《The Soul Fire》 Prologue: The Fall from Grace Prologue: The Fall from Grace "It was in the glory days of the Era of Dragons that the Dragon War began. Some records claim Man and magical beasts started the war. They sought to expand their lands and made contracts to one another. Man to rule and magical beasts to slaughter. They were threatened by the growing powers of demons and the devils that ruled over them. It was not until the dragons that the war of the whole world began. At first, the united front of humans and magical beasts held the advantage. However, an Emissary of a Demon Emperor descended from the Immortal Realms as he heard the demons'' pleas. It, alone, drove humanity and magical beasts to the brink of extinction. Then, the dragons came and fought back. They slayed the demons and declared the world as their own. Unable to stand cowering in fear, an empire in the brink of extinction decided to call an Immortal Emissary of their own, to no avail. They turned to the dark magics, attempting to force on down. They did not call an Immortal Emissary, a representative of the humans that became immortal and ascended. No, they called an Undead Emissary. It was the empire of Venos that sought to save humanity. It was they that brought sin and cursed all of the living. Undead Emissaries were stronger and more mysterious than Demon, Immortal, and Magical Beast Emissaries. it delighted in death and the souls of the citizens of the Venos Empire were the first to have their soul fire tainted and corrupted. They died and rose again, living a new, cursed life. They were the first of the undead race. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. They were not the last. Some people were reborn immediately, coming up from the ground. Fathers fought sons and brothers killed brothers. It was a time of chaos and fire. Soul fire. Eight thousand years passed and the undead now share a third of the world with the demons, the demons delighted with a new ally in their dream of world conquest. I know not the fates of Man and magical beast. I know not why eldest and strongest of dragons disappeared, the strongest race of all magical beasts. A new Demon King has risen and he is leading his eight generals to attempt to conquer the world once more. All life must end so that a new one may be born. To break that cycle is to defy the Heavens. I can only pray that I am not killed by an undead or I will join them in killing my own family and descendants. Gods help me if I do." ------------King Haloki. Year 703 of the Era of Fire. Chapter 1: Awakening in a Tomb Chapter 1: Awakening in a Tomb The ground shook and cracks formed around a stone coffin. A hunchbacked man in black cloak riddled with holes clapped his hands as the coffin lit up. The cracks widened, showing a burning liquid akin to magma and lava. Suddenly, a pillar of black light appeared from the stone ceiling and landed on the coffin, shattering the slab that covered it. "Heh. Another Son of Undeath awakens. What kind are you?" the man laughed, his hands and face void of any flesh or skin. The lava turned changed color and even the fires turned black and green. It was a variant of regular fire, expected of a first generation. An arm raised from the coffin, a gasp for breath heard as the hand tried to grasp the air. The hunchback giggled with glee as it saw black, burnt armor around the hand and arm. an upper body leaned up, revealing a black armored knight with cracks of fire in his armor. A visor covered his face and the helmet was one of ancient design, not worn by knights of the Era of Fire. "A soul reborn from the Era of Dragons?" the hunchback tilted its head as the armored knight rose. The knight held his head as he looked around, bewildered. He had a shield with an emblem of a dark grey dragon with two heads and glowing green markings over its body. A black mane fell from the back of both dragons'' heads with six horns on the sides of their heads. "It''s true. How rare. I thought they had all risen by now. Hmm. Let''s see its soul," the hunchback murmured as it took out a spyglass and looked at the knight through it. "A tiny, dark grey lizard with two heads. Not a winged, two-headed dragon. Pity. Lizards are trash spirits. Maybe his spirit will evolve? Is the emblem of his shield his spirit''s true nature? Interesting." "Where am I?" a voice rasped as the knight turned to a hunchback. "What are you, fiend? Stay back!" "In case you haven''t noticed, you''re already dead. Well, a Son of the Undeath. Welcome back to the world of the living, most of you anyway," the skeleton man laughed. "This is planet Dajarok, but the year 715 of the Era of Fire. The world you know is gone. Congratulations! You cheated death and was reborn an undead with your past life''s memories!" "I....died? Impossible! You can''t trick me!" the knight roared as it drew a black bladed sword with a shining silver cross guard, manta ray grip, and a pommel with an empty slot for a jewel. "Well, you''re dead," the skeleton cackled. "Hey, don''t beat yourself up. Being undead means you don''t have to worry about life spans, sickness, or disease. Tell me, do you remember your soul fire being twisted and corrupted?" "Soul fire?" the knight said as a white flash entered his mind and he held his helmet as pain wracked his head. "Father summoned an Emissary of the Undeath. Screaming. Withering bodies. Holding a general''s daughter in my arms before something got pulled out from me: a white and blue flame. Then darkness. It was cold. So cold. Then the cold began to burn and I awoke here...." "You''re the eldest son of the emperor of the Venos Empire? HAHAHAHA! Finally, the last member of the imperial family is born. I knew your body was hidden here by an unknown force, but not an Emissary. Heh. What a prize you are," the skeleton cackled. "A first generation undead. Eight thousand years and the last one awakens at last." "Eight thousand years?" the knight gasped and fell to his knees, his blood colored cloak in tatters as it flickered behind him. "Mages. It was those mages! It was me too. I was one of the twelve." "Just so you know, mages are hated the most by humans. They cultivate the essence of the elements but don''t use them for magic, enhancing their martial arts instead. Still, a human that could condense an elemental essence into the element is rare indeed. Like using fire essence to use fire martial arts," the hunchback laughed. "You can do both, a feat most undead can. All undead start with a human skeleton composition. As we grow stronger, our bones evolve and change shape. You can also take the bones of the living and replace it with your own to enhance it. Undead are the scourge of the living. Welcome to my world." "This cannot be. The cycle of rebirth was broken?" the knight realized. "Yup and it seems you were partly responsible. Don''t want to let that little secret out. You can call me Bones. That''s all I am and I was also a grave keeper before I was killed and eaten by an undead. I''ll teach you the robes, as is my duty as one of the caretakers of this ancient tomb, though not this deep underground and hidden. You are in the catacombs of your once mighty empire. Now, let me teach you about your current situation," Bones laughed. "Let''s start with your name" "I am Cid Drake," the knight said as he was about to remove his helmet. "I wouldn''t do that. You can''t really take it off until you form a fleshy body again. Until then, your body is only that of bones," Bones warned. "Well, Cid, this is the land of the undead. We currently inhabit a third or fourth of the world alongside demons." "The enemy?" Cid gasped. "Former enemy. You are Son of the Undeath now. The Emissary of Undeath disappeared after creating the first of the undead by killing, twisting, and corrupting the souls of the citizens of the Venos Empire. Nasty immortal, that one. The strongest of dragons are missing and the humans and magical beasts inhabit the rest of the world. Dragons are the strongest of magical beasts, a fact you should remember. Mages were killed off and hunted since that day, all the blame laying on the twelve mages and the emperor. Only light magic is not persecuted, deemed a necessary evil turned fanatical religion to humans," Bones began. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "The Celestial Church still exists. Must be those paladins and light mages," Cid noted as Bones nodded. "Most humans resort to martial arts, the cultivation path of warriors. Humans subsequently became a bigger threat but were less versatile in combat with no magic from the other elements. The commons elements are earth, fire, water, wind, and wood. The rare elements are darkness and light. The unique elements are destruction, life, and death," Bones said. "That variant fire of yours just might contain elements of destruction. Only demons and undead have those elements and we are death elements given form and shape. Humans scorn but life and death as it tampers with both, a feat that reminds them of what brought the creation of undead anyway." "That hasn''t changed I see," Cid nodded. "Undead are different than humans as we can fuse with our spirits. Humans think of spirits as weapons or icons of potential as the stronger the spirit, the stronger the human. Humans can also materialize their spirits to assist them but we can shape shift into them. Thus, our spirits are always beasts and not weapons or armor," Bones said, stunning Cid. "No way! That''s too fearsome," he cried, unable to believe it. "And it is why we are considered monsters. Who cares? it''s what we are now. Anyway, the undead only care about eating the souls of the living to restore themselves. After gaining a full body of flesh, we can hide among societies of the living. Every time we kill one of the living, we absorb a piece of their soul. Thus, our cultivation rates are faster. It is time you head above ground. Serve the baron and head out into the rest of the world once you develop a fleshy body. We should also give you a new name. Cid Drake is blasphemous to living and undead alike," Bones said. "Hmm. Sword in your right hand and magic in the other. No, a long sword. Hmm. Unclear what kind of undead he is and he is made of four elements. Hmm. How about Timber? Yeah. Makes sense." "In what way?" the knight said, confused. "Think of the reincarnation cycle as roots of a large tree. Each life can be counted as a root with the tree symbolizing the soul. You are an undead, a soul severed from that cycle. Thus, you can be considered timber," Bones said. "See, I am a genius. Never use the power of destruction. You can''t handle it without a fleshy body. Darkness comes naturally to all undead. Use that magic first as you fight with your sword. Again, you choose to be a knight of slaughter or justice. You are an undead now. There is no going back. When you get a fleshy body, learn from the humans as you hide among them. Cid Drake is dead, eight thousand years dead. Only Timber remains." "I understand. Thank you for telling me so much. I would probably have mentally broken down. How do I leave?" Timber asked. "There," Bones said as he created a hole in the rock wall using magic, revealing a long tunnel. "It should lead you to the surface. Don''t get bullied by other undead or demon. Above all, never reveal your past identity. I suggest opening some stone coffins on the way up. Might find some useful things in there." "I see. Thank you. I hope we meet again," Timber said and entered the tunnel. The entrance disappeared as the rocky walls covered it and made it look as if it were never there. "Oh, we will," Bones said but Timber could not have heard those words. "Bones, we saw the pillar of darkness! We can finally slay the fiend," three paladins in white and gold armor shouted as they appeared an hour later. " Took us so long to get down here. Now, let''s kill the body. Wait. What? Where is the knight? Where is that undead protected by the mysterious energy?" "He''s gone," Bones said as the paladins looked at him enraged. "You betrayed us!" one of them roared. "Your mistake was believing I was ever one of you. Why betray my own race? Idiot dullards," Bones laughed as spikes of earth impaled them. "Huh?" one of them gasped as all three coughed blood. "I finally gathered all the pieces and you want to end my fun? Fool. This world just got a lot more interesting. A first generation undead....the last one is finally awake," Bones smiled, but no flesh could display that as he always looked like he was smiling. "First generation? The missing prince of the Venos Empire?" one of the knights rasped before choking on his blood as he died. "Cursed lich!" one knight screamed, killing himself as his yelling expanded his lunges and allowed the spike to pierce him deeper. "Beautiful souls. Just beautiful," Bones laughed, taking off its hood to reveal curved horns on its head, its back straightening to over ten feet in height. "Fallen paladins overcome by greed and lust for power. You really think I served you without an ulterior motive? Fools. Now you will be my undead slaves and I....I will have access to the knowledge within your head regarding paladins and the Celestial Church." "What have we done?" the third knight despaired as Bones lifted a bony hand onto his face. He felt immeasurable pain for a second before there was only darkness. "Good luck, Timber. I hope you don''t disappoint me," Bones cackled as it carried the three corpses and vanished into the shadows, the room and the forgotten shield shattering as countless spikes of earth destroyed all evidence left behind. Chapter 2: The Empire Ruins Chapter 2: The Empire Ruins "Wow. I can see in the dark. I don''t seem to tire and I creak when I move. How bizarre," Timber said as he walked down the tunnel, occasionally breaking into coffins and looting them. "I can store items in my own shadow. That''s convenient. Bones was right. Darkness does come naturally." Shadows fire dwindled between the fingers of Timber''s left gauntlet. He could consolidate it into a sphere and throw it, making it explode on contact. The black and green fire eventually turned back to normal as black and green particles began to condense into his heart. He figured out it was the essence of destruction. Still, his lizard spirit remained in slumber. For now, he focused on fire and darkness, but not even the lich could have foreseen the effect of destruction with fire. It destroyed the warmth of his flame essence, turning it into ice! Ice fire, fire so could it burns. His flames looked ordinary as they crackled in the cracks of his armor, but one would feel cold if they touched the areas around it. His flames even turned snow white and blue, the color of soul fire. The more rats he practiced his dark magic on, the stronger the change. He also enjoyed the taste of soul fragments as bits would enter his chest after every rat he killed. he could feel his body grow stronger. "Frost fire and darkness. My ice looks like fire as it originally was, but the destruction element changed it. However, the flames would return to their black and green color when I fuse it with destruction essence. It becomes both hot and cold. I feel like a mage again. Still, I don''t know how to use a sword," Timber sighed as the rats would always escape before he could stab or cut them. He looked like a fool and his arm would numb when he missed and struck the ground. Sometimes he used too much strength and fell on his face. He wasn''t used to the way of the warrior and he had to be a knight. "Finally, a ladder! It might lead to the surface," Timber cried and quickly ran and climbed up the ladder. Something blocked the top and he threw an orb of darkness to break it. The air suddenly burst out but Timber didn''t notice it as he didn''t need to breath. He shouted for joy as rain noisily fell on his armor. The rain drops would freeze as they struck the frost fire within the cracks of his armor and sounded like glass as they fell onto the floor. "This is my home?" Timber said, shock in his voice as he stared at a large, ruined palace behind him. The gates were broken and the walls looked as if they could fall if pushed with enough force. Shards of glass still remained on the windows but what shocked him most were the statues. They reeked of a deathly aura and showed the last moments of people on the verge of death. Some were faces of terror, others of rage. These were the unfortunate citizens of the Venos Empire who could not endure the taint of their souls and had their soul fires extinguished altogether, leaving the body an empty husk that turned into unbreakable stone. "None of this was supposed to happen," Timber said as he walked to where the throne room had once been, his mind dazed. "It is one thing to hear it and another to see it. We were supposed to save the empire, not destroy it. The Emissary was supposed to be our salvation, not our damnation!" "It hurts," a voice rasped and Timber whirled around, seeing a specter float by. "Make it stop. Make it stop." "Mommy? Where are you mommy? Why do I feel cold?" another asked, in the form of a little girl not even seven years of age. "Father! I''m here. Let''s run away. The empire is doomed. Doomed," a male ghost said. "Shut up! Shut up! I didn''t mean to do this, any of this!" Timber roared and threw an orb of darkness at the ghost, killing it. "It is hurting us! Attack it! Kill it," the ghosts cried and dozens of ghosts came out. "I will free you from your pain and mine!" Timber roared as he drew his sword. He waved his sword in the air, killing ghosts with the black blade as he threw orb after orb of darkness. He learned to envision claws of shadows and he could tear at the ghosts as darkness took the form of claws on his left gauntlet. He became a shadow and could appear within fifteen feet of his original location incredibly fast. He didn''t know it, but he was gradually learning more and more of the undead arts of