideal choice as they would lose their freedom, and be forced remain in the military for forty years to fight magical beasts and devils. Crime was also rare as any person who committed a crime to a cultivator would be forcibly conscripted into the harshest battalion of the Chinese Army. For those criminals, there was no pay or vacation. In fact, the only retirement was death.


    Nathan arrived in the Great Plaza and joined the crowd of over seven hundred who applied. The current month was September. It was the last chance for people to apply for the sects as the recruitment for the sects was quarterly, not monthly as Nathan had thought. He and many other teens eagerly awaited for the recruitment to start.


    "Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Tang City''s September Recruitment of 5,017. It is also the 3rd quarter of the year and the month when the three sects will also be recruiting alongside the army and academy. Those who wish to apply to the sect must pay one hundred purple spirit coins. As soon as we verify your age being below twenty two, you are eligible to participate in the first trial. There are a total of four trials. As is tradition, the first three trials are always the same," a man in a red tuxedo smiled as he appeared at the center of the giant podium overlooking the crowd.


    "My name is Howard Tin, a member of the Chinese Army. As always, the Chinese Army exempts you from taking the second to fourth trial. If, at any time, you believe you cannot succeed past the first trial; you may join the Chinese Army. Now, the first trial is the most important trial of all. It is the Spiritual Awakening Ritual. Fail that and there is no need to take the other three trials. Failure means you cannot cultivate. Still, you may join the Chinese Army as a heated weapon specialist or staff," the man said. "As always, the second trial is a spiritual force test. Spirit pressure will press down on you, like gravity. If you can remain standing, or kneeling, under spirit force equivalent to five times the gravity; you succeed."


    "The third trial is considered the most lethal. If the first trial does not kill you, the third might. You will be quarantined in a magical beast infested area for six hours. During that time, you must kill a minimum of five magical beasts. The cores, you may keep, but you must bring evidence of your kills as cores do not count. There are areas in the city with a red formation barrier. In those areas are the only safe zones. However, entering means you fail. The fourth trial is different every year and is the most mysterious. Knowledge of the fourth trial will be revealed once the third trial is completed," Howard Tin said. "Applicants, please enter the teleportation array beside me. Parents and guardians, you will be notified of your charge''s progress or death. Keep in mind that your life is forfeit the minute you enter the teleportation array after you are deemed eligible by myself."


    The people murmured, many wondering how many would succeed this time. The Chinese Army would undoubtedly gain the most recruits, but also the weakest of them. The Divine Dragon Academy wanted to recruit more people, but only an idiot, who wasn''t a noble, would believe their lies of guaranteed safety in the academy. Behind Howard Tin were five people sitting in black stone chairs, observing the crowd and applicants. These five were the representatives of the five organizations in Tang City and would oversee the trials to ensure there was no cheating.


    They murmured when Nathan Chase was called to enter the podium for his assessment. Howard Tin was surprised as he sensed spirit energy already within the boy. Usually, this was the case for children of noble lineage. Nathan was wearing a simple black robe and many would see Death Repulse behind his back. The purple jade and skull instantly made the recruiters aware of Nathan''s intent to cultivate death qi and already possessed a cultivation method.


    "Please state your name, age, and preferred weapon," Howard Tin asked.


    "My name is Nathan Chase, age fifteen. My preferred weapon is the sword. The name of the sword strapped on my back is  Death Repulse," Nathan Chase answered and Howard put a finger on Nathan''s right wrist to verify.


    "The age is indeed fifteen. What vitality you have. You are eligible for the first trial. If I''m not mistaken, the sword is a magical sword. Not bad. You may now enter the teleportation array," Howard Tin said and the five recruiters stared at Nathan as he entered a glowing jade array and vanished.


    Nathan and the applicants were teleported to a secret underground valley. They were atop a hill, the ceiling of the cavern valley lit with beautiful crystals. Before them was a giant, square platform made of brilliant white stone. Atop of the platform was sixteen pillars with a person sitting on each pillar in white-hooded cloaks, another glowing jade formation array on the platform. Howard Tin and the five recruiters arrived after the last applicant was tested. About six hundred remained of the near seven hundred.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the underground valley where the recruitment process takes place. It also serves as a shelter where we store rations, supplies, and weapons in the event our Tang City is under siege for several days. This platform is where we will commence the Spiritual Awakening Ritual. You will enter in groups of thirty. You will sit in the formation array and your first trial will begin. Volunteers may come up first. If there are none, you will be picked out for the next group. Those who succeed will sit on the left or right stands and await the completion of the first trial. Those who fail will enter the teleportation array you came from," Howard said as the five recruiters sat on the stands to the north of the platform. "You may now begin the first trial."


    Nathan was the seventh volunteer chosen for the first group. He and twenty nine others sat down in the center of the formation. The sixteen people began to stand and held weapons in their hands. As they slowly chanted, each pillar seemed to glow and an image appeared above each person. Each image was different and the volunteers stared at Howard.


    "Okay, volunteers, these images you see are the images of the elements. There are sixteen elements in total. They are fire, water, wood, water, metal, air, lightning, light, darkness, Poison, blood, death, life, ice, lava, and sand. Quite a lot and they were all discovered by the First Immortal. No matter the advancements, the Spirit Awakening of the First Immortal is the most effective and safe. I trust you all have your cultivation methods? If no element qi is mentioned, the essence of one of the five main elements of the First Immortal will be used to awaken your qi. Qi is the spirit energy of all things. With it, you can take a hold of your destiny," Howard Tin said. "A few of you may die, so I hope you are prepared. Let the Spiritual Awakening Ritual begin."


    The thirteen people on the pillars began to chant, the formation array glowing brighter beneath the thirty volunteers of the first group. Then, the thirteen images floated and converged high above the platform. The other applicants gasped as the images combined to form the very image of Earth.


    "And so the First Immortal, master of all sixteen elements, gazed upon the Earth in wonder upon his ascendance. He spread his knowledge throughout the world and was the first to ascend. May humanity continue the path of cultivation, lest the Earth falls to the devils and magical beasts," Howard said and the illusory Earth glowed.


    The giant image then released a pillar of jade light on each of the thirty volunteers. Endless knowledge seemed to seep into Nathan''s mind. Those who had a cultivation method immediately benefit as the unnecessary elemental essences disappeared. They had no need to awaken their affinity to other elements so as to improve the affinities to the elements they sought to master. The robes of the thirty shattered, revealing bare male chests and bandage-wrapped female chests.


    As the pillars disappeared, three people automatically spewed blood and died. Within Nathan''s chest, the spirit energy he accumulated from drinking monkey wine and sleeping with the spirit crystal vein beneath his pillow began to stimulate. In the back of his mind, a dragon roared as if it were a sovereign of the heavens. The elements of gold (a variant of simple metal), wood, fire, death, and lightning began to appear within his spirit energy. A comfortable feeling spread within Nathan''s body as he broke into Tempered Body first layer and kept on growing.


    Within his mind, a Spirit Realm slowly formed. A giant volcano emerged and a giant forest also formed around the base of the volcano. The ground quaked as a five, gigantic pagodas emerged in a five star-point formation around the volcano. As the volcano spewed lava and a column of ash, wailing jade spirits emerged and slowly formed connecting lines between each pagoda to make a star. Finally, lightning traveled in a strange, circular formation around the pagodas as if they were alive. From above, it formed the image of a tiny pentagram circle the size of a nail head despite its makeup.


    Nathan screamed out as his body soon reached the Tempered Body fifth layer! The dormant black dragon energy awoke and his Spirit Realm enlarged ten times its size. That meant that his foundations increased and his potential would be higher than others of the same cultivation. He would also have more spirit energy in his body than most people as well. He also gained enhanced strength due to the dragon energy.


    Most of the other volunteers were either dead or successful. Unable to endure the jade energy as it periodically granted them the power of its light pillars every five minutes, only Nathan was left. Everyone stared at his bare chest, the gold dragon tattoo prominent on his chest, shoulders, and back.


    They could see the bone steel bracelet on his left wrist and Death Repulse seemed to pulse as it drained the death qi emanating from the corpses of the dead nearby. His short hair extended to a little past his shoulders and he grew four inches. His muscles became more lean and stream-lined. There was no doubt that he was a cultivator and appeared like a god among men as he stood up, the jade glow of the illusory planet shining its light on him.


    "It seems this group has someone with talent not of the noble clans," Howard grinned as Nathan left the platform, heading to the shower rooms a little back down the platform where he and the successful applicants washed off the black liquid that seeped from their pores. Those liquids were impurities of the body and the expulsion of impurities implied he was slowly casting aside his mortal body.


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    By the time Nathan washed the impurities from his sword, sheath, bracelet, and body; he was told that he did not need to undergo the second test as it was required for those of the Tempered Body first and second layer. He was shocked to hear  a few others also at the Tempered Body fifth layer. One even reached the sixth layer.


    Most of the nobles were shocked to see many commoners reach the third and fourth layer. Of course, that was because the common folk usually only applied during the third and fourth quarterly recruitment days as they were busy helping their families with the harvest and planting of crops.


    While other people watched the rest of the first trial, Nathan was at the foot of the hill. He was ecstatic to begin learning the five element spells of the cultivation method. He decided to practice the Art of Golden Storm and Art of Lightning Star first. He wanted to learn the gold element spell first because of the talisman and the lightning element spell to increase his speed. Speed was a necessary asset in battle and assisted his reaction time. Most of all, it increased his likelihood to escape from danger or an imminent death strike.


    His eyes were closed as he meditated. His bone steel bracelet began to emit humming sounds as the gold runes glowed while Nathan stored his spirit energy inside the bracelet. The knowledge about the first level of the Art of Golden Storm was truly complex. It actually used his very spirit energy to materialize into gold. He opened his eyes and pointed his right index and middle finger outward as he stared at his right hand. Spirit energy converged and his fingers became wrapped in a layer of gold qi. His finger became harder than his skin and his two fingers easily pierced the ground beneath him.