darkness. They were Shadow Ball, Nether Claw, and Shadow Travel. Three entities appeared above the broken roof to his right, watching him kill ghosts. They could tell Timber was just resurrected, making amateur movements with his sword and experimenting his dark arts while killing ghosts. As undead, they could see fragments of the souls of the ghosts enter his body after every kill, replenishing his dark essence. "Killing ghosts? Why?" one of them asked, covered in a hooded, black cloak with tattered ends. "Must be a newborn Son of Undeath. Seeing as the ghosts are not able to possess him, he must be a skeleton type undead," a second said, extremely large with two giant maces at its hips as it wore shining black armor. "What do you wanna do, boss?" "Let''s observe for now. The poltergeist king won''t take kindly to their deaths," a male said, his skin dark grey and had two red horns on his head. "He can do our mission for us and I want to see if he has any potential." "Leave me alone! Just die already!" Timber shouted as he finally killed the last of them. "Stop. Stop." "How dare you kill my men! My ghost army!" a ghost cried as it appeared in the form of a ghost of a skeleton king. A giant sword laid in its right hand as the left wore a jade ring with white green wisps rising from it. It rose its left hand and Timber cried out as he was lifted three feet off the ground. It swung its arm outward and made Timber crash through a wall. It rose its hand and swung it inward, causing him to fly back to the throne room and crash onto the ground. "A mere Blight Knight wants to challenge a Poltergeist King? Laughable!" the king mocked and swung its hand in the air and abruptly swung it down. Timber rose in the air by two feet and crashed onto the ground with enough force to crack the stone floor. "Enough!" Timber roared and threw a giant orb of darkness about five feet in length. Eight wisps of spheres of darkness swirled around his body as he rose. "That supposed to scare me, little knight?" the king laughed and cleaved the giant orb in two with his two-handed sword. "Taste true power!" "Gotta dodge!" Timber cried and used shadow travel to escape to the left as the sword swung down. The ground quaked and Timber lost his footing as a giant cloud of stone and dust erupted where he had once been. The king laughed and flicked his giant sword, the side of the sword slapping the side of Timber''s body. He crashed through a broken pillar and banged against the wall. "What''s wrong, little man? Met someone bigger than you?" the poltergeist laughed as it was fifteen feet tall and towered over the six foot tall knight. It raised its hand and Timber was pulled to him, struggling as the king tried to break his neck. "Squirm. Squirm like a little worm," the king laughed until it felt its hand freeze. Astonished, it saw ice spread from the armor of the knight to cover its hand. Timber smashed the pommel of his sword and the frozen hand shattered like glass. "My witch ring!" the poltergeist howled as Timber retrieved the jade and wisp covered ring. It''s arm recovered as if it never broke but the ring did not return there. "Die!" the poltergeist screamed, overcome by rage as it saw Timber wear the ring on his left index finger. "Its power is mine!" "Shatter into oblivion!" Timber roared as his sword covered itself in ice and darkness, the air turning cold and dark as he shadow traveled too close for the poltergeist to block as it already swing its arm upward to prepare a downward slash. Timber roared and ice and darkness cut through the poltergeist. "Nooo!" it screamed as it vanished like the others, a larger ember of soul fire entering Timber''s body as the giant sword fell onto the ground. Timber''s fragmented bones began to heal as Timber yelled at the sky in triumph. "Hmm. A fire version of ice and not a bad control over the dark arts. Skeletons also have a natural affinity for earth. shoddy swordsmanship aside, he''s not bad," the first of the trio commented. "Swords of fire are awesome already. Swords with fires of ice is better. As for his earth attribute, let it aside for now. Too much learning slows the progress overall," the big man nodded. "What say you, boss? You''re the son of a demon baron. You want to make him one of your knights?" If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Yes. He will do. We''ll talk to him outside the ruined palace. We don''t want him to know we saw the whole thing," the demon nodded and they left before Timber could see them. "What was so special about you?" Timber wondered as he gazed at the ring, seeing no changes after wearing it. Timber walked toward the throne and saw his own seat intact. Sighing, he destroyed his own throne and revealed a black box hidden within the throne. He picked up the box and put it and the giant sword in his shadow. He saw a lot of jewels and gold coins scattered everywhere, covered in dust. Undead cared little for money and had left it to rot with the ruins. He also put them in his shadow to prepare to hide among the humans. He paused as he saw a dusty, broken head of a man in his late thirties with a crown on his head. Timber silently dusted it and left it on his father''s throne before leaving the palace. Cid Drake was dead. He couldn''t linger in the past as he could be killed at any moment. Timber paused as he stepped outside the broken palace gate, seeing three people stare at him. One was a cloaked man, another was a muscular brute, and the last would look human save for the red horns and dark grey skin. The third was obviously a demon while the other two were undead. "Hello, newborn. Name''s Clay," the brute began. "I am a ghoul berserker, an undead with skin as hard as stone strong enough to crush boulders with my fists. The cloaked man is Lyle, a rare skeleton lich. Lastly, the boss''s name is Devin, son of Baron Caius. The baron is the lord of the large territory with this palace in the outskirts. Did you kill the poltergeist?" "That ghost/undead that could move objects without touching them?" Timber began as Clay nodded. "Then yes, I killed him." "You''re a lucky newborn. He must have underestimated you," Lyle said. "You are a skeleton, yes?" "I am," Timber said, his sword steady in his hand as he was unsure of their motives. "Become my knight," Devin said. "Lone undead will die out here. Those without connections will have their own soul fires devoured. What is your spirit?" "A two-headed dark grey lizard," Timber said as he put his sword in its sheath. "Your potential growth will be bad, slow," Clay sighed. "Trash spirit. Still, the spirit only represents the potential. Even an undead with a powerful spirit will die under a demon''s hand if they lacked the proper training. I don''t know what you were in life, but this one dictates your future as a knight. The baron is one of the fifty demons that rule over the demon and undead race,his rank third only to the Demon King and second only to the ten demon generals." "The barons constantly wage war over each other and the living as each desire more land. If you harbor any intentions to restore your fleshy body and live among humans, killing in the Baron Wars is the fastest and most efficient method. I sense magic in you, ancient magic. Perhaps you were a mage in your past life. Still, your skill with the sword will determine your life as magic is only to support a knight''s prowess with his weapon," Lyle said. "Join me. All I ask is that you kill my father''s enemies and mine. Choosing to leave is up to you. So long as you spread our glory, we will train you to a higher potential than you are now," Devin grinned. "I can''t survive on my own. Fine. I will join your ranks," Timber said. "Good, then let''s damage your spirit your spirit and forcibly mutate it. It''s gonna hurt, but at least it will evolve somewhat. Sweet dreams, newborn," Devin said as a crimson light flashed into his chest, Timber screaming from pain. It was as if he was being torn apart, limb from limb, inside outward. His scream abruptly stopped as he fainted. "Yup, skeleton," Clay said as he moved the visor up to reveal a skull face, blinking as he thought he saw black and green flames before they turned snow white and azure. "Hmm? Black and green flames? No, they just look like soul fire." "He alive?" Devin asked as Lyle walked toward the unconscious Timber. "The fires in his eye sockets are dim, signifying a sleeping state," Lyle said as he took out a vial. "Newborns, these days, are resurrected with weaker spirits. Still, his spirit had high endurance. The first newborn in three years to not blow up." "What vial are you experimenting with now?" Devin asked his lich. "It''s a concoction I made using angel blood, dragon heart chamber, nether phoenix flames, vampire blood, and an ancient devil''s soul fire," the lich said as it poured a strange black and orange liquid into the mouth of Timber. "The angel blood will allow the spirit to evolve and endure the process. The dragon heart chamber is used to strengthen his bones and increase his physical prowess, a necessity for knights. The nether phoenix flames will empower his soul and increase his power over darkness. Once he starts regenerating, the vampire blood will increase it as well as allow him to move even faster, speed a necessity for sword wielders. Finally, the devil soul fire is not a fragment as it was forcibly ripped out. That one is a little experiment on my part." "And how did you get that devil''s soul fire?" Devin asked. "Meh. Your father values my experiments. It is easier to acquire such things from those he conquers," Lyle shrugged. "Clay, you carry this undead back tot he castle. Try not to break him." "Sure," Clay said and hoisted Timber on his back like a sack of rice. "Not a bad haul. Fifty three human souls, the poltergeist rebel is dead, and I gained a new knight," Devin said, raising his hand. Screams were heard from all over the castle as the hiding ghosts were sucked onto his hand like a black hole. Devin smiled as he watched them scream from pain and torment. He opened his mouth and swallowed them all. "Demons. Too much of a difference between them and us," Clay sighed as he followed the young master, the lich silent behind them. "Interesting. His spirit is just as Bones described. It seems the Elder Lich was right," Lyle muttered silently, looking through a spyglass to see the lizard spirit evolve into the spirit of the shield found with Timber back in the catacombs. "Still, my concoction will change it further. What a weird dragon spirit. It''s not the rare gold, blood, or star dragon. It''s not the uncommon black, white, azure, jade, or crimson dragon. It''s not even a common brown, green, red, blue, yellow, or purple dragon. Also, what are those glowing green markings? What a fine, fun test subject! Just how far does the Elder Lich see? Perhaps another undead can finally rise above demons and dragons. There are just too few. Too few." The lich were a small number among the undead race but were the most ancient. It is they who ruled over the undead and made an alliance with the Demon King, four Elder Lich serving as four of the Demon King''s ten generals. Still, the lich secretly hunted the most powerful of demons: the devils. Lyle actually received angel blood and the soul fire of a devil from Bones. The lich were truly ambitious and Timber was a half lich as he was a skeleton capable of using magic. It can be said that the lich plotted from the shadows. Undead were supposed to be equals but the demons were just too powerful despite the undead race''s numerical advantages. "Did you find him?" a voice spoke into the lich''s mind from the black ring it wore. "Yes, master. His spirit was as you surmised. The concoction I created should advance it further," Lyle answered back. "Good. To avoid suspicion, begin restoring your fleshy body at last. You must guide our lich fledgling. It is rare for a lich to be a warrior and a mage, a knight mage no less. He is an important piece of the Game. Once we leave the demon lands and infiltrate the human lands, we continue our plan," Bones said. "To rule the other four races from the shadows. I will serve my part well. Thank you for granting me this opportunity and for continuing to supply materials for my research," Lyle answered with respect and reverence in its voice, Bones being the only Elder Lich to consider him of any value since its resurrection and involvement in lich society. It didn''t trust the other Elder Lich. Only Bones deserved to rule planet Dajarok and its lands, and Lyle would help his true master achieve it by any means necessary. After all, undead had nothing but time and the lich were the eldest and most devious of them all. Chapter 3: The Golden Army Writer''s Note: Hello readers. Double chapter release today as I had time. Chapter 3: The Golden Army No! This wasn''t supposed to happen! Not this! Not this! What is that thing? That''s not the Immortal Emissary! By the Immortal Realm, what have we done? Run! Run! It''s hopeless. It''s an Emissary. We''re all doomed to die. Father, what is that? What summoning ritual did you make? I listened to the whisper. It always saved us. Brought our army victories. Why did it betray us? What voice? Father, who did you listen to? I''m sorry Cid. I wanted to protect my wife, my son, and my empire. I''ve brought it to ruin instead. Oh gods, what is that white and blue fire? What is it doing? I thank you, mortals, for you will be the first of the undead in this world and more will join the ranks in the Immortal Realm. May your soul fires be tainted and corrupted for eternity, further increasing your kind with every kill until your complete and utter annihilation. That is my blessing. That is the message of me, an Emissary of Undeath! "Oh wake up!" a voice growled as it smashed the chest of a black armored knight, causing Timber to awaken. "NOOOO!" he screamed as he jolted up, pausing as he noticed his surroundings and realized he was dreaming. No, reliving the past as a nightmare. "Nasty first dream after rebirth? Won''t be the last, newborn," Clay said. "How you feeling? Everything functioning?" "I can move," Timber groaned as he sat up. "Yeah, soul attacks are a nasty business. Our souls are already cursed. Your spirit mutated into a dragon. Congratulations. Your spirit just got upgraded from trash to almost decent," Clay laughed as Lyle came into the room. "Ah, the lich is here. How''s our recruit doing?" "His soul fire is stable and his spirit seems to be changing a little," Lyle answered as he looked through a spyglass. "He is a Blight Knight. He has that unique magic only true undead knights have: thrall magic." "Thrall? Slaves?" Timber asked. "Of course. You think undead knights fight alone? They always have three thralls fighting with them, owning their complete and utter loyalty. Not even magical beasts are like that as it is a contract between equals. Course, most humans use a master-servant contract as they distrust magical beasts but desire one," Clay shrugged. "You should use thrall magic on this imp," Lyle said as it brought out a black cage out of its shadow. The creature in the cage was about two feet tall with tiny feet, no toes, and small hands. Its body was a mix of black and white with a stone mask on its face covering its left eye, forehead. it also extended to look like a crown but only the face was covered by the mask. It''s hair glowed dark orange. "That looks like a demon," Timber said. "It''s a lesser demon. No one cares, but the mask is new. Can it come off?" Clay asked as Lyle shook its head. "Well, use your thrall magic on it." "Envision a glowing, crimson pentagram circle beneath it and the runes of the pentagram will do the rest. It should work as it is weaker than you," Lyle explained. "Just say submit to me." "Submit to me," Timber said and imagined the pentagram circle. The imp whimpered and violently banged on its cage. The crimson runes spread up from the circle, like roots spreading underground. The imp howled and screeched as the runes branded themselves on it. Its pointy black ears, and all four limbs now had glowing crimson runes. They watched as it grew a demon''s tail, crimson runes also on them to a tip that seemed like an arrow head as it was wider than the tail. "Master," the imp said and bowed as it levitated off the ground, its pointy tail curled behind its back. "Hmm. So that''s it. I was expecting a bright light or something," Clay said. "That''s a variant imp isn''t it." "Yes. It can turn invisible and undetectable, most imps only invisible. It also knows a bit of dark and has the innate ability to create illusions using dark elemental energy. Oh, and it can use fire magic as well. That mask was an unintended consequence. Never intended that. Still, the imp is plenty useful for a knight mage," Lyle explained. "An undead knight and an imp thrall. It almost sounds poetic. Almost," Clay laughed and tossed Timber a sword. "Huh? This is not my sword," Timber said as he stared at it. "Yeah, it kind of changed form when your soul got damaged and after we tampered with your spirit to evolve it. It''s actually an extremely good change. It has properties of the destruction element and actually has poison. It was probably made by the element and every scratch will poison your enemy," Clay said, pointing at the sword. It was a long sword with a curved cross guard. The blade was narrow and had glowing, maze like runes from the guard to the tip of both sides of the blade. The blade had craggy edges a few inches near the guard and the blade looked like it was made of metal from another world. A misty, gold sun and black space aura permeated from the blade, the blade containing poison on its edges extremely potent to the living. The sword could poison if he wanted it to or not, but the misty aura would appear whenever he wielded the sword. With every swing, a faint trail of mist would follow before disappearing. The pommel still had no jewel but the sword seemed to harness the destruction element and seemed like it had power of a two-handed sword when struck. "Well, I don''t have any formal training with a sword so a sudden change isn''t that dramatic. I can still stab with it too," Timber nodded. "I''d call it Twilight. No other sword like it with that mist, blade composition, and poison. Might be a weapon from the Immortal Realm. You were reborn with a strange weapon. It actually evolved as you did. You also have affinity for the destruction element. Your value just shot up and less demons and undead will be able to complain about you being one of the young master''s men," Clay laughed. "You''re his third knight, but the only one with magic. As a Blight Knight, you''ll be taught by three of the young master''s men. A lich, Lyle here, will teach you how to use magic. Yiazig will teach you the art of assassination. To fight off the young master''s assassins, it is best to train like an assassin to kill one. Finally, Gregor will teach you how to fight like a knight. All knights use a sword, considering it a noble weapon. He''ll teach you one-handed and two-handed stances and techniques as you wield magic in your left hand instead of a shield." "When your training is complete, you will lead some of Baron Caius''s Golden Army to slay his enemies and win glory for both baron and our young master. He is the youngest of three siblings so expect to be targeted by them as well. Power is everything to demons and the less heirs, the less competition," Lyle continued. "What''s the Golden Army?" Timber asked. "It''s an army of golems made by death magic of the demons. They extract the soul of a human overcome by rage, anger, and despair. They place it inside gold metal armor or gold rock golems to animate them. The baron holds the master control rod and has given a weaker control rod to each of his sons to order a fifth of his Golden Army," Clay answered. "Me and you will fight alongside the Golden Army and each of us is given two to control and follow our orders. A very tiny number but enough to get the job done as we are given various objectives that will determine the outcome of the battle. Sometimes its to kill a powerful paladin. Sometimes its to destroy a gate. Stuff like that." "These golden golems cannot be destroyed either. If the person controlling them, like you over your two golems; then they become as statues until the young master reactivates them again," Lyle said. "Your control rod will be given once you are ready for your first mission. Until then, training." "Hehehe. We will be victorious, master. We will make pools of human blood in our midst," the imp giggled as Lyle let it out the cage and it flew around in the air in joy. Blades grew out of the back of its forearm and appeared as claws as they curved toward the front of the hands. Even though it looked kind of cute, it was a lethal killing machine. An undead skeleton came and Timber followed it out. "Only newborns killed by the Emissary of Undeath have weapons like that," Clay said. "Might be one of the lost Jenos Imperials. The nobles of that empire take a long time to resurrect a body of their own." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "So long as he is useful to the master''s cause," Lyle said, withholding the truth it learned from Grim. "The young master awaits inside," the skeleton said as it led him to a room at the heart of the castle before leaving. "He will knight you so kneel on one knee and await it." "So you''re awoken at last. Been four days, a little longer than some," Devin noted as Timber walked in. "I assume Clay told you the particulars of your situation?" "Yes," Timber said as he knelt on one knee while Devin walked forward and tapped both shoulders with a scimitar that seemed to have a blade forged out of diamonds of blood. "I dub you Sir Timber. Rise, my knight," Devin said and waited for Timber to stand. "Know that I am your liege lord and you will obey my orders and that of my father. Know that my two elder brothers have far more men and allies than I do. Expect them to try to kill us to take my father''s place for I am named his heir and they are angered by the decision. The living say undead are not honorable. It is just easier for us not to be. Our enemies are that of my father and the living for they consider us evil just by existing." "I....understand. I will try," Timber nodded. "There can be no peace, only destruction. The light hurts us so we must shroud it in darkness. The living fear us, their religions twisting their views and making their beliefs unshakable. There can be no quarter for you can expect none from the living. This is the way of the world after you have come here. You are probably a citizen of the Jenos Empire, an empire from the ancient Era of Dragons. A new Demon King has risen, a demonized, undead dragon of immeasurable power. It is up to us to fight so that we may live as we are now. You will kill the innocent. You will kill the guilty. You will all that is good and all that is evil. If it is an enemy, you shall slay them with your sword and your magic. You are a knight of the realm now, the Twilight Lands. The existence of too many demons and undead twist the land, making the skies appear in perpetual twilight. It''s also why Clay thought it funny to name your sword Twilight." "Well, it does match the color," Timber said as he drew his sword from the handcrafted sheath he received with it. "Your training will begin shortly. One of the neighboring human kingdoms is halting the conquest of my father''s army. Our mission is to attack one of the cities. The city we are tasked with involves the main smithy used to make immortal ranked weapons. That particular city has martial arts sect in its midst with giant amounts of immortal metals from the previous wars. Our aim is to claim the city and make it ours," Devin said. "We attack in ten years. That gives you ten years to train under Lyle, Yiazig, and Gregor. It is ten years because we aim not just to attack the kingdom, but claim ownership of the lands without fear of another baron taking advantage of the chaos. Plans take time and this is a great campaign." "Will I get new armor?" Timber asked. "Get it from the demons and undead you kill. Until then, fix your armor using your mana from the four elements you cultivate. Also, replace your bones with a stronger bone, should you find one. Skeleton undead are unique in that they the begin as the weakest but have the most potential for growth. Just absorb a bone, shape does not matter, and your body will do the rest. Rich cities mean higher quality armors so there is no need to give you one. Just loot from those you kill," Devin said as a door of darkness opened and appeared out of thin air. "What''s happening?" Timber cried as an arm of darkness reached out and grabbed him, dragging him through the door and vanishing without a trace. "Try not to damage him too much, Gregor," Devin said as a humanoid dragon undead and Lyle appeared out of nowhere. "Yiazig and Lyle, train him well. He is the last of my one hundred and eight. Soon, I will finally take action against with my father''s army and my two brothers cannot stop me anymore.." "This batch of one hundred and eight captains will not fail you. They will be trained to even kill your brothers'' forces should they target you," Yiazig grinned, its dragon teeth giving a creepy smile. "So long as I am the one to behead my brothers," Devin said as the two retainers bowed and left as Devin sat on his bone throne with wine cup of human blood in his hand. "We''ll invade the human lands soon. My stock of human blood will be replenished at last." "Where am I?" Timber cried as he drew his sword and looked around. He did not know where he was and the giant hand of darkness had vanished and left him somewhere with pitch black darkness. He was not trapped in natural darkness so he could not see. "You have the elements of darkness, ice, earth, and destruction," a voice said as something smashed into Timber. "You were a mage in your past life. It would explain the numerous affinities." "Who are you? What are you?" Timber cried as he was smashed into the ground. "I am Gregor, a Demon Knight. Yiazig is here, hitting you as he wraps himself in shadow," a second voice said as a giant sword appeared out of nowhere and flung Timber into the air, a second force smashing him into the ground. Timber groaned as he got up, seeing a giant knight with a glowing, wisp like aura permeating from his crimson armor. "You have much to learn, Timber," Lyle said from the shadows, a shard of earth shattering as it crashed on Timber''s chest plate, sending him back to the ground as he got to his feet. "You depend too much with your eyes. You are an undead. You are soul fire! Use it to enhance your five senses and see what the living cannot! We will pound the basics of magic, swordplay, and assassination into you as we have done one hundred and seven others. They are here also, trained by other retainers of the young master. You want to be one of his captains? Survive these ten years, my hybrid lich warrior friend. It would be....tragic...to see another skeleton die after seeing so much potential." "Knights are strong! We are the swords of our liege! We are his might in the realm. Your blade must be strong and unyielding," Gregor cried as he threw a large kite shield at Timber, making him roll fifteen times on the ground as it crashed into him. "You want to wield magic instead of a shield or second sword? Then you must master your sword even more!" "Undead magic abilities are determined by how you imagine them. You already know how to use the dark abilities: Shadow Ball, Nether Claw, and Shadow Travel. Other lich have created those spells. You must create your own and master the new skills beside them. You must bend the elemental essence in your body and give it form and shape! You are ice. You are earth. You are darkness. You are destruction! Magic is different than martial arts. Martial arts bends and manipulate elemental energy to augment their physical capabilities. Magic is a part of you. It shapes and binds you," Lyle cried as a giant Shadow Ball crashed into Timber, actually cracking his armor this time and increasing the amount of frost fire as they closed the gaps. "Heart, lungs, kidney, spinal column, throat, jugular vein, knees, elbows, and eyes. So many choices for an assassin to target,"Yiazig said from the shadows, striking the the part of the armor that covered each place he mentioned. "Most undead and all demons have them. You must learn to target them. Yes, you are a knight, but a knight mage must also know finesse and must be quick and agile. You don''t have the luxury of another sword or shield. Each strike of your sword or magic must kill. To protect the young master, you must know how assassins fight to protect him and your own life." "These ten years will make you suffer, but they will also make you stronger!" Gregor cried as Timber held the side of his sword to support it as he blocked the giant sword slash, the ground beneath his feet cracking under Gregor''s might. "Your imp being trained elsewhere. Thrall magic is absolute and can never be destroyed. Only you can remove it by killing and devouring the imp''s soul fire. There are all kinds of thralls. Giant and destructive, small and nimble, primal and deceptive, and much more. An undead knight must have thralls that make up for what he lacks. An undead knight must also be stronger to use the thrall magic," Lyle said three spears of darkness impaled Timber from the cracks of frost fire in his armor. "You are a newborn, a freshly resurrected undead. The life of an undead dictates that the strong devour the soul fire of the weak and the weak cower and submit to them. You are weak, but you must be strong! You are a novice, so you must train to take from others and protect what''s yours." "I was like you and developed a fleshy body of my own image. You must devour soul fire. The living scorn you now so you must fight to survive them," Yiazig said. "This is your life now. Accept it! Embrace it or die from the training. The Golden Army must conquer and we do not suffer the weak within our ranks. Ten years you have before you are sent to war. One hundred and eight newborns must become one hundred and eight captains. Struggle and survive, Timber. Struggle and survive." Chapter 4: The Great Wall Chapter 4: The Great Wall A black knight slashed his sword as a four-armed demon tried to punch him, cutting off two arms in the process. The demon howled and broke into a charge. The black knight scoffed and created spikes of earth on the ground slanted toward the demon. The demon cried but was unable to stop its momentum and impaled itself on the spikes. "Ten years and you finally reached the seventh stage of the Metal Realm. Not bad," Gregor said. In Dakarok, cultivation was determined by soul fire since the destruction of the Venos Empire. Life on Dajarok gained access to the power of their soul, allowing many more people to cultivate elemental energy. Soul fire embodied the soul and is fueled by elemental energy. However, those who did not cultivate had their life force burned by the soul fire. It explained the aging process and the world discovered how to be immortal from lifespans and the ravages of time. Cultivation was the key. In cultivation, there are several steps to ascension. There are five realms of cultivation, each of them divided with their own requirements. The first realm is the Metal Realm, consisting of nine stages. It is the easiest realm of cultivation. The body represented metal and the higher the metal, the stronger the soul fire had to be to burn. The stronger the body, the more elemental energy one could contain and the faster the cultivation. It was also where people were scrutinized the most. Spirits determined the power of a cultivator, but the body represented the latent talent. Metal was ranked copper, bronze, steel, silver, gold, black gold, diamond, and mithril. The higher the metal, the faster one''s cultivation was. The second was the Flame Realm, that realm and all others decided by four stages: initial, middle, late, and peak stage. The body transforms and begins the path of ascension, the lifespan of the being extended if applicable. Flight was also possible. You are now able to manifest your spirit to fight alongside you or wield it depending on what it was. For undead, they could fuse with their beast spirits until they ran out of elemental energy. Undead were truly terrifying then. The third was the Obsidian Realm. It required the warrior or mage to condense their elemental energy into a lake of lava. The amount of elemental energy one possessed would far outstrip those at the Flame Realm. They could finally use immortal ranked magical treasures in battle. Cultivation began fusing the soul fire into the lake. The cultivator would begin creating spires of obsidian, one for each of elemental affinity. For Timber, those elements were water, darkness, earth, and destruction. Everyone is supposed to have affinity for fire, but some lifeforms had mutated soul fire. For Timber, his soul fire was black and green fire because of the destruction element. Timber considered it chaos fire. Creation of the spires did not use elemental essence of those elements and required complex methods. It can be said that those who reach this realm were true prodigies and monsters. All five spires must be made to reach the peak of that realm. Also the metal ranked body determined whether or not one would progress further. All cultivators with a metal rank of steel and below could not cultivate past the Obsidian Realm. That is a fact proven since the eight thousand year old discovery. "What''s after the Obsidian Realm?" Timber asked. "Heh. Worry about that when you get there," Yiazig laughed. Even Baron Caius is only at the late stage of the Obsidian Realm. That just reveals how powerful the ten generals of the Demon King are." "You have a Black Gold rank body and are at the seventh stage of the Metal Realm. The strongest of you captains is at the ninth stage of the Metal Realm, having a body of the Diamond rank. Now, here is your control rod," Lyle praised as the lich handed Timber a blue diamond rod with grey runes along its sides. "Where did it go?" Timber asked as it disappeared when he bound it to his soul. "Look inside your Realm of Soul Fire. You should see tiny bars of black gold used as wood to fuel your tiny ember of soul fire. There should be streaks of grey. Why? It is because golem control rods empower your soul with that of the golems. You have the might of three souls! Just imagine how powerful the young master and the baron is. This is why the Golden Army is unstoppable. Golems cannot be destroyed because their masters'' souls contain their own souls," Lyle answered. "So that is why my soul fire is bigger. It''s the size of a fist now," Timber noted. Timber was taken outside the dark abyss he lived in for ten years. He had killed countless demons and undead and devoured many pieces of their soul fire. His armor had repaired itself and he was at the strength that he could kill the poltergeist with ease. "Congratulations to all one hundred and eight of you," Devin said as the new captains of his forces arrived in his throne room. "You will now march with my army to the merchant city of Quentican. It is a city in a valley surrounded by dangerous mountains, all of which contain magical beasts. The only entrance into the valley, by foot, is protected by a thousand foot high and hundred foot thick wall twenty three miles long. The humans call it the Great Wall. Your mission is to take that wall down. You are the vanguard of my forces and other batches of one hundred and eight captains will fight alongside you. You are just the most powerful or the ones with the most potential." "So there are others," Timber muttered as all the