    He held out his left hand and a small sword of gold appeared the size of a dagger. He directed it into the hill and the gold sword disappeared as it pierced through completely. The talisman was truly a great catch. At the first level of the Art of Golden Storm, there was no way he could make gold qi materialize into a solid object outside his body. He experimented a few times and was excited to learn he had a talent for gold qi manipulation, further augmented by the talisman. The Gold Sword Fiend Bracelet was a bone steel talisman and Nathan swore to never attempt to sell it.


    By the time he started learning the Art of Lightning Star, the first trial was still underway. Nathan began spreading his spirit energy to his legs. Slowly he spread the spirit energy over his body. Time seemed to slow as Nathan slowly became faster. Nathan laughed as he began experimenting with his speed. Occasionally, a blue spark crackled from his body as he ran back and forth about fifty feet. He stopped as he started to feel exhausted and laid against the grass of the hill, satisfied.


    He returned to the stands and many people stared at him, remembering him from the first group. Nathan was in dark purple robes as his previous robe was destroyed and ruined by the impurities and ritual. Even the undergarment and pants had to be scraped and replaced. The second trial was already underway and Nathan just had his eyes closed as he rested to recover.


    He had gotten used to his new body''s potential and Death Repulse felt lighter on his back. He felt more confident in his ability to survive and was eager to see the magical beasts he heard so much about. While he smuggled his way to China, he learned the Japanese, Spanish, English, Hangul (Korean) and a little bit of French. Knowledge may have been lost, but languages die hard. The young have an easier time to learn things and he was naturally able to pick up on a lot of things he did not know from the era of his previous life.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the second trial. There are now only a little over three hundred of you remaining. As always, you are free to join the Chinese Army. Now, you will proceed down the valley and into any of the nine tunnels to the left of the hill. Once you are all at the end of the tunnel, you will appear in random areas of the quarantined area. You will be able to see multiple areas below with red formation arrays. Those are the safe zones. Again, entering them means failing the third test. From this point onward, failing does not mean you cannot assume the fourth test. It means forfeiture of your choice of the five organizations. If the four others do not choose you, the Chinese Army will. Good luck. Your six hours begins when a soldier gives you a jade talisman with a timer indicted on it," Howard said and gestured down the hill. "Remember, five kills is required to pass. No hurting one another. Not only us, the five recruiters and your parents and guardians will be watching by select hidden cameras in the town and on the ceiling. I should also tell you that there are hidden magical treasures down there donated by the five organizations. Some are also exceedingly rare that would make even me jealous. So being first means to get the treasure before others. No pressure."


    Many people immediately ran into one of the nine tunnels. It was obvious they wanted the treasures Howard Tin hinted. Many also felt relieved as they could still proceed to the fourth trial if they entered the safe zone. People quickly formed groups with people they knew and pushed others out of the way. One thing they did not expect that there was no nine tunnels when they reached the wall of the valley. It was one giant tunnel, indicating that the nine tunnels was deeper inside. Soon, one group of fifty blocked the tunnel and smugly looked at the others.


    "You guys wait here until the young master gets the treasures. No need to risk your lives," a boy laughed, all of those fifty boys and girls wearing red robes with a black phoenix on their backs. They were the larger than all the other groups. and some nobles clearly recognized the insignia.


    "Fucking Black Wing Clan! You band of mercenaries better get out of our way!" a noble shouted.


    "Hmph. Stupid noble. You don''t seem to realize the situation. Even the weakest of us is at the fourth layer. Our young master is one of the eight who reached the sixth layer, two more of those eight beside me. I am also at the sixth layer! Stay there if you don''t want to die," the boy laughed, a boy and girl standing next to him. They released their spirit force and blasted some of the weaker applicants back.


    "Fuck, those mercenaries planned this," one boy muttered.


    "It must be because the quarterly trials always give these amazing treasures. I was wondering why my big sis said none of them showed up during the June trials," a girl muttered. "This was their plan all along."


    "That mercenary group always has their children become part of the Vermilion Phoenix Palace. It seems that sect will rise this year," a noble cursed and everyone vented at the fifty people but made no attempts to pass them. Everyone fell silent as they saw Nathan appear, walking closer to the mercenary teenagers.


    "Hey! You better not walk further. Don''t blame me if we kill you," the boy warned and narrowed his eyes as Nathan drew Death Repulse. "Get him."


    Four people of the fourth layer rushed out. Most people did not expect Nathan to survive as he was a commoner. Naturally, he would not have the martial arts training and cultivator techniques that nobles of powerful groups had. People immediately trembled as they saw death qi emanate from Death Repulse. They saw black tendrils of qi appear from the sword''s blade.


    Nathan did not falter as the four attacked him. He tilted his sword and reflected one of the boy''s sword, raking his fingers on the boy''s throat as he lost his balance. His nails tore skin and flesh and the boy screamed as he fell on the ground. He blocked two more swords and did a low kick on the third swordsman. The boy cried out and did not see the sword before it cut off his head.


    As one of the two surviving boys raised his sword, Nathan actually lunged. The boy''s chest was exposed and Nathan rammed with his shoulder. Bones cracked and the boy was sent flying, his neck at a cringe-worthy angle as his body slammed the ground multiple times. The last boy paled and tried to block Nathan''s sword as he stabbed at him. However, Nathan''s sword pierced through the boy''s sword and impaled his chest.


    "I...I..," the boy coughed before Nathan withdrew his sword, the boy dead after a few seconds after falling to the ground. The four remaining cultivators of the sixth layer felt ashamed to see a boy of the fifth layer step forward and charged at the mercenaries, the rest of the applicants also charging.


    "You bastard! You''ll pay for this. Everyone, retreat!" the boy of the Back Wing Mercenaries shouted, glaring at Nathan once before leading the escape.


    "Pathetic," Nathan spat. These people relied too much on their cultivation and did not consider training their sword skills. Such people were scum who did not deserve to cultivate at all. He watched everyone enter the giant tunnel as he looted the four boys. None of four boys had a storage ring or any magic storage item. He threw the four bodies and head at the side of the wall next to the tunnel and noticed three people waiting for him before the nine smaller tunnels.


    "You''re pretty strong. Not just cultivation wise, you seemed at ease in that fight. You must have trained with the sword for years," a boy said as another boy and girl also stood next to him, the first boy with a katana. "My name is Toshio Yashida. My mother is Chinese. I am a samurai who follows the Silent Frost Blade Manual. It is one of the magical manuals of the Tang Fighters Pavilion. Like you, I use a Heaven Series weapon."


    "Heaven Series? What''s that?" Nathan asked.


    "You don''t know? Only one hundred swords made with Heaven ranked metal exist, on record. However, weapons of Heaven Series resonate with each other. They cannot be destroyed, like bone steel, and the best weapons. Smiths capable of making such weapons can be counted on one hand, three in fact," Toshio said. "This is Wei Han, of the Han Clan. The girl is his girlfriend, Qing Lu. Wei is at Tempered Body fifth layer, his girlfriend at the fourth. I am at the sixth layer. We need someone who can fight if we wish to get our hands on the magical treasures. We need an additional fighter as Wei is an archer and Qing actually uses magic."


    "A mage?" Nathan asked, surprised.


    "I, I know healing arts and fire balls," she said.


    "Sorry. Qing is shy towards strangers," Wei said. As you can guess, one melee fighter is not enough. Can you help us?"


    "Well, I am only mildly curious and traveling alone is risky. My name is Nathan Chase. My mother was half Chinese. I also use a one-of-a-kind sword style known as the Black Dragon''s Fury Manual. I guess I use a Heaven Series weapon. I am at the fifth layer. Let''s get along well," Nathan said and shook hands with the boys before the quartet entered the seventh tunnel from the right.

 Chapter 3: The City of Ancients

    Chapter 3: The City of Ancients


    After Nathan and the others entered the smaller tunnel, they followed it and traveled deeper underground. The walls were lit with torches with mysterious blue flames. Strangely, they emitted no heat and did not burn Nathan''s hand as he ran his hand through the flames. When they exited the tunnel, they arrived at the top of a cliff overlooking a city made of white marble stone. It looked like an ancient city from a fantasy novel.


    The buildings were separated by streets and roads with four rivers connecting to a giant fountain with a large tower built above it. Atop the tower was a giant crystal shaped into a formation array. At the back of the city was a giant waterfall which stretched to a mile. The  fourth river was the biggest, connecting the bottom of the waterfall to the fountain. At the ends of those rivers was a giant abyss. It was as if the floor of the area was destroyed, the city appearing as if floating in midair from the front.


    "What kind of city is this?" Nathan asked.


    "This is the City of Ancients. If you are in the rivers, and only the rivers; you are mysteriously teleported to the top of that giant waterfall at the bottom of wherever the rivers go to over the ledge. Soldiers are in the houses with red formation arrays glowing on the roof. All you need to do is go to the rooftop of those houses to enter the safe zone. Naturally, doing so means to fail the trial. Here are your jade talismans. When time is up, they shatter and you appear back at the platform where the first trial took place. Good luck," the soldier said as he saw them appear.


    "How do we get there?" Toshio asked.


    "You jump. From this distance, there is no way you don''t land where the river falls into the ledge. Of course, that is assuming you jump far enough," the soldier smiled.


    "Do you have any advice on where to start looking for magical beasts and treasures?" Nathan asked.


    "You''re asking for my advice?" the man gasped, surprised and saw the four seriously stare at him. "Wow. Most people are just greedy and jump right away. Well, that large tower is the most obvious, right? Don''t go there. There are three devils at the seventh layer there. it is a trap to weed out the greedy. So long as you don''t get to the center of the fountain and ascend the stairs inside the tower, they cannot come out to kill you. When you appear at the top of the waterfall, do not fight it and let it carry you deep down. There is an underwater tunnel beneath the city. That''s a good place to start but is also very dangerous as well."


    "Whoa. You know so much?" Toshio and Wei gasped in unison.


    "Of course, the soldiers are the ones who planted the magical treasures that were donated, the magical beasts, and the three devils. We are allowed to tell you if you ask. No one ever asks. Sometimes, respect and manners pays off. Remember that," the soldier said and left them alone.