captains murmured about what Devin said. "Once the Great Wall falls, we march into the city and slaughter them all. Leave the elite forces to my lieutenants. You should recognize them as they were the ones who trained you. We march in four hours. An hour before sunset, we strike!" Devin roared, the one hundred and eight captains inspired by his words. "You heading out soon?" Clay asked as Timber entered his room, the room he awoke in and stayed in before his sudden training. "Yeah, to the Great Wall. Aren''t you coming?" Timber asked. "Most of the lieutenants are at guard duty in the castle or the fortresses by the baron''s borders. We can''t let the other barons take the land of Baron Caius during the conquest. I''m stuck here," Clay shrugged. "Any advice? I never fought in a siege as a knight," Timber asked. "Right. Mages stayed at the back and did those area of effect spells, according to the ancient records of the Venos Empire. The most powerful human empire ever seen in history, controlling almost all known human lands at the time before the empire destroyed itself with the forbidden summoning magic," Clay nodded. "Let the eager idiots charge first. Watch how the defenders react and target the less guarded area. If you can''t scale the wall, break it. Concentrate your ice and earth magic to soften a concentrated area and destroy it with your sword and darkness element. You don''t want to reveal your affinity to destruction until you start attacking the city." "I...have to kill humans then," Timber said silently. "Yeah, that won''t be hard. You went on sieges as a mage, right? Think of the humans as the enemy you fought before. Show them mercy and you''ll die like many other captains. That city has a force of one hundred thousand soldiers and a few dozen thousand members of a sect. You all number two hundred and fifty thousand. If it gets tough, group up," Clay said as he turned to leave. "You are a tough undead to kill. You survived that hellish ten years of training. Have faith in that. Humans are weaker than you think, and by no small margin. As a knight captain of the vanguard, you have to break through the enemy lines for the rest of the forces. You got that imp and two armored golems, right?" "He is right, master," the imp said as it appeared in the room with a flash of black light. "Listen to the stone masked imp. Have it follow you in its spirit form. Imps are unique in that only their thrall master can see or hear them while they are in their spirit form. The draw back is that they must be within a hundred feet of their master or the spirit form fails. Best to not let other members of the vanguard know you have a thrall already," Clay warned. "Good luck in the siege of the Great Wall. Many powerful humans guard that wall and are sure to target you and the other captains to neutralize the threat of the golems." "We march!" Devin cried and legions of undead and demons marched to the east, golems of rock and armor in their wake. Timber''s golems were armored golems. They were seven feet high with massive armor with giant gauntlets. They were walking juggernauts with sparks of lightning crackling over their golden armor. The ground was marked with every step they made. After three hours, they arrived two hours before sunset on the top of five hills with a giant white wall in the distance. Timber could see the humans frantically run into the small gates of the giant wall. The gates were not even one tenth the size of the wall, barely fifteen feet high. No doubt it would be the focus of the battle besides trying to pass over the wall. However, ladders were much too short for this high a wall. One thousand feet. That was an extremely high number and for humans to make a wall that high, it seems magic really is scorned. A very powerful mage could easily blast that wall apart back in his days. "Sir Timber?" a skeleton in black armor asked as it appeared behind him. "You have orders from Master Devin. You are to board one of the ten siege towers that will roll up to the gate and take it." "Siege towers?" Timber cried, impressed. Siege towers were moving towers of wood several hundred feet higher than any ladder. An army usually used siege towers against kingdoms that lacked the explosive range and damage of a mage. Since humans scorned all but light magic, siege towers would be their greatest fears in any assault by the demons and undead. "Master," the imp began in its spirit form. "I will have to stay on your shoulder while cramped in this tower. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "Yeah," Timber agreed, communicating with the imp through his mental link as its master. "Why chose the fourteenth floor? The fifteenth floor is the top of the siege tower," the imp asked as the battle begun. The two of them could see gold golems marching with all kinds of demons and undead. Timber''s skin crawled as he looked at some of them. During his ten year training, most of his body regenerated due to killing so many demons. No bones were replaced as he saw no interesting demons or undead with neat abilities that he could consider useful. He only looked undead by his skull as it was the only part of his body without any flesh, skin, or hair. He didn''t regenerate his head because Lyle warned him not to. He and Lyle planned to leave the Twilight Realm behind. Some undead or demons might recognize them if they regenerated completely. Timber didn''t like the undead and demon lands. His hellish training was a major factor in his decision to leave. He was also free to leave anyway. He would leave when the demons and undead nearly take the city. When he had taken lessons under Lyle on magic, he learned about the lich society and their plots to takeover the world from the shadows. They already had eyes and ears among the demons and undead, whispering lies and deceits to influence them to move as desired. He was even more shocked when he found out Bones true identity: an Elder Lich! He also found out, through Lyle''s ring connection to one worn by Bones, that his father, mother, and little sister had already resurrected and that he was the last of the first generation of undead to resurrect. Like him, they were skeleton undead but only his father was a half lich with magic. His mother and sister were both lich and long since escaped to the human lands. "This Great Wall is all that stands in my way from escaping to the human lands and finding my family," Timber said. "Betraying the demon army in the midst of a war. Hehehe. So much mischief to spread. Master is the best," the imp said, the lesser demon mischievous by nature. As his thrall, part of its soul fire was taken into his own. Naturally, it gained some of his memories and became more powerful as a result. "How fun. Living in a land where everyone will want to kill you when your identity is uncovered. Hehehehe. What are you going to do with your father? Freeze him? Bury him in the earth? Rip him apart with claws of darkness. Oh, I know! Why don''t you have eaten by vultures and make them rest while he regenerates to repeat it in an endless cycle? Undead have fast regeneration anyway," the imp giggled. "You''re very wicked. The thought does amuse me, but I want to know who fed him those lies. What that voice in his head was. Did he lose his mind or was he manipulated? I need to know the truth before I make such a decision," Timber said as the siege tower stopped moving as some arrows pierced through the wooden walls. "You should consider erotic punishment by fucking his second wife in front of him. Technically, you two are no longer related by blood anymore. Hehehe. That will make a nice expression of horror on his face. You slept with his second wife, a concubine before. She used aphrodisiac and you were both the same age," the imp roared with laughter until it started crying in pain as its crimson thrall runes shined. "I know you got some of my memories while I got some of your own. It would be wise not to speak of some of them," Timber warned as the siege tower slammed into the wall and a platform smashed onto the top of the wall, the Golden Army racing up the siege tower. "Be sure to keep an eye out for anyone who might follow us. My escape must not fail." "Don''t worry, master," the imp said as two gold golems appeared beside Timber as he raced out. "I, Ignu, am the most mischievous imp of my family. Hehehe. Any followers will suffer an unfortunate accident with a few burned limps by black demon fire." "The Trouble Maker of Slaughter," Timber muttered aloud, remembering some of the imp''s past as he drew Twilight and charged at the humans frantically guarding the stairs leading to the gate from the top of the wall. "We can''t let the monsters use the chain mechanism!" a guard roared as he and his men protected the two towers at the wall over the gate, each one with a machination that controls the chains to lift the gate. Besides the large timbers that reinforced the back of the gate, there was a black metal bar made of immortal rank metal that couldn''t be broken by those below the Flame Realm. Even golems were limited to the strength of their masters. "Die!" a human said and struck his spear toward Timber. Timber stared at the human and caught the spear with his left hand after covering it in a claw of darkness. Timber broke the spear head off and stabbed the human in the heart with his Twilight sword. "I...I...," the guard rasped as he chocked on his blood, disbelief in his eyes. "Another soul, devoured by the master. Hehehe. I''ll store his magic bag in your shadow. Looting and counting treasures is fun," Ignus giggled. "Attack and kill all humans in that tower. Throw any humans in your way off the wall," Timber said. He needed the wall taken to go to the Quentican City and make his escape there. "We''ll meet in the large pavilion with the green tile roof," Lyle told Timber, using the black jade ring with the tiger insignia on Timber''s left hand to talk to him. Timber also had the Witch Ring he looted from the poltergeist leader and wore it on his right hand. He was still unable to unlock its power. "Right," Timer nodded as he headed to the left tower while Lyle headed to the right. "Die, monster! We won''t let our families be killed! Charge them!" several guards roared as they followed one who was at the fifth fourth stage. Some of the captains struggled while the elite few killed with ease. The knight squad cried out in pain and terror as Timber''s two golems rammed through them like a juggernaut, their bodies flying over both sides of the wall as their bodies broke and burst with blood after impact. "Fuck undead! Fuck demons!" a knight cried as he killed a captain who as at the third stage. "C''mon! C''mon!" Timber paused a moment as he stared at the slaughter. Arms were flying in the air. Heads rolled and wings burst. The wall was littered with bodies strewn all over the floor with a few dozen golems inanimate as their masters died. Still, the humans were losing control of the wall. Some captains saw others enter the tower and proceeded down the stairs, to the gate. "Reinforcements! Where are those sect disciples?" a guard captain roared. "Sir, they are tasked with evacuating the city," a guard cried before a demon appeared out of nowhere and slit a dagger across his throat. "Then the Great Wall has fallen," the guard captain trembled as most demon and undead captains ran around him and focused on killing his men. He frantically tried to save them, but their numbers and golems overwhelmed the guards and they were slaughtered. "Why? Why do this?" the guard cried with anguish as he saw a black armored knight with a crimson cape walked forward, black and green fire burning on his undamaged armor as aura. "May the light guide my blade to vanquish my enemy!" Timber stared at the blood covered white knight as he charged forward, light wrapping around his blade. A shock wave blasted as the guard''s sword slashed against Twilight, the guard''s eyes widening as Timber was unfazed and easily blocked it. The guard attempted to bash his shield at Timber, but Timber jumped back and stomped on the floor, a trail fo tiny earth spikes heading in his direction. As the guard bashed his shield on the ground to block it, Timber''s feet landed on the ground and he blurred as he appeared at the exposed left side of the knight. The knight tried to swing his left arm outward to bash TImber with the shield''s edge, but Timber grabbed the shield with a hand covered in frost essence. "What devilry is this? It''s a mage and a knight?" the guard cried as Timber shattered his shield into shards of frozen metal. The guard could only cry out in defiance as Timber''s sword cut him from the shoulder down. Blood sprayed at Timber as the guard''s corpse fell onto the ground, his soul fire vanishing into oblivion as a piece went into Timber like all the others killed by undead. Only deaths by magic did not allow the undead to gain a piece of his victim''s soul fire. Whether the victim turned into an undead depended on the species of undead. "Brother! No! I can;t let you be one of them!...No, Stay back! Stay ba~," a guard cried as flesh eating zombies jumped at him and tore his armor apart as they bit into him. Timber narrowed his eyes and turned away as the four golems of the zombies guarded them as they feasted on the guard as he desperately tried to push them off. "We brought the end of the world, my world," Timber said as he gazed down as his golems returned, the gate opening to allow hordes of demons, undead, and golems to break through and join the slaughter. "To Quentican City! The Great Wall has fallen! All hail the glory of Master Devin!" an undead, four-armed zombie with black fur cried out, waving a black flag with three crimson spears and purple roses in the air as it knocked down the human flags. "The Great Wall has fallen," Timber alerted Lyle who was at the back of the horde with the lieutenants as they charged toward the open gate. "Good. Proceed as planned. Two lich infiltrators will fully regenerated human bodies will be awaiting us in the eastern entrance of the pavilion. I will meet you there. Try to fake your death by then and change your armor. Make sure you kill enough humans to regenerate a human head," Lyle replied and the Golden Army charged past the giant white wall and approached the city, leaving the massacre of the wall guards in their wake. Chapter 5: Horrors of the Lich Chapter 5: Horrors of the Lich Timber wasted no time and ran down the stairs to the ground, creating a small wave of rock to ride to the city at fast speeds. Many undead glanced at the unusual sight of one black knight and two gold, metal golems riding a rock wave to the city in the valley. The ground was destroyed behind him and many undead and demon captains stared around as fifteen of the one hundred eight captains of the vanguard sped past the others, three of them even faster than Timber. As he rode the rock wave, Ignus could not help its mischievous nature and secretly stole from all the undead captains and undead as they scrambled out of the way, ensuring it could stay within the one hundred foot range of its spirit form. Many undead and demons would wonder why some of their items were missing long afterwards. It was because Ignus could make whatever it took into its hands blend into its spirit form, so long as it was not living. Imps were also considered a plague of thieves as they were the only race that could remove soul bindings, a reason many of the ancient and powerful devils keep hordes of imps as thralls. Stealing from a devil? It was impossible as no one could know how many imps hid in spirit form within a devil''s superior range of ten thousand feet. Devils were never alone and only a very powerful undead or demon could slay them in the midst of an imp horde. Timber also knew how dangerous Bones was as Ignus used to be the imp leader of a devil''s horde before Bones used a heinous magic to actually rip the entire soul fire out of a devil, giving a small piece to Lyle for the concoction which was later used on Timber. Of course, Timber did not know of the concoction but he knew Lyle had a devil''s soul fire. "Being an undead''s thrall is so much more fun. Less competition and more mischief for me," Ignus giggled. "You''re not going to make a second or third imp thrall, right? Master?" "You''re already a little terror," Timber said as Ignus puffed its little chest with pride. "I only have the ability to make two more thralls. I can kill a thrall to replace it with another but not you. You steal a lot of stuff for me and even devils treasure imps." "Sometimes we lesser demons are more valued than greater demons," Ignus laughed as it stopped stealing and rested on a golem''s shoulder. "So, the Great Wall fell. On to Phase 2, master?" "Yes. Lyle told me that I had to replace an existing human so as to make my escape. Using a method unique to a full lich, Lyle can rip out a human''s soul fire and transfer it to me, giving me its cultivation and memories," Timber shuddered as a cold shiver went down his spine. "They are the most devious of undead. We imps are just mischievous, no grand schemes in our heads," Ignus shrugged. "So who is the target?" "Some rich kid named Ni Lang , fourth child of Ni Kong. His cultivation is at the sixth layer and the only disciple at the city''s sect with an affinity to destruction. He is the only possible candidate for my escape," Timber answered as he hid his sword in his shadow and dissipated the green and black flames. "The only problem would be soul mutation. My spirit and my sword will be affected by his soul. My sword changes as my soul does and my spirit will devour his." "So Twilight and master''s two-headed dragon spirit will change? Your spirit takes time to mutate anyway, a mystery Lyle told master after forcibly mutating master''s spirit. Maybe it will finalize the change?" Ignus thought and shook its head. "Ugh. Too devious. Too much thinking. Ignus will just watch master fight from atop this golem." Timber''s rock wave accelerated and abruptly stopped as it neared a smaller white wall, the guards helplessly gazing at the sky as he was launched over them with his golems. He had his golems attack the guards as he raided the houses, a large explosion heard behind him as golden golems broke through the weaker wall. Evidently, centuries of the Great Wall''s protection made the city structures lack in defensive capabilities. Timber tried to ignore the screams as the horde descended on the fleeing civilians. He focused on his task of looting all the clothes and treasures that he could use for the future. Any male cloth that fit, he stole and put into his shadow, tossing the human coins into his shadow like trash. Ignus had the most fun as it burned and scoured the houses for hidden treasures. Timber killed any adult males in his way, knocking out the rest with the back of his hand. Timber paused and ran out the house as a large explosion appeared in the house he escaped. He looked up and saw a martial arts sect disciple staring down at him with four others. The other four nodded and drew their swords as he saw several humans in the air behind them. Most of the disciples were heading to the horde, a few leaving the formation to attack the undead and demons lingering around. However, they were not flying on their own, using flying swords to fly and not their own capabilities. "Stay your hand, undead knight fiend! I am at the ninth stage. Prepare for your final death!" the disciple roared and charged at him, two swords in his hands. "Hahaha. Such a weak undead. Elder brother, we struck out," a disciple laughed and they all laughed until they saw a spear of ice appear in the boy''s chest. He coughed blood once before becoming a meat patty on the ground as he fell. They turned to look at Timber and paled as giant spheres of ice flew toward them. The leader cried out as one flew to intercept it, the others hastily avoiding them as they saw their friend freeze into an ice statue and shatter on contact. The remaining three disciples landed on the ground, racing to Timber. They believed him to specialize in long range fighting, wearing the armor only to intimidate them. They were wrong. As one of the leader''s slashed at Timber, a shield of ice blocked it as a lance of hard rock appeared in the black knight''s right hand and impaled the boy. As the boy coughed from the pain, Timber swung his left arm and the edge of the ice shield slit the throat of the boy followed by a push kick as Timber balanced himself. The two remaining disciples nodded and flanked Timber, the leader on Timber''s right side. Timber narrowed his eyes, disbelief in his eyes at how weak humans were, and shattered his ice shield, the last subordinate hastily cutting the ice shards that flew at him as Timber ran to his left. "No. This wasn''t supposed to happen!" the boy cried as Timber used earth magic to enlarge the lance, the lance destroyed the boy''s chest and leaving only flying limbs and a head as Timber just rammed through him. "Fake death. Fake death," Ignus reminded its master as the leader ran forward, his two swords blazing with light essence. "Remember to steal their items after the explosion," Timber ordered. "Explosion?" Ignus tilted its head and saw Timber''s fists harness extreme amounts of water and earth essence in each hands. As the swords and gauntlets made contact, a large explosion of gold, blue, and brown was seen, destroying everything in a thirty foot radius as the whiplash of the explosion damaged some of the nearby houses and tiles on the road. Ignus sped to loot the four dead disciples, pausing to see a black armored gauntlet fly in the air, badly damaged. It later saw a black knight crash into one of the houses. "Master?" Ignus began after it looted the unconscious leader with badly burned arms holding broken swords. "I had to delay the Shadow Travel dark spell until after the moment of impact destroyed some of my armor," Timber groaned as he stood up, his right hand regenerating form a minor burn. "I had to use enough of my strength to create that explosion while making it look like I died. Humans are much too weak compared to undead." He quickly changed into a black robe, putting a black mask to veil his face as only the skin, hair, and eyes needed to be regenerated, his blood mysteriously flowing without abnormalities due to his elemental essences in his body. By the time he slaughtered and looted his way to the pavilion''s east entrance, Timber had killed hundreds and amassed a fortune equal to a small kingdom as he raided the largest and most extravagant houses first. "The ten years of training did enough. You took a while longer than expected," Lyle commented as it saw him arrive. "Your armor and death?" "I destroyed the rest of my armor into countless pieces of ice. The broken gauntlet of my right hand was left where I faked myself dying in an explosion. I took a while because I raided a few houses," Timber said, playing with a gold between his fingers before tossing it into his shadow. "Good. Ziming Wei is in the basement of the servant quarters. Preparations have been made to ensure no surge of elemental essence will be detected outside the basement. Come. We don''t have much time before the humans are desperate enough to flee the city. You must be seen fleeing among them with Ziming Wei''s face," Lyle said as two bald men littered with black scripture tattoos bowed as they donned monk robes. "These are lesser lich that regained their fleshy bodies. They will ensure none disturb us." "Greetings, Lord Cid Drake," the two lesser lich bowed. "We, of lich faction of Elder Bones, are honored to meet a first born." "They seem grateful to be an undead," Timber frowned as he followed Lyle into the servant quarters. "They are immortal, undead only in soul. They physically look like a living human but have power much greater than if they were living. Not all people despaired being undead," Lyle explained as they arrived before a giant black jade cauldron. "This is an ancient devil artifact before the fall of the Venos Empire. It belonged to a devil that enslaved the first of the lich. Master Bones personally slayed him while it used thrall magic on another elder lich. Master Bones is the ancient and most powerful of all lich. His human identity, no one knows." "And the cauldron?" Timber asked. "This is the Cursed Cauldron of Madness. Master Bones knows all, everything moving as he wills it. The concoction I made to forcibly mutate your soul was created through this cauldron. Inside it is the souls of one million demons. Ten thousand are required for your ritual. You will sit at the bottom of this cauldron, bathing your body with those souls. They will remove that which marks you as an undead. Like me and Master Bones, you will re-enter the world of the living. Your soul requires ten thousand as you are a first born, a hundred souls inadequate. You will have all the advantages of both worlds, like Master Bones and I," Lyle said as it gestured to the giant cauldron. "Is this possible?" Timber gasped. "Evil begets evil. It is only fitting that evil removes evil. Your sword and your soul fire is your connection to the world, pieces of what you used to be. Absolute control over your golems will also be surrendered to you, the golems turning from gold to indestructible black jade. One golem will be destroyed to break the control. Your sword and spirit will change. Ni Lang''s soul fire and your soul fire will merge into one, with your soul fire taking his over," Lyle answered. "Ni Lang is really Wolf Ni. The young man you will become is twenty years old and and half the nationality of the continent of Tian. He has blonde hair and brown eyes. No one knows where his mother came from, a fling his father had overseas as he brought the boy back with him. According to the servants of the boy, he was named Wolf, but his father changed it to Lang, to make him fit in with his elder siblings." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Ni Lang...Wolf....his spirit is a wolf?" Timber asked. "Precisely. I will be putting Ni Lang''s wolf spirit inside you. The outcome is uncertain, but you will retain control of your body," Lyle said as it pulled a casket out of its shadow, revealing a sleeping boy inside. "Now then, let''s begin." "Snacks. Snacks are good at a time like this," Ignus said, appearing in its material form and grabbing some food out of Timber''s shadow to eat. "You might want to go in while holding Twilight. It might help you cope with the pain of the soul fire fusion," Lyle advised as Timber walked into the cauldron, mysteriously able to breathe in the bright jade liquid as he submerged himself and sat on the bottom. "Time to begin the experiment," Lyle said as a black pentagram appeared on Ni Lang''s chest. As Lyle put his hand on the mark, his hand phased through, causing Ni Lang to shriek from the excruciating pain as his soul was ripped out his body. Lyle smiled evilly as he stared at the complete soul fire in his hands, something only Master Bones had done and taught him. He dropped the soul fire into the cauldron and it shined with a black light that seemed to swallow the world around the cauldron. "Have you begun the soul fusion?" a voice asked as a black cloaked lich with antelope horns appeared from the shadows over fifteen feet tall. "Master," Lyle bowed. "I just deposited the soul fire of a human inside the cauldron. Cid Drake, or Timber, should have lost consciousness and begun the soul assimilation process." "Good, put these things inside as well. Undead skeletons can replace bones. It will be up to him to awaken their powers," Bones said as he dropped two golden demonic magical beast bones. "The Bone Wrenching Ritual? Master completed its creation and used it?" Lyle gasped, worship in its eyes. "Indeed. You are at the peak of the Flame Realm. This is an entire set of devil bones, infused with the devil''s soul fire. As a pure lich, you should be able to withstand its power," Bones said as he tossed a crimson pouch that Lyle gingerly caught and held as if it were the most fragile glass in the world. Putting its new treasure away, Lyle deposited the two golden bones into the cauldron. "He has the Lich Ring, yes?" Bones inquired. "Yes, master," Lyle nodded. "Good. Let him live his new life for now. When the time for the lich to take action comes, we will alert him through the ring," Bones said. "Are you going to tell him the truth about his family? His mother, father, little sister, and unborn little brother?" Lyle asked respectfully. Bones paused before it said, "He cannot learn the truth. His father bade me, too guilty to look at his own son. When I learned the identity of the voice that brought the Venos Empire many victories before causing the damnation of the world, even I felt fear. Such power. I learned the true reason for the existence of undead. I saw the mysterious entity in the sunken city and I....no. He cannot learn. You and the imp better not speak of what transpired, demonic magical beast bones and his family circumstances." "Yes, Elder Lich," Ignus bowed its head. "If Cid Drake knew what kind of soul he really was, I wonder what he would do? Would he put himself in eternal sleep or embrace it?" Bones muttered as a red ring of soul fire floated above the cauldron. "Eh? Red spirit ring? Two" Lyle cried as another appeared next to it. "Master? What is this?" "A red spirit ring. Interesting. Spirit rings form if the soul fire reaches a pinnacle of existence and evolves the spirit," Bones answered. "Since Cid Drake, or Timber, underwent the soul fusion, a spirit ring should naturally perform. Undead will naturally form a spirit ring as they lived a first life already, the spirit of their past life turning into energy to fuel their soul to the next evolution. You have a black spirit ring. You just never depend on your spirit''s power and was unaware of it as a consequence." "I apologize. I will remember not to neglect it. Perhaps I should research spirits and their connection to soul fire," Lyle said, ideas forming in its head. Ignus''s eyes widened and it excitedly ate pieces of raw meat as the white ring revealed the spirit within. A wolf as big as a tiger roared with red dragon scales, snow white fur covering most of its body and tail. A lone gold horn was at the top of its head and had grey talons that seemed profoundly sharp. "A One-horned red wolf, a wolf spirit comparable to a dragon spirit. Not bad," Bones said as Lyle nodded in agreement as the red rings shined before going back into the cauldron. "Spirit rings carry no abilities but they enhance the defense of one''s soul fire and improves cultivation and consumption of elemental energy. It seems he also broke to the peak ninth stage of the Metal Realm. His elements are water (frost fire variant when using ice), darkness, earth, destruction, and fire (destruction variant black and green flames). Five elements with two of them being variants. One is only when turning the water element into ice and the other is a pure, absolute change with black and green flames." "Were you able to identify the flames, master?" Lyle asked. "I have. They are the same flames of a Evil Jade Phoenix. Perhaps it caused the new Ni Lang to gain the destruction affinity and warped his natural fire element attribute. He regained flames due to Ni Lang, as predicted. Still, remind him never to use it. The more he uses it, the more powerful it becomes and might consume him. Seeing as it is black and green instead of pure jade, his status as an undead kept it at bay. Make sure he uses it only when his life is at risk until the he reaches the initial stage of the Obsidian Realm. It seems this pawn is not without its flaws," Bones sighed. "Don''t speak of demonic magical beast bones, spirit rings, and warn to never use the fire attribute, martial arts or magic, until the Obsidian Realm," Lyle noted aloud. "Did you prepare his alibi?" Bones asked. "Yes, master. I assure you. His new identity will be completely safe," Lyle answered and revealed a panda cub. It looked like an ordinary panda but had white and orange fur instead of black and white fur. "And what kind of panda is that?" Bones asked. "A magical beast and demonic magical beast hybrid I created. People have seen Ni Lang inquire about panda magical beasts and it is the perfect cover," Lyle answered. "A panda? Bears, I understand, but not panda magical beasts," Bones sighed. "So long as he escapes successfully, I suppose it will have to do." "Ugh," a blonde haired young man groan as he leaned up, his head fully regenerated to normal. "My body feels funny and my soul fire....has rings?" "I forgot. Firstborns can see into their Soul Realms beneath the Flame Realm of cultivation," Lyle sighed as Bones disappeared before Ni Lang could look around. "Hello, Ni Lang. How do you feel?" "Powerful. My sword looks the same, but has no edges?" Ni Lang frowned as he stared at his board, the blade in a complete rectangular shape with no sharp edges or triangular point. The blade was completely black with maze-like markings on both sides the color of gold. "The Conqueror''s Sword," Lyle muttered as Ni Lang looked at him. "That''s what it''s called?" Ni Lang asked. "You want it to be called Lucky?" Lyle laughed. "You''d be lucky to cut anything with that sword. Perhaps it requires infusion of elemental energy. Wield it. Try to see its aura, if it still has one." "Jade wisps, like my Witch Ring?" Ni Lang frowned as he stared at the sword and back at the ring. "Never use your fire attribute. I know you just got it back, but don''t use it unless your life is in danger. That fire with the destruction attribute belongs to the flames of an Evil Jade Phoenix. Wait until you are at the Obsidian Realm. Until then, just cultivate fire essence to let your body adjust," Lyle warned. "We must leave now. A half hour has passed and the last lines of defense must be broken by now." "What about my golem?" Ni Lang asked, putting his sword away as he pointed at a gold golem standing next to a giant pile of ash. "Turn it grey. The control rod is grey, right? Your control over the golem has upgraded and now no other control rod may control it/ Quickly, bind this panda magical beast cub and come with me! We must ensure to escape with the fleeing masses," Lyle roared, hastily storing the black jade cauldron into its shadow as Ni Lang nodded and did as he was told. "What happened?" Ni Lang asked Ignus as it entered its spirit form. Bones and Lyle did not have an imp thrall so they could not have known that all orders were absolute. Ignus told Ni Lang everything and his face darkened as he realized he was a pawn in their game. "I must leave you now. Follow that road and run with the other humans. Good luck," Lyle said and Ni Lang nodded as he ran off. "Before you go, take drink this vial. It will help you," Ni Lang said, giving him a white colored liquid that swirled within a small glass. "I....this is! You....." Lyle roared, its eyes widening as it felt its soul fire get invaded by an unknown force. Its eyes rolled back and its body stood as if in a sleep walking state. "What was in the vial, master?" Ignus asked. "A key tool for any assassination with potential witnesses that could not be killed, memory wiping. It locks onto a single memory and wipes it clean. Requires the soul fire of the user to be more powerful than the victim. It seems having two spirit rings really did bring me many benefits. Costs a fortune in the human world, Yiazig told me. I only got three. Now, Lyle, you will forget anything you know in regards to my new identity. You believed me to be killed by sect elders that escorted the humans, finding my lich ring as a result," Ni Lang instructed, removing the blood binding the ring and returning the Lich Ring to Lyle. "Timber was killed. Must report to Master Bones. The