    "I suggest we run and jump as far as we can," Nathan said as Toshio was about to jump over the cliff.


    "I, I don''t want to jump. I''m afraid of heights," Wei laughed nervously.


    "You want me to carry you?" Qing asked.


    "She''s shy?" Nathan asked incredulously.


    "To strangers. Okay, I suggest we all hold tie a rope around each other. That way we land on the water together and teleport with the person who touches it first," Toshio said, the couple looking at him.


    "With us so close together, the collective weight also makes us dive deeper," Nathan agreed.


    "I got the rope," Wei said and they all tied small ropes around their waists with a larger rope connecting them together as they tied the smaller ropes tied even tighter around it. Wei counted and they all jumped, screaming as they hit the falling river and crashed before the top of the waterfall as a group.


    "Prepare for the fall and hold your breaths!" Nathan roared as they gasped as their heads burst out the water''s surface.


    "Use your spirit energy to protect your bodies from the impact!" Toshio added as they fell down the waterfall, the force of the water accelerating their dive. They all tightly shut their eyes and focused the spirit energy to spread throughout their bodies. They were within the waters as it crashed onto the river''s surface and were pushed to the bottom of the riverbed. They opened their eyes and quickly swam to a tunnel they saw that was beneath the surface of the city by the river''s edge.


    "Land!" Qing cried as she was the first to breath in the underground tunnel as they followed the underwater tunnel to the surface.


    "It does not seem connected to the sewers, yet the city should have sewers at this depth," Wei noted.


    "Perhaps this City of the Ancients did not have sewers, using chamber pots instead," Toshio pondered aloud. "The soldier also said this place was dangerous."


    "There''s also the same torches from the tunnels we traveled in before," Nathan added as he pointed ahead. "The floor is actually made of the same white marble as the city. This tunnel was built for a reason, not made by the soldiers."


    "That only means treasure. I''ll take the lead and scout ahead. You''re the melee fighters, so protect my girl" Wei said as he took out a bow, a bag of arrows appearing at his hip.


    "Alright," Nathan agreed as it allowed his to store his spirit energy in the Gold Sword Fiend Bracelet. Not only could it store an infinite amount, he could also replenish his spirit energy as well. That was what made bone steel the best material for talismans. No matter how much spirit energy was imbued, the bone steel was still indestructible.


    "Bone steel talisman? Those are good," Toshio approved. "I have some too, but they are more like utilities to augment my speed, strength, and reflexes."


    "His bone steel talisman is for assault. Judging by the gold runes, whoever made it was a very powerful smith cultivator," Qing said.


    "I can use it to create gold swords. How did you know its uses?" Nathan asked as they walked down the tunnel.


    "Wei plans to be a bone steel smith. As a result, he has to learn rune inscriptions. Mages learn formation arrays and most knowledge on arrays are from runes excavated from ruins," Qing said, no longer feeling shy of him.


    "Speaking of smiths, you should collect Heaven Series metal to further improve your sword," Toshio advised. "There is a magic book which holds the records of the top one hundred weapons of the Heaven Series. It does not depict the strength of the wielder, but the weapons'' powers speak for themselves. My katana, Frost Fang, is ranked 86. I''m definitely the weakest cultivator, but my sword is one of the top one hundred. I think I have a copy of that magic book somewhere in my storage ring. I have three cuz I might lose one. Haha."


    "I see. Thanks," Nathan said and indeed saw a hundred weapons in ranks ranging from one to one hundred, one being the top. The book contained over one hundred pages and included a current image of the weapon. He looked up Toshio''s weapon and indeed saw the exact image of the hilt and guard of the katana. He did not know what the blade looked like as he never saw Toshio wield his katana.


    "What is this book?" Nathan said after a moment.


    "Mysterious, isn''t it? I don''t even need the book as my sword is among the top 80. I automatically have the information and images in my head. Those who wield one of the top one hundred weapons are granted an ability from the Heavens. In other words, you gain a weapon technique from the weapon itself! Your sword, is it heavy?" Toshio asked.


    "Yeah," Nathan answered.


    "Whoever first made the sword must have first made it as a dagger. Daggers are thicker and sturdier than swords. It must have been improved as it passed countless owners. Bonding with a Heaven Series actually affects your soul. It will be able to manifest in the original image of the weapon and further enhances by the modifications up to the present. In other words, improving the Heaven Series weapon also improves your soul. Of course, our soul is not in our Spirit Realm yet as we are in the Tempered Body Stage. The older the weapon, the higher the chances it was modified, and the more your soul in enhanced. You can even materialize it as a soul weapon!" Toshio grinned.


    "You know a lot," Nathan said.


    "Of course. I aim to wield both a katana and a wakizashi of the Heaven Series. A wakizashi is a smaller version of a katana in simplistic words. Dual wielding is not ideal, but martial arts constantly improves. It is no longer a bad option for a martial arts style. I just need to increase my strength," Toshio said. "I will be the best swordsman under the heavens. You''ll have to forgive me if I want to spar against you. Seeing your sword skills and courage, I was ashamed I did not face those guys with my sixth layer cultivation. I recognize you as my rival!"


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    "Not good. He persists until he wins," Qing warned. "He''s a sword maniac."


    "I can tell," Nathan nodded as they walked past dead bodies of magical beasts and saw Toshio''s reaction.


    "Hey! I just realized what Wei is up to. How dare he steal all the fun! I''m going ahead," Toshio roared and ran forward.


    "We better go after them," Qing said and Nathan also ran behind Toshio with Qing.


    "You''re here! Good. I kind of pissed them off," Wei laughed nervously as the trio arrived at a large clearing, a field of wolves shaped magical beasts in front of Wei. However, their fur and flesh appeared to be made of stone. Toshio cursed as he saw them. The clearing was a thirty foot drop, but the wolves blocked the path to the connecting tunnel.


    "I''ve been picking them off with my arrows, but they began to act smart and stayed out of range," Wei said. "Their entire body is made of stone. Their weakness is their eyes and the area where their legs connect to their body. The stone fur is thinner there or they would be as immobile a as statues. The ones we really have to be afraid of are the four black stone wolves and the lone red stone wolf. The black four stone wolves are alphas of the four packs, and the red wolf is like the alpha of those alphas. It could be considered their king."


    "Rock Fur Wolves, Class 2 magical beasts. It seems we really did arrive in a great place. Look, there are even cameras in the ceiling. I don''t see any wolves without Wei''s arrows, so I assume we are the only ones who entered the underwater tunnel by the waterfall," Qing analyzed.


    "Class 2?" Nathan asked.


    "Right. Magical treasures and magical beasts are given ranks based on how lethal and how combat efficient they are. Talismans also count, but not those made with bone steel. There are ten grades from 1 to 10. Your Death Repulse and Toshio''s Frost Fang are considered Class 10 due to their indestructibility akin to bone steel and their immense potential to gift their own cultivator techniques and possess unique effects. I heard most monsters of the third trials in the past were Class 1 and Class 2. If we encountered Class 2 magical beasts here, we can expect Class 1 or 2 magical beasts to guard the treasures," Qing answered.


    "Class 10 weapons usually cost three to four dozen green spirit coins. Too expensive. Not only that, they must have affinities for their wielders. Your sword, for example, has a skull forged onto it. That means the sword would only desire someone with strong killing intent or killed many people in the past. You possessed it before the Spirit Awakening Ritual, so it did not chose you for cultivating death qi. Everyone saw your affinities, so it can only be the first or second option," Wei said, stunning Nathan.


    Nathan paid seventy, meaning his sword must have been extremely valuable. He also possessed a little over six hundred and fifty green spirit coins left. He assumed it was a small number. Now he truly realized the power of his father''s clan. If he stole a third of their wealth, just how powerful were they?


    "The minute we go down, they will descend on us like rabid dogs," Toshio murmured.


    "Wei and Qing can stay here. If I what I read about magic is true, fire balls are wide-area attacks and Wei can shoot specific targets. You and I will descend as we are the melee fighters. We will draw their attention and those two can provide assistant and lower the numbers," Nathan suggested.


    "That''s good! Let''s see who can kill the most wolves. I''m betting you are also eager to test out your power. Qing, you are a mage. That means you have high spiritual awareness. Can you tell what cultivation they are?"


    "The regular wolves are at the first and second Tempered Body layers. The black are at the fifth layer and the red is at the sixth," Qing calculated. "There are over three hundred in total."


    "For regular wolves, we are lucky. Our strength can handle the numbers," Wei sighed with relief.


    "I''ll kill the red one and you kill the four black ones?" Nathan asked.


    "Deal! That''s four magical cores I can exchange for spirit pills or use for cultivation," Toshio nodded and drew Frost Fang, the blade shining the color of snow with a crisp blue aura radiating from the blade. "Let''s do this!"


    Nathan drew Death Repulse, the sword sending shivers down Qing and Wei''s spines. Death qi seemed to emanate from the sword, black tendrils of qi moving along the blade. Heaven Series weapons were truly different, even from other Grade 10 weapons. The two swordsmen jumped down to the clearing grounds, not even feeling pain from the landing due to the physique of a cultivator of the Tempered Body Stage.


    "Wei should already have five kills, judging from the bodies we passed in the tunnel. Let''s first stay near them for Qing and Wei to kill most of them to preserve our strength and allow her five kills," Nathan advised as the wolves noticed their presence, their eyes turning bloodshot as some wolves howled.


    Nathan waited for the wolves to come before charging. He only used spirit energy in small, short bursts. He moved as little as possible, slashing at their legs with utmost precision. With his immense strength and the weight of his sword, he was able to cut off the heads of the wolves as well as their legs. The necks also had to have thinner stone fur or the wolf could not move its head.


    Overhead, seething hot balls of fire crashed and exploded ahead of Nathan. Toshio''s movements were swift and strong, Wei being the only support as QIng''s fireballs could accidentally kill him. Furthermore, the wolves started to cluster more tightly in their assault against Nathan. It was more efficient for her to support Nathan who seemed like a slaughter fortress. Occasionally, gold swords the size of daggers would fly from his left hand and pierce through a wolf''s skull.