thirtieth failed experiment," Lyle said in a daze as it walked away. "Oooh. Master, they won''t be pleased when they discover the truth," Ignus giggled. "I was a fool to trust others so easily. I was warned to not trust undead and demons by Bones, but I trusted the elder lich that told me and his servant. They had me in the palm of their hands. Still, I got more than I could have dreamed from them and this little panda too," Ni Lang said as he ran toward the fleeing humans, Ignus flying beside him. ------------------------------- Writer''s Note: Well, I do love deceit and manipulation. Quite a lot to take in right? I try to make it like a real book with a lot of events happening in a single chapter like other giant books I read with five hundred plus pages. Thanks for reading! Chapter 6: Escape from Quentican Chapter 6: Escape from Quentican "The city is doomed. Since before the Era of Blood, the Great Wall stopped the invaders," a man sobbed as he led an ox carrying an a cart of his belongings. "Aye. It''s a sad day for humanity. With the Great Wall and Quentican City in the hands of the demons, this land will soon be covered in perpetual twilight, the dead resurrecting as undead," a man sighed with grief."We might even see our loved ones again, but as undead fiends." "The Golden Army finally appeared. They never attacked. We had grown too confident against the minor skirmishes from the undead and demons," an old woman said as her grandchild helped her walk quickly. "Those sect disciples won''t be able to hold them long. Undead are naturally superior in cultivation and they have no qualms using magic of any element attribute. Tis humanity''s cowardice and prejudice to abstain from learning magic in most countries and continents." "We might have stood a chance if we had," her grandson agreed. "Little brat, even demons are more fearsome than undead. We are doomed regardless. The fall of Quentican marks the beginning of the Nineteenth Demon War. Mark my words, the more east or south we travel, the better to escape the ravages of war," the granny sighed. "Hmm? Another refugee joins our ranks? He''s also got a golem?" They turned to see a black cloaked youth with blonde hair and grey eyes appear with a strange looking panda cub in his arms. It was precisely Ni Lang, his eyes turned grey since he changed the golem and attained master control over the grey rune control rod within his soul fire. He passed the sleeping cub to a single hand of the golem as he joined them. "Hey, lad. You successfully escaped the horde?" a man asked as the ten mile long line of humans made haste to the mountain range out of the valley. "Oh? Ni Lang? What brings you here?" a man asked, Ni Lang recognizing him as a tavern master that the former Ni Lang visited while taking a break from training. Ni Lang was a loner in the sect of the city and preferred to cultivate in private, never going into the sect at all except for spirit pills and elixirs. Naturally, Ni Lang had all of those from the boy''s corpse as Ignus had taken the blue storage bag which was safely tucked within his cloak, all the most important items already secured in his shadow. He was a human, but no human stored items in their shadow. "Tavern master? You made it out as well?" Ni Lang asked, faking relief. "I was busy cultivating in the pavilion I was staying at when I heard screaming. My servants died as undead poured into my room. If I had not made a lucky breakthrough to the ninth stage, I would have died as well. I also had my golem and I had it break through several walls and houses as I ran out of there." "Yes. We all panicked. Who knew they would arrive so quickly after the Great Wall fell?" the man sighed as the other refugees appreciated Ni Lang taking out a giant cart from his storage bag, some of the elderly and children riding it. The children felt safer staring at the giant golem that carried the cart as they rested with the elders. "Most of the forces of the Golden Army are headed to the city palace instead of the sect headquarters. Why is that?" Ni Lang asked as sect disciples ran all around the long line of refugees to ensure their safety from the weaker demons and undead that chose to follow them for an easy soul harvest. "Quentican City has an ancient city. The founder of the city had once ventured into the Twilight Realm, slaying three Demon Kings in his life time, a being past the Obsidian Realm! He had his body cremated to prevent demons from absorbing fragments of his soul fire and they were buried in the heart of the city palace. Many people pay homage to his ashes as if he were a living god. They might have remembered the grudge from centuries past and sought to desecrate his ashes," the tavern master sighed. "George, have any water?" a man asked and the tavern master nodded as he gave him a flask from his storage bag. "Will you return to the Tian Continent, Ni Lang?" George asked. "You''re rich enough to take a teleportation circle at the next city." "If we get past the mountains. They are filled with wild magical beasts," Ni Lang said, memories flashing through his head. "Aye, the Pretender''s Passage," a nearby man agreed. "The tunnel beneath the black mountain of the mountain range. The shortest but most dangerous path." "What''s Pretender''s Passage, grandma?" the boy from earlier asked. "Lionel, Pretender''s Passage is a dark and dangerous place, lit by mysterious blue fire torches that never run out. Some say the founder of Quentican City, Quentican, had journeyed through the passage to where he founded the city. Dangerous monsters live within the lake beneath the mountain, a passage of stone running through the middle of the giant lake. One foot off the path, and you fall to your death. No one knows why they never venture out of that passage," the grandma sighed. "Damn lucky they don''t," George agreed as they neared the mountain at the outskirts of the city, all of them gazing at the distant people ahead in the line as they walked inside a black hole in the mountain. "I don''t want to go in," Lionel cried as he held his grandmother as they walked inside after two hours, the refugees staying close together and making the lone longer as they thinned themselves to not fall of a black stone path lit with blue flame torches. "What strange fire," George said as he gazed at the torches. "This is devil fire, master. I can tell, not by the color, but by the ancient signature of a devil''s spirit energy," Ignus said, using its thrall mental link. "Are we in danger?" Ni Lang asked. "It says something in the devil language. It is faint, but I can interpret it," Ignus. "Nai kaka Haki urlong. Haki maksa trewa jika ohaga noksa. Tawa nura wota gimi nei luquo najar ning Haki. I curse all humans for killing Haki. Haki proclaims that he must pass on his cultivation of martial arts. Little devil follow my spirit fire and inherit Haki''s treasures and techniques so that my rage lives with every kill you make." "Quite the vengeful devil. Still, I could use those. Follow the torches, wrap yourself in darkness. None of the sect disciples are in here as they have to guide the other refugees to the entrance," Ni Lang instructed. "Illusions. I can finally use my innate demonic ability. I will not fail you, master. Hehehe. Ancient treasure. No other imp will have stolen from a devil but me. Well, it''s dead but it still counts," Ignus giggled and vanished. "You alright, Ni Lang? Gazing at such strange fire is not good for you," George asked, bringing Ni Lang back from his thoughts as he wondered about the devil fire more. "I''m fine, George. It is my first time seeing them so I couldn''t help wondering what made them," Ni Lang sighed. "Wah! Look! It''s such a pretty lake," Lionel cried as he pointed at the lake as they finally got out the long tunnel, the adults darkening their faces as they knew the true terror starts from now. "Stay in the cart!" the grandma snapped, the boy with tears in his eyes as he sat down and stared at the lake. "Now, it is perfectly safe. No need to be scared," George smiled, the children paling as they pointed as a black tentacle grabbed five men too close the the edge of the stone path. "Granny, I''m scared," Lionel trembled as he buried his face in her arm, no longer staring at the lake as other children huddled together as their parents tried to assure they were safe as they walked behind the cart. "No!" George paled as another black tentacle burst out of the lake, heading for the cart. "I''ll be back," Ni Lang yawned as he sliced the tentacle with his sword, the blades covered with a sharp edge of darkness. The golem swat the tentacle as if it were a fly as Ni Lang dived into the lake. As his soul was that of an undead, he used soul energy from the soul fire to regulate his human body as he walked toward a giant black mass as if walking down stairs. He realized why the monsters never ventured out: they were aquatic and below the Flame Realm. They would just be slaughtered on land. He slashed his sword and a giant blade of darkness appeared, cutting the black mass in half. He saw a black marble within and controlled the water to bring it to him. "He really killed it," George gasped as Ni Lang appeared from the lake, a black marble in his hand. "A magical beast core? You really killed it. What was it?" "It was black and I just killed it without bothering to see what it was. I think it was a squid?" Ni Lang shrugged as he walked over to his panda cub, feeding it the marble and watched it fall asleep again as if it just ate a meal. "Didn''t bother to look at it," George said, nearly coughing blood. No one noticed as a small splash came from the lake as it was invisible. "I''ve returned, master. I suggest looking at the contents another time. Too many eyes here," Ignus said as placed four storage rings into his shadow. "We made it," George sighed with relief five more black tentacled magical beasts and six hundred dead refugee victims later. The grandma, Lionel, and the others sighing with relief as they had traveled with Ni Lang. They were ordinary folk. How could they hope to kill a magical beast no matter how weak it was? "Thank you, Ni Lang," they all bowed as they entered a city, safe from danger at least. Just to be sure, the sect disciples at the back collapsed both entrances and tunnels connecting to the lake. With this, the Golden Army would be delayed. As Ni Lang made his way to the teleportation circle under a guard''s direction, he heard gossip from the people in the city. Many of them packing to prepare to head further out before they lost most of their belongings as well. Sect disciples and armies would make the city their base to prepare for when the Golden Army emerges from Pretender''s Passage, but no ordinary human would feel safe regardless of how many cultivators there were. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. "I''d like to use the Transport Gate to the Tian Continent," Ni Lang asked. "Sure, kid. Which city?" a attendant asked as Ni Lang walked into a giant steel auditorium. "Black Sun City in the Wu Province," Ni Lang answered, a memory flashing in his mind. "That will be five hundred gold coins," the man said and Ni Lang handed it to him. ""Very well. Have a safe trip." Ni Lang sighed as he stepped onto a blue and white pentagram circle and closes his eyes as it flashed. He opened his eyes and appeared in a large square surrounded by many pavilions, his golem and Ignus appearing behind him. The Ni Clan were a powerful, but secluded clan that resided in an entire district of the city owned by the clan. No one was allowed to venture there and were beaten by the cultivators the clan hired. However, Ni Lang did not immediately go there, buying a room in an inn so he could research the items he had looted and the Devil Haki''s treasures and techniques. The Tian Continent was one of few that tolerated mages alongside martial artists. It was why they were able to kill all the demons and undead in the land. Ni Lang spent three months in the inn, paying for his lodging and his meals delivered in advance. He studied the devil''s techniques and learned the martial arts style that best suited those who used magic as well. It was called the Primordial Sword Art, named after one of the Primordial Immortals of the Immortal Realm. Legend has it that a Primordial Immortal descended from the Immortal Realm, bringing with him immortal techniques and artifacts. Beyond the Obsidian Realm was a realm of cultivation that allowed you to venture among the stars. The Immortal Realm had countless dangers so five immortal artifacts were beyond precious, even more so if it is one that belonged to a Primordial Immortal. The five artifacts could only be utilized by those who knew the art and combining the five artifacts in the Lost Heart Array would open a portal to a pocket dimension where the Primordial God slept! The devil, Haki, actually possessed one of the five artifacts and the accompanying technique! When Ignus and Ni Lang read the many journals of the devil, they discovered Quentican also had one of the artifacts and techniques. The five artifacts were the Fire Soul Stone, the Wood Dragon Saber, the Water Tyrant Spear, the Metal Void Heart, and the Earth King Crown. Haki possessed the sword art and Earth King Crown. According to the journal, Haki feared confronting Quentican because he had the Tyrant Spear Art and the Water Tyrant Spear. Haki believed the dragons possessed the Spirit Body art and the Metal Void Heart. Otherwise, how else could the dragons have such powerful bodies and physical prowess? Details of the remaining Primordial techniques and the whereabouts of the two other artifacts were not in the journals. Haki just had suspicions that the Fire Soul Stone was secretly guarded by the humans as it was the personal artifact of the Primordial Immortal from legend while the others were learned and taken from killing other Primordial Immortals. The Primordial Immortal was said to have four arms and wielded a sword, spear, saber, and axe. Based on this, Haki believed the fifth technique accompanying the Fire Soul Stone was the Infernal Sunder Art, the most powerful Primordial Immortal art even immortals would kill to have. However, too many planets existed in the Mortal Realm. How could the immortals dream to find it? "The Earth King Crown is indeed a higher immortal rank item," Ni Lang sighed as he looked into his Soul Realm, seeing a sand colored crown floating above his tiny soul fire that burned on black gold as if it were wood. "It even gave me this strange, sand colored gem for my sword." "It''s too bad master can''t utilize its power yet," Ignus sighed as they sat in his room. Ni Lang had successfully integrated his sword into a true spirit weapon. First generation undead were born with spirit weapons, but they could not integrate it into their souls. It made them very big targets for theft as others would steal their weapon before the reached the Flame Realm. It could appear and disappear at will and the image of his spirit was prominent at the center of the both sides of the blade. His sword looked exactly the same, but the rectangular blade now cut as if it had blades. While the blade was black with shining gold rhombus runes along both sides of the blade, one could see a One-horned red wolf spirit made out of bright red runes at the center. The edges of the blade were a myriad of black, violet, azure, crimson, and sand. As it was a spirit weapon, the blade cut with elemental essence instead of a normal edge, making it incomparably sharp to an ordinary sword. It still had its mysterious poison from the meteorite immortal metal, and the mist jade aura. No ordinary immortal rank weapon could stand against it. This was an advantage of a spirit weapon. The only disadvantage was that only one could be bound per spirit ring. It was why most people did not have a spirit weapon. Now the name, Conqueror''s Sword, was appropriate. "At least master reached the initial stage of the Flame Realm. Your new father, Ni Kong, will be pleased and no one would dare trouble you," Ignus nodded. "True. Still, The Ni Clan is not without enemies," Ni Lang sighed as he pet a chubby little panda, watching it gnaw a small bamboo. "My biggest problem is that I can''t use my flame attribute. Cultivating flame elemental energy is harmless, but using it for martial arts or magic really damages my body." "Yes, master. Unfortunately, the elder lich was correct," Ignus said as they stared at Ni Lang''s left forearm. It appeared as if his skin was cracked as dim jade energy shined from a three inch diameter area, the skin turning into hardened, black lava. "The more I use it, the more it spreads and causes me pain. Even the contractions of the pain are at random," Ni Lang sighed. "I have to reach the initial stage of the Obsidian Realm quickly. Haki''s knowledge is indeed worthy of an ancient devil. The evil phoenix fire of an Evil Jade Phoenix may be a curse, but it slowly grants the victim the ability of gaining the Evil Jade Body. My whole body will be covered with the hardened lava and jade energy, but I can release it at will and gain tremendous power. However, the length of the spread of the curse will remain. I have to hasten my cultivation before my body is consumed by the curse." "And increasing your body''s foundations would normally be a good thing. Instead, it slows down your cultivation in exchange for more power and potential. Master will succeed though," Ignus said, tapping its right fist on its tiny body twice. "Master''s personality may be influenced by the former Ni Lang, but master''s soul has tremendous perseverance and an indomitable will to survive. Have faith, master. Our mischief won''t end so soon. Still many things to steal and enemies to make trouble with." "You''re hopeless," Ni Lang laughed. "I suppose it''s time to return to the Ni Clan. Father will be worried." "Shocked more like it. A One-horned red wolf spirit, double red spirit rings, grey eyes, a grey golem, a panda magical beast, and the cultivation stage at the initial Flame Realm. Not to mention, the many things he can''t know and the things we stole. Heh. The former Ni Lang is nothing but a speck of sand in a desert compared to master," Ignus laughed as Ni Lang put on the purple gem necklace the former Ni Lang''s mother gave him before disappearing. "Gr~owl?" the panda cub said, unable to use the human language as it trotted behind its master with Ignus sitting on Ni Lang''s left shoulder in its spirit form. The trio left the inn, the golem in Ni Lang''s storage bag, as Ni Lang walked toward the Burning Phoenix District of Black Sun City. Cid Drake had become Timber, and Timber had become Ni Lang. One life unjustly killed, another forsaken in name and identity to take another. Ni Lang was glad he had a family. He swore he would not lose this one. Back in Devin''s castle, news of Timber''s death arrived and Bones was not pleased as it heard the message from Lyle. Devin and his retainers cared little, as recruits always died no matter how much of a good seed they were. If it didn''t sprout, it was no loss. "I have to find a new piece," Bones grumbled as it dismissed Lyle with a wave. "I had hoped Lyle and Timber would find the Water Tyrant Spear, but it was found by that young baron devil''s third son! No doubt it is being transported, under heavy guard, to the baron. Even Pretender''s Passage was collapsed. I have to wait even longer to attempt to find it. Still, I will find which country is hiding the Fire Soul Stone. I know it is in the Murka Continent. The paladins of the Celestial Church confirmed my suspicions when I made them my undead thralls." "Cid is really dead?" a second elder lich asked as it appeared from the shadows, its body fully human in appearance. "Why didn''t you tell me of his resurrection?" "He was too weak. He needed to be stronger," Bones said. "Magnus, you are the only lich to ever have an affinity for light and darkness. Will you succeed in infiltrating the Celestial Church?" "The voice is their fucking god! Those humans don''t know what they are worshiping. Humanity must pay for killing my son and unborn son! Both sons, when I discovered their identities, are dead. For eternity now. I only have my wife and daughter now, both of them living lives far from the Celestial Church''s influence. You want me as an ally? You have it. Just promise me I''m the one who will tear it by its fucking roots and you can keep the damned Fire Soul Stone and Primordial art," the elder lich snarled, black and white flames scorching the walls into liquid. "You have my word. The lich will rise. I guarantee it and your revenge," Bones said, Magnus nodding as it disappeared in a burst of flames. "We lost the pawn, but gained the true target," Lyle grinned, clapping its hands with glee. "Master is truly the most devious lich of all." "It''s a pity I wasted my investment in the son before I could use him until he lost his worth. Still, I planned for this. It might even be a greater benefit as the father will be consumed with hate and revenge," Bones laughed maniacally and the two undead celebrated as if everything were going according to the elder lich''s master plan. Chapter 7: Return to the Clan Writer''s Note: Surprise second chapter release. Thanks for reading and feel free to speculate on what is to come. Chapter 7: Return to the Clan "It has been a few days past three months," a guard in red armor sighed as he and four others guarded the entrance to the Burning Phoenix District of the Ni Clan. "Is Fourth Young Master be safe?" "Relax. the fourth child of Ni Kong is someone with a wolf spirit. He should be able to escape," another soothed. "Boss Ni Kong only has ten children and three wives. Well, the second wife never came to the Tian Continent as the boss came with Ni Lang," the guard captain said. "His affinity to fire was so great, he could integrate it into his weapon like a mage fire enchantment spell. He also has one of the unique elemental affinities: destruction." "Yes, but what if....Hmm? Someone approaches," the first guard said as they felt immense spiritual pressure coming toward them. They relaxed when they felt it was not hostile, but their hands still held the swords at their waists. They saw a male at six feet approach in a simple black cloak so dark, it had to be made from magical beast skin. He also wore a scarlet and black armor with a gold wolf''s head on the center of the chest plate. Weapons and armor were ranked the same way the body was ranked: the nine metals! The man approaching them wore Black Gold rank armor only someone with that ranked metal body, or higher, could endure to wear without consequence. What Ni Lang wore was the Black Gold rank battle armor Ni Kong gave his son as he claimed the father of his mysterious mother had once worn. "That armor...Young Master Ni Lang?" the guard captain gasped, unable to recognize the youth or determine his cultivation stage. All he could feel was the immense power of his spiritual energy. "Hello, Wei Han," Ni Lang said, most of the former Ni Lang''s memories firmly ingrained in his own after the three months. "I''m twenty now so it has been...two years since my last visit?" "Yes. It is the young master!" the guard captain cried as all five guards saluted Ni Lang. "Your father and the patriarch worried for you. You should also know that the third wife gave birth to a another daughter. Young master now has nine siblings." "Wow. Two years and another sibling. Heh. Father must be enjoying himself," Ni Lang laughed. "What has happened since the fall of Quentican City? I have been in closed door training for the past three months after safely escaping. I just reached the initial stage of the Flame Realm." "Is this possible?" the other four guards whispered as they were at the Metal Realm. Twenty and already at the Flame Realm? Genius! "Many foreigners from the most westward nations and continents came here to escape the demon hordes. Reports came in that the Golden Army is focusing their efforts on Pretender''s Passage. The Guan Dynasty had made no movements as of late and the entire Wu Province is currently focusing on preparing the younger generations for war in the many sects and academies. The Ni Patriarch is currently hiring many martial artists and mages to protect the Ni Clan and their properties," Wei Han answered. "Many foreigners have established themselves all over the many provinces of the Tian Continent and there has been major shifts in positions of power. Still, the Ni Clan are the most powerful in Black Sun City with fifteen people at the Obsidian Realm, that the public is aware of. We are safe, for now." "I imagine the Guan Dynasty allows their existence as they paid a hefty sum to the Imperial Clan. Where is my father?" Ni Lang asked. "At a clan meeting with the other elders and the patriarch. As for the three hidden pillars of the sect, none of them came," Wei Han said, as it was normal for such powerful members of the clan not to bother with Mortal Realm affairs. The public was only aware of the might of the patriarch. However, the main branch of the Ni Clan, the branch members and the guards knew the existence of the three supreme experts past the Obsidian Realm. "Ugh," Ni Lang grunted as the pain in his left arm flared. "Young master?" Wei Han and the guards asked, worried. "I''m fine," Ni Lang rasped after fifteen seconds. "My affinity for the flame attribute is too high for my body to handle. I will head to my father now." "Yes," the guards said as they stared at the tiny white and orange panda cub, the size of an adult cat, as it followed Ni Lang past the white wood doors. The pain never flared during cultivation, but the intervals outside of it were random. Ni Lang closed his eyes and sensed the area of his left forearm. The hardened lava and jade energy cracks did not spread, this time. Many men, women, and children stared at the black cloaked young man, bowing as some of the older clan members recognized the armor that flashed beneath the cloak. Quickly, the news spread of Ni Lang''s survival and return. Ni Lang politely nodded as he walked past many blocks to the heart of the Burning Phoenix District, a giant red pavilion in front of him with several pagodas and smaller pavilions nearby. A pavilion was akin to a mansion so a pavilion represented status and the largest one was where the patriarch lived and held important clan matters in the main hall akin to a throne room. "No access is allowed without authorization," two gold armored guards said as they saw Ni Lang approach. Ni Lang took out a white wood badge from his storage bag, revealing his identity as the son of Ni Kong and a member of the main branch. "Young master? You''ve returned! The rumors were true," the guards smiled and let him pass. Members of the main clan were allowed in, but only the elders and powerful cultivators and guests sat close to the end of the hall where the patriarch sat on his throne. So long as you were eighteen, you were allowed to sit and listen to the important matters unless it was too important for just anyone to witness. "Announcing the entrance of Ni Lang, son and fourth child of Lu Kong," a guard announced and all eyes turned to see the cloaked, armored young man as he entered, a golem appearing behind him as it held his panda cub. "The wolf returns," the patriarch, Ni Wang, said as Ni Kong ran to his son. "Ni Lang! You''ve returned! How are you? Any injuries? You bound a magical beast and own a golem? That aside, what took you so damn long?!" Ni Kong roared at once and was stunned as he stared at his son. "You got taller and have grey eyes. Wait, show me your spirit." Ni Lang smirked and two red rings appeared, shocking everyone in the room as a One-horned red wolf spirit appeared and howled. Even the patriarch stood up when he saw the two red spirit rings. It meant Ni lang''s soul entered its third evolution. It was incredibly difficult for a cultivator to evolve his soul fire into the second evolution and gain a spirit ring. Proof that Ni Lang succeeded was his One-horned red wolf spirit, a spirit both a dragon and a wolf. "What cultivation stage are you and what attributes do you have?" one of the elders asked. "I am at the initial stage of the Flame Realm," Ni Lang answered, causing many to pale and look at him with awe and fear. "My elemental attributes are darkness, water, fire, earth, and destruction. My water element is a variant as my ice appears like flames. My flame attribute''s variant...is that of an Evil Jade Phoenix." "My god," a lot of elders and members of the main branch cried as Ni Kong, the patriarch, and a few experienced elders understood the significance of Ni Lang''s hesitation at his last sentence." "How far along is it?" Ni Kong cried. "You know?" Ni Lang asked. "It is both the dream and nightmare of all flame attribute cultivators. Their fire magic and flame art techniques are among the top ten in terms of power, rivaling that of those with dragon spirits," the patriarch answered. "How did your soul fire become tainted by the evil phoenix flame?" "I don''t know," Ni Lang answered truthfully. "Since he is under twenty two, he qualifies for the yearly, Young Sun Tournament. Our clan has a prodigy at the Flame Realm for this year''s tournament. We will have an advantage against the lesser clans once again," an elder said. "Since he is at the second realm, he can infuse elemental attributes into his martial techniques. Pity he isn''t also a mage. His chances would be higher." "Good job, little brother," the second child of Ni Kong, Ni Jing laughed. He was last year''s champion and at the Young Sun Tournament for the younger generations. He was at the peak of the Flame Realm, a true genius of the clan, when he won the tournament. The clan feared losing this year after winning and now had a chance for a third victory in a row, the first child winning the two years ago. His name was Ni Feng and he had left Black Sun City to join the Imperial Dragon Academy in the Guan Dynasty''s capital. Most of the top sects and academies only accepted students and disciples when they turned twenty until age twenty three. Those at powerful clans would take advantage of their clan''s resources and enter at age twenty two. Ni Jing would soon join his brother and was glad he could witness his clan win the tournament again, before he left. "He can''t use his fire attribute or reveal his water''s variant attribute of frost fire," the patriarch said. "He will take one of the three places of our clan. The other two are Ni Qian and Ni Zhang." Ni Qian was the third child and first daughter of Ni Kong. She was twenty as well and at the eighth stage of the Metal Realm. Ni Zhang was a genius of the sub branches of the Ni Clan, at the ninth stage of the Metal Realm. Compared to Ni Lang and Ni Zhang, Ni Qian was not considered a contender for the championship as the powerful clans and new foreign powers would have representatives at their level. "Sorry, Ni Bu''er," Ni Kong said as he pat his fifth child''s shoulder. Bu''er was the eldest child of Ni Kong''s third wife and the eldest of triplets. However, Bu''er was the only one of the triplets to cultivate down the warrior and mage path. "It''s okay. I''m only seventeen. I can withstand two years before big brother turns twenty two," Bu''er grinned. "I want everyone but Ni Kong and Ni Lang to leave. Our clan meeting is ended as we addressed who will be our representatives in a half month," Ni Wang said. "Yes, patriarch," everyone else bowed and left. "You have two spirit rings. Have you chosen a spirit weapon to bind to your soul?" Ni Wang asked. "Yes. Just my Conqueror''s Sword," Ni Lang answered as he manifested the sword. "Intriguing. So this is a spirit weapon bound to a cultivator''s soul. The image of the spirit is truly runed onto the weapon," Ni Kong said. "Father, you have one as well, right?" "Mine is a spear, but yes," Ni Wang nodded. "You must have entered a death like state twice. It''s a miracle you still breathe. You brought this old man many surprises. Since you don''t a have a second spirit weapon, this is good. You must pick one that makes up for what you currently lack, in the future. No need to grab the most powerful weapon you see now. The sword is a Black Gold rank weapon. You did well to pick it as you have a Black Gold rank body." "Can we do something about the curse?" Ni Kong asked. "No. It is best to leave it be. Tampering may spread it further. It is also not a bad thing. He permanently gains the power of the Evil Jade Body in the area of infection. He does not need to transform. Unfortunately, he must learn to endure the pain," Ni Wang sighed. "As you have reached the Flame Realm, you are qualified to enter the treasury. Any three things are open for you to choose." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Thank you, patriarch," Ni Lang bowed his head. "Thank you, little brat. Our clan has a shot in being champion three years in a row," Ni Wang laughed. "However, we cannot afford to underestimate the powerful clans and foreign powers that established themselves here. Many people would like to see our Ni Clan suffer a setback." "This is the treasury?" Ni Lang asked as they entered a hidden vault one thousand feet in diameter. "There are three. One for mundane affairs with gold, jewelry, and such. There is this vault, for cultivators of both the mage and warrior path. Naturally, more mage magical treasures are here as the Tian continent only started to accept mages five hundred centuries ago. The final one is the largest and is more like a catacomb for our past patriarchs and clan supreme experts. Unless you have an affinity for the death or life element, only the elders and myself go there to pay homage to them," Ni Wang answered. "I see. It makes sense that they would be buried in a safer place to protect their graves," Ni Lang nodded respectfully. "Go on, Ni Lang," Ni Kong said. "Choose wisely." "I can''t steal any of these. How vexing," Ignus moaned as it floated around him while Ni Wang followed behind him. The golem was back in Ni Lang''s storage bag as Ni Kong held the panda cub and studied it. "Ignus, you lived among a devil''s imp horde. Do you sense any powerful treasure here? Something that could be useful for me, personally?" Ni Lang asked, using his thrall link to ask the more experienced lesser demon. "My imp guts tell me there are over fifty useful treasures. For master''s personal use, I think around ten?" Ignus answered after a moment. "If master includes weapons, then around fifteen." "What is this?" Ni Lang asked as he held a black diamond with flashes of orange energy appearing from within. "Of all the treasures, you asked about this one first," Ni Wang laughed. "This diamond is one our ancestors found during the Era of Dragons. It was found deep within a mountain range. Unfortunately, no one knows its use as all failed to absorb it." "You singled this out, why?" Ni Lang asked as he pretended to admire the diamond. "That is a shadow diamond, found only in the skulls of a black dragon. It is not the magical beast core of a dragon and one has to live one thousand years to create it. My former master collected quite a few. Once absorbed into a person''s soul fire, you gain immunity to all poison''s and one of the black dragon''s innate abilities. However, one must have affinity to darkness, destruction, and fire. Those are the affinities of a black dragon so absorbing its shadow diamond requires the same affinities. You also gain a boost in strength, speed, and reflexes. More importantly, your will cultivate the same energy as the orange energy within: that of a black dragon! Your body will begin to generate blood akin to a dragon, granting you their tough body and regeneration. To survive, my master absorbed it in a deep pool of water. You must do the same," Ignus answered. "You will lose