    Toshio was the first to rush ahead, drawing attention from the black wolves. The red wolf also moved towards Nathan as Nathan was killing way too many wolves with Qing''s support. It was intelligent and knew the other two above had no choice but to come down eventually. With Nathan and Toshio dead, the wolves would only suffer minimal casualties to kill the other two.


    As the red wolf approached Nathan, it started to stand on two feet and enlarge. Its stone fur began to smooth and it appeared to be a towering giant at twenty feet with a humanoid physique. And eight foot long sword appeared in its right hand and its roar was like a shock wave, blasting back the wolves and forcing them to charge against Toshio. The red wolf rushed past Nathan and slammed the wall of the ledge beneath Qing and  Wei. The wall crumbled and Wie and QIng were slapped by the red wolf as they fell. They crashed on the ground, coughing blood as Toshio rushed back to help them.


    "Fuck, that''s no Class 2 Rock Flesh Wolf! That''s a fucking Class 3 Stone Fur Wolf Behemoth! A fucking Class 3 magical beast!" Wei gasped, wiping the blood from his chin. Class 3 magical beasts were incomparably superior to Class 2 magical beasts of the same cultivation. It was even at the Tempered Body sixth layer. Too difficult for Nathan, but Toshio was busy being attacked by the four black wolves!


    "We need to help Nathan!" Qing cried but saw they were surrounded by the stone wolves and the four black wolves.


    "There must be some places for you to grab hold of. Climb the wall and help me destroy these wolves first so I can help Nathan!" Toshio ordered, the two nodding grimly and began to search the wall for places to grab to reach the top.


    The red wolf howled and faced Nathan, baring its fangs. Nathan stared back at the wolf, brandishing Death Repulse. THe wolf was bigger and stronger than him. Nathan was confident he could deflect its swords, but was wary that it could use its free left paw and tail as a weapon. He had killed tigers before, but they did not have the advantage of a bipedal body. Their movements could be easier to predict as their front legs were responsible for movement changes as their hind legs were support and increased their velocity.


    Furthermore, the wolf was clearly intelligent, knocking and slapping Qing and Wei from the top of the wall to destroy the advantage of long range assault from the high ground. Its fur was also different. It had an elegant sheen and did not appear in the shape of a wolf carved out of stone. The individual hairs of its fur was the color of stone but many times more durable. The fur also did not seem heavy was flexible as the wolf was able to run with ease.


    "A worthy opponent. One of us will die today!" Nathan roared and charged at the behemoth.

 Chapter 4: Black Dragon Incarnate

    Chapter 4: Black Dragon Incarnate


    The red wolf howled and slashed at Nathan. Nathan deflected the sword, reducing the power of the slash and the wolf decided to retaliate with a slash of its left paw. Nathan ran to his right as the wolf raised its left paw for the slash, the wolf''s left flank exposed by the drawn back palm. Nathan had no time to swing his sword, so he threw a sword of gold at the chest of the wolf. The wolf howled as the gold sword pierced into its flesh and tightened its muscles to prevent it from going deeper. It spun around and sent Nathan flying as its tail smashed into him like a baseball bat.


    Nathan did a back flip and landed deftly on his feet, a foot stepping back to regain his balance. The wolf''s fur was more durable than he expected. He had hoped the gold qi sword would pierce deeper but it tightened its muscles and stopped its paw swipe. It probably learned to not make big swings prematurely and underestimate him.


    It kicked at the ground, sending dirt and earth flying at him. Nathan jumped backwards and most of the dirt missed him as he got out of range. The wolf charged at him while he was in the air and hacked down. Nathan could only hold his sword with two hands and felt his arms numb as he crashed twice on the ground before landing on his feet. It grabbed the earth to make a giant snowball of dirt and threw it at Nathan. Nathan narrowed his eyes and cut it in two. Nathan''s eyes widened as the sword turned into gloves to protect the wolf''s paws and sharpened its claws at the same time. Now Nathan knew where the sword came from.


    The wolf charged at him, slashing at him with both its paws. It was as if four sword strikes happened simultaneously with each swipe. He grit his teeth many times as he deflected one claw only to be scratched by another. It stomped once, loosening Nathan''s balance as it slammed its right paw down. Nathan immediately used the Art of Lightning Star to dive forward, cutting the wolf''s left leg in the process.


    The wolf barely registered the pain as its paw smashed the earth, cracking it as Nathan leaped at its back. He rotated his body and slashed the wolf''s tail in two before cutting the wolf in the back. It howled with rage and made a glancing blow as it abruptly turned its body and hit him with the back of its right arm. It was enough to slam Nathan into the ground, bruising Nathan''s body.


    Nathan knew the wolf would become fueled with rage and decided it was time to end it with a single strike. Images of the sword style of the Black Dragon''s Fury Manual appeared in his head. He had incorporated the fighting style of the manual into the Zhou general swordplay he had mastered, but the manual had a finishing move at the first stage. He focused his spirit energy into the sword, the ground cracking beneath him from the dense spirit energy. A purple and black dragon swirled around his body, the benefit of reaching the first stage. It entered Death Repulse and its death qi burst out.


    Suddenly knowledge of the Art of Black Sun was stimulated and black flames covered the sword. The black dragon was the sovereign of dragons. Hence, its flames were also the strongest. A dragon''s roar came out as Nathan used the ultimate sword move of the first stage of the Black Dragon''s Fury Manual: Dragon Star Scream.


    Nathan''s body crackled with blue lightning as he appeared near instantaneously before the Stone Fur Wolf Behemoth, slashing it with the tyrannical power wrapped around his sword. The wolf could not move as it sensed the frightening spirit energy of the black dragon, allowing the sword to slash its body. What looked like one slash was actually seven as his sword moved incredibly quick. Seven points on the wolf shined to form a constellation of a dragon.


    As Nathan''s feet landed behind the red wolf, its body burst into a black flame pillar from the sword wound. Its body was also affected by the death qi wrapped around Death Repulse, the death qi draining its very life force. The red wolf released a heart wrenching scream, dying as its body broke into pieces of ash as it crashed on the ground. Nathan gasped as he looked at the sky, a feeling of serenity washing over him. He fell to his knees and coughed blood as he picked up a red crystal orb which was the Class 3 magical beast core of the wolf. He stored it into his storage ring and panted heavily.


    "Heh. I suppose the rest is up to the others," Nathan said helplessly as some of the wolves ran at him in anger. He had no strength left and felt sluggish as he fought back against the angered wolves, their claws tearing deep into his flesh.


    "Nathan did it! I still have to black wolves to kill. You two provide support from above!" Toshio said as he how Nathan killed the red wolf. Toshio quickly beheaded one of the black wolves before spinning to slash the other. He charged into the black wolf, running it through with his katana. The wolf howled in agony as ice spread from the wounds and it died with disbelief in its eyes. By the time Toshio reached Nathan, Nathan was leaning back against a mound of dead wolves.


    "You lucky bastard. You really killed it at your Tempered Body fifth layer," Toshio grinned as Qing arrived and began healing him with her light element qi. Nathan struggled to keep his eyes open and felt dizzy from the blood loss. After an hour, the four were back to normal and had all their wounds healed. Toshio and Nathan got most of the magical beast cores and Nathan stared around at the carnage.


    "This is horrible," Qing said as she stared at the bodies and felt sick.


    "We have to get used to it. They took over the world. We have to fight in order to survive," Toshio said as Wei comforted her. "Still, I never expected this clearing to be so nasty. Hiding a compression type magical beast among the packs, that''s fucked up. They wanted people below the sixth layer to fail. I mean, I could have killed the red wolf with ease, but Nathan nearly sacrificed his own life to kill it."


    "Right, I never did see you use any spirit techniques," Wei agreed. "The treasure has to be up ahead. We already reached the quota and we fought and traveled the tunnels for a long time. Look, the talisman says we only got two hours remaining."


    "You guys know this is also the fourth trial, right?" Qing asked.


    "Huh?" the boys frowned, confused.


    "What do you mean?" Nathan asked.


    "Class 1 magical beasts, to kill five isn''t all that hard. Even you two could have only killed five and scaled back up the wall and into the tunnel. All these hidden cameras, I''ll bet they are testing us with the fourth trial without us realizing it," Qing said. "Besides, Class 3 magical beasts are rumored to be above the Tempered Body ninth layer! That means this one was a juvenile only. Class 1 magical beasts usually don''t have the talent to reach the fifth layer and Class 2 magical beasts usually end their cultivation at the ninth layer. Too suspicious. They probably aimed to kill us or force us to get to the treasure by overcoming the wolf with large numbers, increasing the chances for betrayal and death afterwards."


    "Now that is messed up," Wei spat in anger. "The tower too, I''ll bet people are assessed on how they react to it and the three devils."


    "What matters is that we didn''t encounter others. We can take all the treasures for ourselves," Nathan said. The other three nodded and they all headed into the tunnel in the distance. As they exited the tunnel, they stood before a giant gate with two giant spheres about twenty feet in diameter. From one door to the right end of the wall, everything was illuminated by the scarlet energy in the right sphere. The same was one the left, save that the energy was azure.


    Then they approached the door, a voice thundered in their minds that said, "Enter those with vision to defy the heavens and the daring to walk the path of immortality. Enter ye who are the follower of the First Immortal for I, alone, defied the tribulations of the heavens and was the first of Earth to ascend. Only ye of the Tempered Body may pass and enter my vault."


    "Whoa! WHOA! What the fuck?" Wei shouted in shock and fell on his butt, utterly terrified. Qing noticed video cameras, but guessed no one ever entered the doors. Everyone knew of the First Immortal, but few chose to cultivate the methods in his jade stick.


    "Then the person who made the City of Ancients had to have been the First Immortal! Only such a legendary figure can make a city isolated by the ravages of time and mysterious space manipulation that makes the rivers, fountain, and waters ever-flowing. It seems he really was Chinese," Toshio praised. "I only regret I did not follow his cultivation."


    "Let''s go," Nathan said and started walking to the gate.


    "What? You follow his cultivation?" Qing asked, shocked.


    "I follow his cultivation method of the five element pentagram. My elements were gold, death, lightning, wood, and fire for a reason. Still, didn''t the soldier say treasures were donated?" Nathan frowned.


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    "Oh, I see them! They lay before the gate!" Wei cried, pointing at the wooden gate with roots on the edges of the door with sixteen stones on the door.


    "Those must be it. I don''t think they ever expected anyone to know the First Immortal''s cultivation method. They are rare, but inexpensive and considered obsolete to current cultivators," Toshio said. "Hurry, let''s go!"


    They arrived at the door and looked over the treasures. There was various armors and weapons of at least Grade 3 quality. They all scrambled over the treasures and began sorting them before choosing among what they liked.


    "An egg!" Qing said and picked up a purple and grey egg. "I don''t recognize it."


    "I know what that is. That''s a Death Gaze Cockatrice Egg! That is the egg of an avian Class 4 magical beast. My father told me some elder of the Vermilion Phoenix found some eggs and sold most of it to the Chinese Army for dozens of green spirit coins. My dad wanted to buy one, but the elder only sold them to the army," Toshio cried.


    "What does it look like?" she asked.


    "Well, it has grey colored feathers and a white feathered body. It has the tail of a dragon and the head of a peacock. Its eyes are a complete, glowing purple. It looks less majestic and powerful than a phoenix but is more dangerous. It hunts tigers and elephants, able to lift them into the air and drop them to their deaths. That is no bird of beauty, but death. Its eyes can also petrify," Toshio said with awe.


    "You take it," Qing said, giving the egg to Toshio as she found a beautiful staff. "A Class 6 staff! I''m choosing this instead."


    "Awesome," Toshio said and gingerly stored the egg in his storage ring while Qing and Wei stored the various treasures into their storage bags. Unlike storage rings, there was a finite amount of space inside storage bags. No matter the storage item, only rings had an indefinite space and all things, or creatures, placed inside were frozen in time. Nothing would bleed, age, rust, or deteriorate over time.


    "You only want the spirit pills?" Qing asked, as Nathan only took them.


    "Yeah. I barely started my cultivation path. Besides, there must be better stuff inside," Nathan answered. "I just can''t figure out how to open the door."


    "Well, Black Dragon Incarnate, you open it," Wei grinned.


    "Huh?" Nathan responded.


    "He''s only saying that as you picked the Black Dragon''s Fury Manual and we actually felt the spirit energy of a dragon inside you. That''s pretty fucking scary. It was beyond my imagination," Toshio explained. "Maybe you need to use the element arts. I heard they are like spells. Maybe the doors make the two spheres react to unlock a mechanism to open the door?"


    "Like a hidden lever to open a secret passageway. I barely know the three I used before. I''ll try with one first," Nathan said. He used the Art of Golden Storm with the talisman to create four gold qi swords floating around him as he held a fifth in his left hand.


    He touched one of the sixteen stones, but there was only a slight reaction. Excited, he fused the five swords into one and destroyed the sword by releasing the gold qi into the air around the stones. One stone reacted and began to shine as it turned into a clear crystal. Within was the symbol of an anvil that glowed gold. It was the crystal representing the element of metal!


    "Success!" Nathan cried, the other three cheering as well. He used the Art of Lightning Star and focused the lightning qi into his right foot. He did a push kick on the door, spreading the lightning qi over its surface. A second stone crystallized and displayed a symbol of a lightning bolt within.


    The others stared curiously at the tiny black flame that burned above Nathan''s right palm and he slowly touched each of the remaining sixteen stones. He was using the Art of Black Sun and soon saw the tiny flame absorbed into one of the stones. Within the crystallized stone, the image of a phoenix made of fire appeared.


    Nathan breathed deeply and drew Death Repulse. Information of the Art of Phantasmal Eclipse appeared in his mind and he slowly made a short incantation. The sword shivered as he tapped into the death qi stored within. Death qi radiated from the sword and the others stepped back as they felt pain from contact with the death qi that was released into the air. Slowly a stone crystallized with the image of a black skull within.


    "Only one left," Toshio rubbed his hands with glee.


    "Yes. We need to be careful in case there are traps," Qing said, Wei nodding as they moved closer to Nathan as he sheathed Death Repulse.


    "Last one. Get ready," Nathan said as Toshio frowned and put his hands on the ground.


    "Fuck. I can sense people approaching from the tunnel in large numbers. It must be the Blood Wing Mercenaries!" Toshio said. "Hurry Nathan!"


    Nathan gently put his left hand on one of the roots on the edges of the door. He began to use the Art of Serene Lotus and a pretty jade lotus no bigger than a thumb floated above his right hand. The wood qi spread from the lotus to his body and into the root. Nathan sweat a little as he tried to manipulate the root. Slowly, the energy spread until it affected all the roots. Wei and Qing watched in awe as they moved like snakes and touched each of the twelve remaining stones. As Toshio could hear running in the distance, a fifth stone finally crystallized and displayed a jade tree inside.


    "Ye are worthy of my treasures. Enter and be enlightened. The door shall never be opened again, guarded by my pet for all time," the voice thundered in their minds, people shouting in the distance.


    "FUCK! Someone got here first!" a boy screamed and he appeared out the tunnel seeing Nathan and the others rush into the door. His eyes widened in anger as Nathan smirked as he slowly began to close the doors.


    "Those treasures are for me!" a giant boy shouted as he burst ahead of the other boy. "Hold those doors open if you wish to enter the Vermilion Phoenix Palace. My uncle is the patriarch! Keep it open or die!"


    "What are you doing? Close it!" Qing shouted as Nathan hesitated.


    "Young master, that''s the boy who killed our brothers and, forced the crowd to kill many others. He is the one who forced us to retreat!" the other boy grinned maliciously.


    "You bastard!" the giant boy roared as he appeared on the steps before the doors.


    "You can blame the fool who dared tread on my path and blocked me," Nathan said coldly to the boy and slammed the doors shut. Outside, only the Blood Wing Mercenaries could see the scarlet and azure energy float out the spheres and converge.


    Soon, an apparition of a giant man of amethyst spirit energy materialized into crystal before them. This was the pet the First Immortal mentioned. It could not be defeated, killed, or destroyed. Only fragments of its body would break and be collected, the pet instantaneously replacing the lost crystals with a seemingly infinite vitality source.


    "I''ll kill him! I''ll kill that mother fucker!" the giant boy screamed with rage. Amethyst crystals were valuable, but not as much as the treasures in the vault. His father was the brother of the patriarch of the sect and told him to cultivate the First Immortal''s cultivation methods. Now, it was all to waste! He could only sacrifice some boys and girls to get a few amethyst crystals before escaping. He silently vowed to get vengeance on Nathan.


    "That was too close. I didn''t expect others to come in," Wei sighed with relief after the door closed.


    "Why did you hesitate?" Qing asked Nathan, seeing his face pale.


    "My mother dreamed of joining that sect before she died. I came from all the way from America to join that same sect. Now, I can''t join them," Nathan said, his voice tinged with regret and grief.


    "Then join the Sky Sage Temple. With the spirit energy of a black dragon species, you are sure to get in. You even wield a Heaven Series sword," Toshio said in an effort to comfort his friend.


    "Let''s just get the treasures and wait for the talismans to break to get out of here," Nathan said as he walked away from the doors after a wistful look in his eyes passed.


    "I, I didn''t know. I''m sorry," Qing said and Wei pat her on the shoulders.


    "People who lost others don''t want to hear apologies, and it only makes them feel worse. We just got to be there for him, you know," Wei said as he held her hands, Toshio nodding in agreement as they followed Nathan deeper in the vault.

 Chapter 5: Beyond Comprehension

    Chapter 5: Beyond Comprehension


    "Greetings, ye who have come into the vault. I am the First Immortal. I know not who has arrived in my vault, save that it has to be someone of the Tempered Body cultivation stage. Those who are above and enter my city are killed by the unique formations and traps I created. I only know that four will enter my vault. I have seen it," the voice said, a ghost of amethyst energy appearing before them in the outline of a male human.


    "You can foresee it?" Toshio asked, but the ghost-like figure did not respond.


    "You foresaw my coming here?" Nathan asked as he suspected it would respond only to him.


    "Yes, child who follows my own cultivation method. By now, my methods should be considered obsolete. It is the inevitability for future generations to surpass the elder generations and forge a new path. This ghost before you is but a fragment of my consciousness that I left for my successor. It will only respond to you. Certain areas, your friends or comrades can enter. However, my personal effects can only be used by you, destroyed when you die. I made it so no one would profit from your death if they sought my legacies," the ghost said.


    "Sounds fair. Honestly, we already made huge profits and did not expect to even enter the underwater tunnel," Wei nodded.


    "So where do they go?" Nathan asked.


    "Your friends are to enter the left path. It will lead you to three rooms, each one can only be entered by one person. When you are finished, you simply break the jade talisman on the pedestal in the back of your chosen room. You will appear above the waterfall and never again enter the vault. I do suggest taking everything you see there. Time is slowed here. By the time you, yourself, leave; there should be an hour left for your task. What it is, I do not know," the ghost continued.


    "Let''s go. Thanks again, Nathan. See you by the riverbank near the waterfall," Toshio said. "I can''t believe the First Immortal can see the future. It even knows we have a task. Look, the jade talisman seems to be stuck at an hour and forty minutes.


    "Yeah, it is seriously creepy. Well, see you there Nathan," Wei said and Qing waved goodbye before following the others.


    "Where do I go?" Nathan asked after they left.


    "You will take the right path. You will come across a room full of terracotta warriors. There will be treasures for you there. Minor, but it should serve you well. The ghost will appear once more as you arrive in the room," the ghost said and vanished in thin air.


    "Terracotta warriors? I thought those were all destroyed by now," Nathan said and took the right path as he headed further in.


    Sure enough, he entered a giant room with the terracotta warriors in numbers which equated to an entire army. In ancient times, ancient to the 21st Century, the Chinese emperors once had tombs with terracotta warriors. They were built as a sort of escort for the emperor into the next life. Various relics and treasures would also be found within such tombs. Nathan scoured the area and found several hundred purple spirit coins, even green spirit coins here and there. There were also many jewelry and weapons there.


    "This is the room where I buried my father. He lacked the talent to even reach the seventh layer of the Tempered Body Stage. He died when I was very young. His ashes were in my storage ring for a very long time, finally buried in this imperial casket," the ghost said as it appeared in the center of the room and floated above a golden chariot with a giant casket inside. "I foresaw how you died. You are an elder who once lived many thousands of years before me. I was quite shocked, but I learned to not doubt my visions. They always came true, much to my misery on some occasions. Take what is within."


    "His visions could even see the past? How is this possible?" Nathan frowned as he opened the casket. Inside was a tiny pot which held ashes. Next to it was a gold robe with a white fur collar. He noticed an insignia of a black dragon and smiled and bound it before putting it on. He wore it over his shirt and pants and noticed there was also a black sash in case he wanted to close it over his chest.


    "I foresaw you wield the gold element. I assumed you wished to make the metal specific element your primary one and foresaw you possess black dragon spirit energy. Should I call you a the future Gold Immortal or Dragon Immortal? That cloak is a Class 7 robe. In my time, they were rare. It has incredible defensive qualities and can repair itself. It also as the special ability to control gravity which I call Gravity Domain. With it, you can attract or push any object within fifteen yards of yourself or manipulate the gravity around the person. I suspect you''ll discover its many advantages. The robe is called Gold Serenity because you just seem like a serene noble lord wearing it," the ghost said. "The ultimate move of the robe is the ability to use a practitioner technique I developed by studying death and gold qi.Only a strong physique can endure the spirit energy strain. The ability can be enhanced by imbuing your spirit energy into the cloak. I''d keep that a secret in the event you expose Gravity Domain. Keep the enemy guessing. Now, head to the next room. That is where you truly need to go. Inside the case is also a jade orb. That has the ability to create ten terracotta warriors who are half your cultivation and can never be destroyed with their self-repairing ability. Use it well."


    "That is awesome! This First Immortal is truly terrifying beyond belief. Not only will my items be destroyed upon my death, as stated when I first entered, but the effects are jaw-dropping!" Nathan sighed with praise.


    He arrived in the final room and noticed only three things in the room besides the jade talisman that would teleport him outside the vault. The ghost floated around the items once before staring at him.


    "Finally, we arrive here. I must tell you that I have a total of ten vaults, six others should already be opened by those I foresaw. First, there is this giant egg. Inside this egg is a Class 3 magical beast known as the Jade Hammer Beast, the last of its kind. It is has the body of a giant tiger, but with dark green shark skin with jade stripes. It also has the head of a hammer head shark and gills. It can survive in land or sea. I was responsible for nearly wiping out its species. However, I altered it so it also has the potential to ascend. I can only hope you raise it well," the ghost said sadly.


    "I will," Nathan said, feeling sad for what was in the egg before he stored it away.


    "The second item is known as the Nascent Soul Fruit. In cultivation, there are several stages. The Tempered Body and Xiantian Stages have nine layers. The third realm is known as Sage Realm or Shengren Stage. At the peak, use this Nascent Soul Fruit to reach the Death Realm or Siwang Stage. The fruit will allow your soul to create a Nascent Soul that will be able to create an immortal body with a higher chance of not dying. The stage after that, you are not ready to learn," the ghost said and Nathan gently put a strange orange coconut with a blue aura glowing around it into his storage ring.


    "The final item is that map there," the ghost said. "My consciousness will return into the map and this ghost will tell you about the map once you reach the Shengran Realm. All I can reveal is that the origin of the virus that changed the world, where the virus first spread after the experiments escaped, is there. There is one single word that you need to hear: Atlantis. Your storage ring will  be modified by the map once you store it. In this way, no one will know you have the complete map. My consciousness will tell the others that the complete map is in the tenth vault, two halves in the eighth and ninth vault. It is the truth However, your map does not lead to the room they all desire but a secret room. Do not let others you know of it. Their maps lead to the heart of the palace. Yours leads to the heart of the city. There is a truth you need to know. You''re a lucky brat, you know. My lucky number is seven and this vault was predicted to be opened after six others. Good luck."


    "I thank the ancestor for all your treasures and your guidance in the future," Nathan said respectfully as he watched the ghost nod before entering the map. Once he bound it, he stored it in his storage ring. He didn''t know what Atlantis was and would worry about it later. He broke the jade talisman and dried himself with his spirit energy as he reached the riverbank.


    "Fancy robe you got there," Toshio grinned as he and the couple waved at him. "Get anything good?"


    "A Class 3 magical beasts said to be the last of its kind. It''s alright. This robe has defensive properties and the greatest treasure is a jade orb which creates ten terracotta warriors that cannot be destroyed," Nathan answered, lying as he could not tell anyone the truth as well as the hidden cameras and microphones nearby. "Well, I also got a few hundred purple spirit coins."


    "A few hundred? Okay, that and those two items are cool," Wei nodded. "That jade orb, it''s like having your own indestructible army squadron. Still, the fact that it creates terracotta warriors suggest the First Immortal really is Chinese or descended from one and a mix."


    "Any word on those guys from the Black Wing Mercenaries?" Nathan asked.


    "Yeah. Their leader is pretty pissed. He took his henchmen over to fight the three devils. Heard some died while he selfishly desired some amethyst crystals from the guardian that appeared after you closed the door. Least, that''s what some guy told me for thirty purple spirit coins. Pretty expensive, but we definitely made huge profits because of you," Toshio laughed. "So, you going to go to the Sky Sage Temple too?"


    "I don''t do so well with naval warfare and don''t want to join the academy or army," Nathan thought and answered. "Yes. Seems to be the only option for me right now."


    "It''s not so bad. They also hunt magical beasts and devils. It''s only a rumor, but people claim that certain members of the Vermilion Phoenix Palace are part devils due to some dark pact and secretly meet with them while they claim they are hunting them outside the city. Course, there''s no proof but some merchants believe it is true and they don''t care about the welfare of any city so long as they can still trade," Wei said silently.


    "What do we do with the remaining hour we got left?" Qing asked as she looked at the jade talisman the soldier gave her before they entered the city.


    "We got more than enough purple spirit coins and various items. We got powerful magical weapons and beast eggs. However, I am interested in the crystal formation at the top of the tower. This might be the only time we enter the City of Ancients and I always wanted to see how dangerous devils are," Toshio began when they heard an announcement.


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    ~ Dun. Dun. Ding~


    "This is an announcement from your soldier proctor of the trials, Howard Tin. There is approximately one hour until the third trial is over. There are currently three devils of the Tempered Body seventh layer. They are no longer restricted to the area above the fountain and the central tower in the city. Access into the tower is now possible, but be wary of the three devils. The only safe place from them is the red formation arrays. Unless you wish to fail the third trial, survive their wrath," a voice boomed and the applicants were soon thrown in disarray.


    "I never heard about this!" Wei cried.


    "How is this possible? Only eight of us are at the sixth layer and devils are superior to humans of the same cultivation on average," Qing whimpered.


    "Oh....I almost forgot. This is the fourth trial. It has been dubbed by the five representatives as: The Three Terrors. The first terror is the risk of death by the devils. The second terror is the risk of death from magical beasts still remains. The third terror is the greed from other applicants. Why is that? The grand treasure is that same giant crystal in the center of the formation. There are many, but the no one has succeeded in two hundred years," Howard Tin began. "The giant rainbow crystal orb is none other than a Millennium Stone! There are also three soul stones! Get them while supplies last, recruits."


    "M, Mil, Millennium Stone!" almost every applicant cried out, Nathan able to hear many cries of shock in the distance.


    "Uh, what are those?" he asked.


    "We have got to get them," Toshio began and paused as he heard Nathan. "Eh? You really don''t know? Millennium Stones are crystals formed from a dead dragon magical beast after a thousand years. You see, they are more valuable dead than alive, besides their magical cores. Millennium Stones grant the spirit technique of a dragon''s breath, enough spirit energy to reach all the way to the Shengran Realm no matter how low the cultivation. The down side is that your cultivation stops at the initial Shengran Stage, but most people never break through the peak of the ninth layer of the Xiantian Realm in their entire lives!"


    "Soul Stones are mere trinkets compared to them, only increasing the power of your soul and its defenses. There are many artifacts for that and do not cost much green spirit coins, maybe a few ten thousand purple spirit coins if one is desperate for money," Wei answered. "They reside in your Spirit Realm and increase your cultivation. Of course, there are tons of cultivation methods that are so superior, you don''t need soul stones. Nathan, you definitely need it as you cultivate the First Immortal''s methods and Qing needs it as mages have higher difficulties in breaking bottlenecks between realms. Kind of like the price for such over-powered techniques."


    "You two don''t need them?" Nathan asked.


    "We don''t look like it, but our clans are pretty well off. They just don''t reside in Tang City. Our clans lay further south, in Shanghai. It still exists and is the only Chinese city from the 21st Century that hasn''t been destroyed and renamed after its reconstruction," Toshio said with pride. "However, the sects there pale in comparison and the army is dominant there. They also established a trade route with the Japanese and only the strong can survive as they suffer assaults from oceanic magical beasts every few months."


    "Then let''s go. We flee if we see more than one devil," Nathan said.


    "I just can''t understand why the five organizations made this month''s recruiting so different. The devils were never let loose before and a Millennium Stone was never the grand prize. Something must be happening that we''re missing. We need to stay together and keep alert," Toshio ordered.


    "No arguments there," Wei nodded and the four ran toward the central tower, the tower equal to a fifty story building in height.


    When they heard screams, they would take a detour of two blocks and then proceed to the tower. By the time they arrived, they saw bodies sprawled all over the base of the fountain, some even directly below the tower with their blood dying some of the fountain water crimson. However, Qing and Wei had seen the slaughter the four made with the wolves and arrived at the base of the stairs. They could hear fighting and cursing above.


    "Looks like only one devil is guarding the four stones. Either we use them as a distraction, or Wei and I do it and run into the crowd. That way, you two can get the stones. Don''t go for the Millennium Stone. It''ll take too long to carve out of the formation and we don''t know what happens when the formation is broken as it is the catalyst for its sustenance. Less people will be inclined to chase you to death and there is less than ten minutes left. Let''s do this!" Toshio said and the four bumped fists before proceeding up the stairs.


    "Did I mention how much I hate stairs?" Wei said as they started up the fifty flight climb. However, their speed was quick and they easily reached the twentieth set of stairs in less than one minute seconds.


    "Qing, stay in front of me. As I run for the stones, I''ll use my Art of Lightning Star and dash for the stones. You use your fire ball spell to make the distraction and use the explosion to block their vision between them and the stones," Nathan said.


    "Right," Qing said and ran around him, Toshio nodding in agreement.


    "Wei! The stones at your ten o''clock!" Toshio said as he reached the top of the stairs, Wei jumping up and shooting at the ordered direction. A boy cried as his arm was pierced by Wei''s arrow and the ground trembled as Qing used her fire ball spell. Blue sparks crackled around Nathan as he ran to the right of the explosion, grabbing two red spheres with red auras and runes swirling around a glowing white core. He put one in his storage ring and pocketed another as urged his body back to Mei before the explosion cleared; crashing into the side of the door.


    "Take it," Nathan whispered and Mei stored the soul stone in her storage bag behind her back.


    "What the fuck was---you!" a big boy roared as he saw Nathan.


    "Ah, crap. They''re still alive. I thought they were toast with the other two devils gone," Wei cursed as four more people turned towards them as ten others fought the devil. It appeared like an adolescent human but had bull horns that had orange and red scales near the tip, the horns on fire. It had bigger scales on its arms and legs, a muscular physique, crimson eyes of a lizard, and had bright orange hair that fell to its waist.


    "Get him!" the big boy roared and the four boys in scarlet robes ran toward Nathan with their swords and axes drawn.


    "Stay near the stairs!" Toshio screamed as he stabbed the ground with Frost Fang. The cement floor instantly turned into ice, shattering half the floor as the four boys drew near. They screamed as they fell and sickening crunches resounded a few seconds later.


    "You bastard!" the boy screamed as he and his men were entirely cut off from the stairs, the devil at his back.


    "Later loser!" Wei laughed as her dashed down the stairs with Qing, leaving the big boy, his three henchmen of the sixth layer, and the rest of his cronies with the devil.


    "What are you waiting for? You''re not going to do something stupid, are you? We got about five minutes left!" Toshio asked, seeing Nathan draw Death Repulse.


    "Can you knock that Millenium Stone out of the socket?" he asked. "Those guys'' timers on their talismans should have already expired and there''s still a third soul stone."


    "Yeah. With my sword, the lodged stone can''t resist despite my weak cultivation....Oh," Toshio realized and grinned as he yelled to Wei and Qing. "Hey, we''re going to raise hell up here. Just wait for your timers and break the jade talismans to get the fuck out of this city!"


    "I have to grab it!" the big boy screamed as he raced to the soul stone, his jade talisman''s time already expired. He already passed but he needed the stones and saw two soul stones missing. "What? There were three soul stones!"


    "I''ll get the brute!" Nathan yelled, the muscular and slightly chubby giant and started turning back his head as he heard Nathan.


    He turned back his shoulder to see Nathan already jump across the gap on the floor by utilizing his increased speed and enhanced strength. The big boy frowned as black flames covered Death Repulse, chilling death qi from the sword making shivers run down his spine. His eyes widened as Nathan appeared in front of him all of a sudden, forced to block with his two-handed sword.


    "Dragon Star Scream," Nathan said coldly and his sword slashed at the boy, the sword creating cracks and burned the giant sword of the bigger boy. Nathan followed with a sweep kick as the bigger boy was knocked off balance by the attack.


    The bigger boy started to fall after the kick connected and Nathan secretly experimented with his Gravity Domain and pushed the boy away as his did a spinning right upper cut while recovering from the sweep kick. The big boy''s ribs cracked as he smashed into the ceiling, cracking it before falling to the ground.


    Toshio arrived on the other side as well and ran toward the soul stone while Nathan first attacked the boy. He glanced once, seeing the bigger boy smashed into the ceiling, before grabbing the remaining soul stone and putting it in his storage ring. He did a running start and smashed the Millennium Stone, nearly knocking it out of the socket to the other side.


    "You grab it! I want a different souvenir!" Nathan shouted, as he stared at the devil as it fought the henchmen, a familiar face staying back to recover from a burn. Nathan threw a sword of gold qi made from the talisman and it pierced the boy''s back.


    "Ugh--!" the boy coughed blood and could not scream as Nathan appeared behind him and covered his mouth.


    "Never piss off the enemy general. That only gets you killed," Nathan said as he rammed his left hand into the hole in the boy''s back, the boy''s scream muffled by his right hand as a gold qi sword protruded from his chest as it appeared in his left hand. The others did not see a thing as they were preoccupied staying alive while Nathan tossed the dead boy down the hole in the floor.


    He noticed a crack on the devil''s left horn, below the scales, and lowered into a stance. He used the Art of Lightning Stars to blitz and ram past four boys in his path as he raised Death Repulse high. The devil had its back turned to him as the boy and girl of the sixth layer attempted a flank attack with the four boys. It howled in pain and rage as Nathan chopped its horn off. He quickly grabbed the horn and admired the scales, fire still burning at its tips as he was still in a run.


    "Devils do exist. Now I got proof. Fancy that," Nathan said as he held a jade talisman in his hands, the timer already at zero. He grinned and crushed the jade talisman right before the devil almost smashed his face in with its fist, the fire around it warming his face before he vanished in a flash of jade light.


    He crashed onto the platform as he appeared out of thin air there. He returned Death Repulse into its sheath and Toshio stared at him, eyes widening as he saw the devil horn in his hand.


    "You did all that to beat up the boy and get the devil''s horn?" Toshio asked incredulously as Wei and Qing greeted them.


    "Well, you got the Millennium Stone. Bet it''s worth a fortune. Besides, it''s that brute''s fault I can''t get into the sect in the first place. He said he was the patriarch''s nephew, right? I failed my mother''s dream. I got nothing left to lose," Nathan shrugged and the five representatives and Howard Tin stared at the four, obviously impressed by what they accomplished.

 Chapter 6: End of the Trials

    Writer''s Note: This is the last chapter of the one-shot. Decided to write the side project my friends (IRL) suggested ater raiding my room. It is called Fallen Divine Online, currently pending the first chapter for approval before the site posts it. Hope you enjoyed the story and the next chapter of The Snake Immortal is planned for tomorrow.


    Chapter 6: End of the Trials


    About ten minutes after Nathan arrived, six bleeding boys and girls arrived with the brute dazed behind them. His eyes widened in fury as he saw Nathan but was held back by his cronies when they pointed out the five representatives and Howard Tin, the proctor of the trials. He could only glare at Nathan with hate evident in his eyes as he joined the near one hundred who survived.


    "Hmm. Not bad. About eighty six of you have survived from I don''t care how many from the start of the third trial. Six of you did phenomenally: Qing Lu, Wei Han, Toshio Yashida, Jian Kim, Jisoo Kim, and Nathan Chase. Qing, Wei, Toshio, and Nathan had the most kills and entered the vault of the First Immortal. Three Soul Stones were taken, you know who you are; and Toshio got the Millennium Stone. Lastly, the two cousins of the Kim Clan from South Korea actually slayed one of the three devils and survived. Unfortunately, their three friends perished in the struggle," Howard smiled. "Congratulations. You four have passed remarkably. The rest of you.....passed but may not be accepted by the organization of your choosing. Three of those six are of the surviving six applicants of the sixth layer. One died to a devil and another died....we all saw who did it as he and his friends entered the city last."


    "What are you going to do with your stones?" Qing whispered as all the applicants stared at them and two others in the stands across the platform.


    "Nathan can have it. My father is at the late Shengran Realm and is in the city. I''ll give it to him when we return to the coliseum. I don''t want to hold something so valuable that people will kill me for it and it could sell for lots of money and cultivation resources back in Shanghai. If it wasn''t for Nathan, I wouldn''t be able to get the Millennium Stone which will definitely elevate my clan''s status when we sell it," Toshio answered, passing the Soul Stone to Nathan.


    "That''s mine!" the big boy said but made no moves to draw his two-handed sword which appeared cracked and beyond repair.


    "Is it now?" Nathan said as he held the Soul Stone, everyone''s eyes staring at it in wonder as he looked at Jian Kim. "I''ll give it to the beautiful girl at the sixth layer. She is very beautiful."


    "Thank you," a teenage girl with pearl white skin and a beautiful face to match her black hair that fell below her shoulders blushed as she and her cousin walked over.


    "Your welcome," Nathan grinned and handed over the Soul Stone to the envy of others, no one able to understand his words as he spoke in Korean. "I did read that South Korea was in the continent Asia, like China. Asian girls are the best. Take it. I have one of my own. How did you guys get here. They speak English where you are from?"


    "You know Hangul?" she gasped, her cousin also surprised.


    "I....traveled around the Pacific Ocean for years. You pick stuff up as I started in the most racially diverse country even back in the 21st Century: what''s left of the United States of America. All the states in the east coast timeline area fell. I can pretty much declare that Europe and Africa, and anything around the Atlantic Ocean, is pretty much destroyed and taken over by devils or magical beasts," Nathan answered, switching back to Chinese. "So which sect are you aiming to join?"


    "Sky Sage Temple," Jisoo answered for her as he held out his hand. "You really got a lot of guts. To face those guys who blocked the tunnel and then fighting them again at the top of the tower. You four joining Sky Sage Temple too?"


    "Well, I pissed off, stole from, pissed off, and beat up the nephew of the patriarch of the Vermilion Phoenix Palace. The others planned to join that sect from the get go," Nathan answered.


    "And our sect welcomes such talent," a man in his early thirties laughed happily as he walked over to them. "My name is Zhou of the Meng Clan. I am a cultivator at the late Shengran Realm and official representative of the Sky Sage Temple for the quarterly recruiting in Tang City and other cities. I''m sure you already know that Tang City has the three most powerful sects in all of China. A lot is expected of us and of you. No one knows when the world ends, right? The sect might be here today and gone tomorrow. In the event the sect falls, it is only your own cultivation that can help you survive. A bird that flies eventually leaves its nest. There might be a day you leave the sect to travel the world. Again, you need strength. The sect can only provide the tools, skills, teaching, and environment. It is up to you to make that effort bear fruit for your own sake."


    "That''s right. We can''t depend on others our whole lives or we will never gain any insights," Toshio nodded. "So, is there a reward for getting the top evaluations?"


    "Indeed there is," Zhou nodded. "Our sect has several ranking systems. Let''s start with the top. At the very top is the Spirit Guardian: the four-winged tiger known as the Sky Sage Tiger magical beast. Then, there''s the patriarch with four division leaders. Then, there are the sect elders who are all at the Shengran Realm and teach the adepts various topics. Certain cultivators at the later stages of the Xiantian Realm are chosen to be core disciples and often lead expeditions into the wilderness outside the city. They are all personal disciples of the sect elders.


    Then, there are adepts. Adepts are taught the sect''s true practitioner techniques based on their faction and assist in teaching the outer sect disciples. Once you become an adept, are you able to proudly call yourself a Sky Sage as you are a true member. To be an adept or inner sect disciple, you must break past the threshold of the peak of the Tempered Body ninth layer and be a Xiantian cultivator of the initial first stage. There are no short cuts in this. You are also free to visit the central district or venture out the city. Of course, the sect is not responsible for your safety outside the sect."


    "Regarding your award, you will be given the opportunity to learn two spirit techniques exclusive to our sect that adepts learn. When you become an adept, you receive one true sect skill without payment. You receive a salary of purple spirit coins and spirit pills once a month. With you placing at the top in this month''s recruitment trials, you receive two free spirit spirit techniques unique to the sect besides learning basic spirit techniques the outer sect disciples learn," Zhou answered.


    "Damn. You have to be a Xiantian cultivator to be an inner sect disciple? Even core disciples are at the late Xiantian Realm stages. No wonder the sect is regarded as the strongest," Toshio sighed.


    "We do get two free skills, the envy of all outer sect disciples who don''t get to learn true spirit techniques of the sect," Wei soothed.


    "Jian Kim, Jisoo Kim, and Nathan Chase; you three received the highest evaluations. Jian and Jisoo, you two cousins were part of the group that killed a seventh layer devil. Nathan, you slaughtered dozens of Class 2 wolves, defeated the Class 3 magical beast, opened the Vault of the First Immortal, and attained a Soul Stone while cutting of the horn of a devil. The two cousins will receive a Class 5  ceremonial short sword carried by all adepts of the sect: the Sky Sage Sword. You will also receive a storage belt used by adepts. Congratulations," Zhou said as he handed the Korean cousins their short sword and belts that appeared out of thin air and turned to Nathan. "Nathan Chase, your actions have placed you at the top of the third and fourth trial evaluations. You will receive a Class 7 Sky Sage Sword, storage ring with a four-winged tiger insignia that sect elders use, and your own private villa. These villas are only awarded to those who place first in their recruitment trial, or sect disciples who have become sect elders. This is to promote talent and stir the disciples to reach the Shengran Realm to gain their own private area to live and cultivate in peace. You also receive a car for your convenience. Of course, it is useless to own one until you become an adept and gain permission to venture out the sect."


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Now, I will explain the general layout of the sect. The villas are in the northern most region of the valley. Only those who own a house, the division leaders, and the patriarch are allowed to go there. There are no visitors allowed there either, save for core disciples who visit the sect elders for their personal lessons. The western region is where outsiders visit and where the outer sect disciples live. It is also the gap between the mountain rings exist and where the highway connects the sect to the central district of Tang City. The southern region is where the four divisions are based. You will live in dormitories based on the division you join. The central region is where the sect''s resources are. Examples would be the Pill Distribution Hall, the Sage Pagoda where you find manuals for cultivation techniques and methods, the Sage Mission Hal, and many more. Of course, you go there to complete missions and are awarded accordingly. Missions depend on your status and division, if applicable. The eastern region is forbidden as only the four division leaders and the patriarchs live there and where the Sacred Spirit Guardian of our sect resides. Phew, that''s a mouthful," Zhou laughed. "You are allowed up to one week to say your goodbyes to the outside world until you become adepts. You can also move in immediately, if you wish."


    "I guess I''m the only one," Nathan laughed weakly as he received his short sword, ring, and scarlet talisman indicating who owned a private villa that was imprinted with his spirit energy and Zhou''s for authenticity, Nathan imprinting another talisman which would be given to the patriarch as proof of his claim in the event Nathan''s talisman was lost or stolen.


    "You have no one to say goodbye to?" Jian asked.


    "No. I came here, alone, after leaving my mother''s ashes in a grave over-looking Tang City. I have no connections to the outside world," he answered.


    "What about a father?" Jisoo asked.


    "I only know a man who took advantage of my mother while he was drunk and cared not for my birth or punished his wife for killing her. Him, his clan, and his ancestors can all burn for all I care." Nathan said.


    "Then there are no distractions. Good. We leave as soon as I pick a few recruits and bicker with the other four representatives for them. Don''t worry about the Vermilion Phoenix Palace. They won''t bother you anymore," Zhou approved and walked to the other recruiters and the applicants.


    "We''re off. Thanks a lot for joining us in the third and unexpected fourth trial," Wei said, bumping fists with Nathan.


    "Thank you for helping us," Qing smiled.


    "I''ll be sure to tell my father about you. You''ll always be welcome to visit my clan in Shanghai. You better come with me when we become adepts and gain permission to leave the sect valley," Toshio laughed and the five new outer sect disciples waved goodbye and left.


    "This isn''t over. We belong in different sects and even I cannot kill another sect''s disciple without severe punishment. We are eternal rivals now," the brute from before said as he appeared before Nathan, Nathan positioning his Sky Sage Sword at his right hip in case he needed to block an attack with his left hand. "There is a competition between sects sometime later. I don''t know when, but you better be there. My name is Liang of the Dian Clan. Remember it."


    "Nathan Chase. Don''t worry. The trials are over and I also won''t hold a grudge. However, I will still win. My cultivation will dwarf yours next time, not just my skills," Nathan replied, the two shook hands and Liang grunted before storming away. Liang was no fool and the existence of the four sects is what allowed Tang City to thrive. He would not be the one to tear that peace apart and ruin all their lives.


    "Hmm, nineteen others were recruited, the worst at the second layer. Not bad. Still, that means you all have to work harder to become an adept," Zhou said to the nineteen he brought back while Nathan appeared beside him. "Life in the outer sect is difficult. You must rely on yourself to cultivate. Form friends, do not act alone, or fall and forever be an outer sect disciple. You gain eternal youth in the Siwang Realm, your life and youth extended by a hundred years when you become a Xiantian cultivator, extended another five hundred by reaching the Shengran Realm. However, the talented and hard-working truly do not need such a long lifespan extension. Work hard or die a pitiful death. You are not ranked, so you will enter the sect immediately. Proctor Howard Tin, we are leaving."


    "Of course, Brother Zhou. Thank you for coming today," Howard Tin bowed and watched them leave through the teleportation array they used to enter the valley.


    "Keep up. Keep up," Zhou said as they appeared in the coliseum and arrived in a white marble building nearby. "Here, you will change into the brown robes of an outer sect disciple. Nathan, as you own a private villa, you bear the right to wear what you want. You need not change."


    "Right," Nathan nodded as the nineteen entered the building and appeared in brown robes. A white bus with a four-winged tiger paint job on both sides soon pulled over, a disciple in purple robes bowing before Zhou.


    "This is my personal disciple, Dian Bu. He is an adept at the Xiantian eighth stage. Remember him because he will be the future recruiter of the sect and gathers information used to create missions for adepts who wish to hunt outside the city. Brown robes are worn by out sect disciples, black robes are worn by adepts, purple robes are worn by core disciples, white robes are worn by sect elders, white and black robes are worn by the division leader, and white and gold robes are worn by the patriarch. Unless you own the privilege of having a private villa, do not dare wear robes of ranks above your own," Zhou warned.


    "Greetings, new outer sect disciples," Dian said and handed the nineteen daggers and a six chamber pistol. "These are your private weapons. Use them to protect yourself from others. We do not use heat weapons in the sect, as they could easily be blocked or dodged. Still, we recognize the danger and need of a gun."


    "This is for you," Dian said as he gave Nathan a strange pistol with a long barrel without a load out. "This is a heat weapon invented in the modern era. It is called a plasma gun. Unfortunately, plasma guns are the highest form of military technology mankind managed to invent. We can''t make a bigger size and knowledge of flying cars and other plasma technology was lost about four thousand years ago. Core disciples and above, including villa owners, have the right to own and use one. Like master said, it is useless to the powerful but still dangerous. Bind it to yourself and it can appear in and out of your hand as you wish. Others who use plasma guns are the Chinese Army, Divine Dragon Academy,and Blasted Turtle Rock sect. Now you know why they are so inferior to our sect."


    "Martial arts is still the best. Thank you," Nathan grinned and bound the pistol, watching it disappear into the form of a tiger head tattoo in his hand.


    "Okay, got your weapons adjusted?" Zhou asked and the nineteen others nodded. "Good. The nineteen of you get in the bus. We head to the sect and the beginning of your new lives."


    "Mother, I finally entered a sect. I will not die the same pitiful death I died before. I have no love for any countries of this world. I will endure. I will survive. I will become an immortal," Nathan vowed with all his heart as he and the others got on the bus that shortly drove to the west soon after.