all other elemental affinities. Since you have the Earth King Crown, you will only lose that of the water affinity." "I''ll take it," Ni Lang said, not minding the loss as the less elements, the more he can master the others. "I would not advise it. All who failed lost all their elemental attributes, limited to pure elemental energy," Ni Wang warned. "I am confident I can succeed. I might lose my water affinity though," Ni Lang said as he stored it away. "Y, You...very well. Pity about the water element and frost fire. You are at the Flame Realm and have the evil phoenix fire. You can''t possibly lose that curse, or blessing, of an Evil Jade Phoenix. At least you''ll keep the one element currently killing you," Ni Wang sighed, shaking his head as grandson was too stubborn. After two more items pointed out by Ignus, Ni Lang asked, "What is this black jade box? Why is it sealed with a sky blue pentagram magic circle?" "You just love picking out strange items. Within is the preserved corpse of a fairy, a creature from the immortal realm. Only demons would benefit from it as devouring the body lets them evolve. For humans, we just gain the spirit energy and increase our Soul Realm by an insignificant amount," Ni Wang answered. "No one ever picked it as you have to eat the corpse." "And this is useful to me because?" Ni Lang asked Ignus. "Hehehe. Okay, I admit it. I told master this because I wanted to evolve to a regular demon ranked imp. My spirit form''s range is increased a hundred fold and I am much more powerful. Master benefits as I can fight by master''s side as well as increase my chances of stealing from more dangerous enemies and rooms," Ignus giggled. "I can also phase through objects and become untouchable in my spirit form. I can even tell master a desired woman''s three sizes. Hehehehe." "Lecherous thief. Still, you evolving benefits me even more," Ni Lang said and turned to Ni Wang. "I''ll take this too." "I....you just have a one track mind. Fine. You get one last pick. At least try to make it a reasonable one," Ni Wang said. "Heh. If only the old man knew the items you picked were beyond reasonable," Ignus laughed with glee. "My own cultivation will no longer be limited. Master is the best! I will definitely steal from powerful foes." "One last item," Ni Lang muttered as he stared at all the other referred items before asking about one that stood out. "What does this do?" "Finally, something of note. That black talisman is truly a great treasure. It has two functions. The first is the ability to set a destination and automatically teleport to it from anywhere, no matter the condition," Ni Wang explained. "The talisman will also increase your cultivation speed. This is the best treasure, for you, as you have the evil phoenix flame. It is called the Moonlight Talisman as your body is wrapped in moonlight while the increased cultivation effect occurs only under the moon''s light." "Oh, amazing. I will definitely take this to preserve my life," Ni Lang nodded and took the black talisman as his third treasure. "Good. You have half a month until the competition. I suggest you experiment with your treasures when you return to your pagoda. As your mom had only you, the whole pagoda is yours. I must say, your siblings are rather envious you don''t have to share," Ni Wang laughed as they all left the vault. "Ni Lang, are you alright?" Ni Kong asked as the two stood on front of Ni Lang''s four story pagoda. "I''m fine, father. No need to worry," Ni Lang answered. "Participants have been assassinated since their names were submitted as representatives of their respective clans or organizations. You must be careful, my son," Ni Kong said as he stared into his eyes. "The Ni Clan may have some power, but there are five other major factions or clans. You have half a month to train. Not much time to train, but enough time to prepare. I love you, my boy. It was hard waiting, but I knew you escaped." "Father," Ni Lang said softly, confirming the former Ni Lang''s memories had an obvious effect on his own as he did not push Ni Kong away as he briefly hugged his son. "Finally! Let''s get to upgrading to higher levels of mischief!" Ignus cried as it appeared in its material form as Ni Lang and Ignus absorbed the first and second treasure at the top floor of the pagoda. The golem was ordered to take care of the panda cub as it gnawed on some magical beast meat. Ni Lang guessed it might have to do with whatever demon magical beast parent the panda had, aside from an actual panda magical beast. "I cannot fail," Ni Lang said as he opened the window, the moonlight cascading on him as he meditated with the black talisman on his lap after he swallowed the black dragon''s shadow diamond. As his soul fire grew, the spirit energy in his Soul Realm turned orange and orange spirit energy swirled within his body, his skin, muscles, and organs becoming stronger. Something in him broke, as he lost his connection to his water attribute. It inadvertently made his body purer and raised his affinity to his other four elements. A black energy permeated from his body, becoming a black dragon that coiled the air around him. The Earth King Crown shined and sand colored spirit energy coiled around the orange colored energy within his body. A nearly undetectable pulse spread across the planet, three other items returning with their own pulse. A human, a demon, and a dragon all felt their Primordial artifacts resonate with Ni Lang''s Earth Crown. It was a sign another had awakened and was recognized as worthy by the artifact. Treasures were chosen by other life forms, but artifacts chose their master. By sensing holy earth essence in the first spiritual pulse, they knew someone was recognized by the Earth King Crown. "Oh crap," Ni Lang said as he opened his eyes after his body felt the holy spirit pulse of three others. "Three others were found after all. What''s worse, whatever demon got the Water Tyrant Spear from Quentican''s ashes must know someone took the Earth King Crown from Pretender''s Passage. They won''t bother searching the passage as they dig their way to the city on the other side." "Master?" Ignus asked, as it finished evolving and doubled in size. "The Wood Dragon Saber hasn''t been found, but others must know someone took the Earth King Crown," Ni Lang answered as he found he could manipulate the black dragon that coiled around him, a physical manifestation of his spirit energy as he made it vanish after a moment. "I think I might have woken a slumbering dragon. They are bound to join the search for the last Primordial artifact. I think I just involved the dragons in the war." "What?" the imp asked, incredulous as the duo stared at each other in shock, the panda cub looking curiously at them as it nibbled on a bamboo shoot. Far to the north, a continent completely covered in mountain ranges and valleys buzzed with movement. Some of the thousand year old dragons flew to the giant, snowy mountain that seemed as if it could reach outer space. An old man with white hair that fell to his waist stirred as he stopped his endless meditation. The jade, azure, black, crimson, gold, violet, diamond, and rainbow dragons celebrated as their master opened his eyes. "Dragon King," the eight dragons cried as they dipped their heads in their miniature, one feet high and seven feet long, forms. "The Metal Void Heart has resonated with the Earth King Crown. Haki''s successor is found and it seems another was recognized by the Water Tyrant Spear. It did not send a spirit pulse, upon recognition, as it is not the Earth King Crown or Metal Void Heart. Only one Primordial artifact remains. It is time to awaken the others and join the war. We must protect the Primordial''s private dimensional plane, in accordance to our eternal oath," the Dragon King said in his human form. "Contact our demonized brothers and sisters. Infiltrate the human lands. Bring the saber to me and slay the other three owners of the Primordial artifacts." "We hear and obey the royal order," the dragons cried and the dragons finally descended the mountain after escaping the wrath of the Emissary of Undeath after eight thousand years. "The Emissary of Undeath.....where are you? You did not ascend and did not return to the Immortal Realm. Why?" the Dragon King murmured as he flew into outer space, staring down at the planet as he became a dragon as white and majestic as the full moon in the night sky. Chapter 8: Tournament Preparations Chapter 8: Tournament Preparations The next morning, Ni Lang sat in the center of the top floor of his pagoda with the black box he had taken from the Venos Palace throne room. Now that he was in a safe environment without prying eyes, he could access the contents without fear. Within were four of his greatest treasures, one obtained just before the massacre of the Emissary of Undeath. The first treasure was all of his research as a mage. Mages were a secretive kind of people that closely guarded their magic spells and rituals. As one of the top 12 most powerful mages, many would desire to gain his knowledge. With the research came all of his research materials. Vials, tubes, herbs, tables, potions of all kinds, and a mummy appeared all over the top floor, arranged in a neat fashion. The mummy was the second treasure. He had found deep in magical beast territory. He guessed it was the body of a magical beast that reached the Fake Immortal stage. However, classifications changed after the destruction of the Emissary of Undeath so he did not know what realm the body would classify as. Its spirit energy was sealed with a complex magic circle so that only the one who cast it would be able to unlock. To Cid Drake, it was an endless supply of mana. To Ni Lang, the four magical beast cores within was a priceless treasure. The magical beast cores were for the elements of water, metal, earth, and wind. He took out the metal and earth magical cores, keeping them to absorb past the Obsidian Realm. The metal element was a combination of two elements: fire and earth. He was confident he could absorb the spirit energy within the core, through his spirit weapon. He also took out the wind magical beast core and stored all three of them in his shadow. He left the water magical beast core so that the mummy would remain his infinite mana reactor. Mages could turn any elemental essence into mana, but martial artists had to have high enough affinity to fuse the elemental essence into their techniques. They had higher power at the cost of affinity restrictions. Mages highly valued water magical beast cores and water element magical beasts as water elemental essence was the easiest to convert into mana for spells and rituals. While martial artists with the water affinity were usually the weakest, mages with water affinity were almost always the most powerful. "Why take out the wind magical beast core?" Ignus asked. "I plan to use it as a tool in a black market auction. I don''t lack money, but I can have it sold for a different item as it is a higher ranked treasure. I can''t use it anyway," Ni Lang answered and stared at the last two treasures. The third treasure was the most fascinating of the four treasures. It was the seed of the World Tree! Legend had it that the founder of the Venos Empire built the capital right where the World Tree died, secretly hoarding all of the seeds. He gifted his descendants with it and they were the reason the Venos Empire could not be defeated by the demons, but also the reason they sundered the Heavens and brought their own demise. "That thing....is ancient. What does it do?" Ignus asked. "It is a seed of the World Tree. The founder of the Venos Empire wrote a journal describing how the World Tree died and cut of the Mortal Realm from the Immortal Realm, requiring ascension to reach it. This is one of many seeds he gifted my family. In my day, wood mages were the only rivals of water mages, giant snake-like roots tearing the land, demons unable to withstand its touch as the roots drained their blood like water. I did not have affinity to wood and could not use wood magic magic," Ni Lang answered as he absorbed the seed into his body. "With this, my divine tattoo will be formed." His whole body shook as what seemed to have broken last night, repaired. His body had five elements again, forming a pentagram circle on his back as his current divine tattoo shined. On his back, the One-horned red wolf spirit that was a half-formed divine tattoo shined. It appeared as if within a pentagram rune circle. Each point of the star represented one of his five elements. A coiling, black dragon represented destruction as it crackled with violet lightning. A skull with black flames within its eyes represented the element of darkness. There two were the bottom two star points as they were the ones with the weakest affinities. The top left point was that of a burning phoenix, made completely of jade colored fire. The top right point was that of a white tree with jade leaves and three gold apples, the tree representing the element of wood. Finally, the top point was that of a sand colored crown. It was the same majestic Earth King Crown within his Soul Realm. The One-horned red wolf in the center was surrounded with two red rings, as if they were halos. Unrecognizable runes formed the lines that made the circle and the star lines. This was a divine tattoo belonging to that of the Era of Dragons, a lost method of creation that represented the cultivators spirit and elemental affinities. Only through forming this, was a mage or martial artist recognized for being a true genius before the disorder and mutation of cultivation into meal ranked bodies and realms. "Why is master emanating such pure spirit energy?" Ignus cried as the panda cub ran and settled against Ni Lang''s left knee as he currently sat in lotus position. "With this, I have a higher affinity to all my elements. I wonder if I reached the Scion level of affinity, ninety and above? I''m sure I reached the state of becoming one with the world, controlling nature as if it were an extension of my body. However, the Obsidian Realm will be difficult to progress with conflicting elements of wood and fire," Ni Lang muttered as he stared at the fourth treasure. "Let me out!" a voice roared, a faint whisper escaping a gold sphere with an entity trapped within. "Now I know why I was cursed. I didn''t see it before, but this sphere traps spirit energy in its true form. So you were an Evil Jade Phoenix, Emissary of Undeath," Ni Lang mocked as he glared at it with pure rage and hatred. "How did you trap me in here?" the phoenix asked. "The summoning ritual always traps a part of the mana or spirit energy of the thing summoned. Only a small, insignificant piece of you is here, the rest of your damned soul somewhere in the world. Did you know, as I trained in that pure darkness for a hellish ten years, how much I hated myself for listening to my father to sunder the Heavens with the summoning rituals. At least summoning spells were safe," Ni Lang growled. "You fragmented my soul?" the phoenix cried. "You did that yourself when you cursed the whole fucking empire! I don''t know about the other fragments, but I hid you in that sealed box when I discovered you broke the bindings of the summoning ritual and sought to kill us all. Don''t worry, I will kill the rest of your soul fragments, no matter what vessel they took over. I will atone for my sins by killing you!" Ni Lang roared. "You don''t want to do that. No, you can''t kill all of me," the phoenix laughed. "Why not? It would be all too easy," Ni lang said as he put his hand on the gold sphere, preparing to destroy it and absorb the soul into his soul fire. "BWAHAHAHAHA! You really have no idea what you are, do you? The first generation of undead were made by the souls of the people in your palace. However, your bodies and souls were destroyed! You are me, but with your memories. This is just like how you have Ni Lang''s memories, but thought yourself to be Cid Drake or Timber absorbing his soul and memory!" the phoenix laughed. "The first generation is me! You are me! I, no you, are the very thing you hate most! How else could your soul gain its first spirit ring? You were in a death like state, more dead than any in history! How else could your soul fire endure after eight thousand years without any cultivation? One day, my slumbering consciousness will awaken with the more of my soul fires absorbed by you and I will be reborn!" "Lies!" Ni Lang roared as he crushed the gold sphere, the jade phoenix becoming a wisp of soul fire. "You are me! HAHAHAHA! We are the supreme being to transcend life and death," the soul fire whispered before being drained into his soul fire. "Master?" Ignus asked as Ni Lang laughed hysterically. "Telling me lies on the eve of its destruction, like any other mortal. Me? Him? What lies," Ni Lang said, denial strong in his heart. "What I need to do is make potions and spirit pills. Hmph. Me and him are the soul fragments of the Emissary of Undeath? Ha! That is too absurd to be the truth. Of all the lies, he said that one. HAHAHAHAHA" Ignus and the panda cub stared in silence as Ni Lang spent two weeks using whatever herbs he had left to make spirit pills. As he cultivated, he passed reached the middle stage and also entered the late stage of the Flame Realm. His curse had also spread, encompassing the entire forearm and hand. It finally slowed to the speed as it was before, Ni Lang guessing it was stimulated because of the phoenix. He also developed rune circles which he transcribed into bandages that wrapped around his entire left arm, the snow white runes preventing the black bandages from being burnt and cloaking the jade energy of the arm. With all his research materials gone, he destroyed everything but the mummy as he stored it in his shadow. No one could know he was a mage, a secret he wanted to reveal during the tournament when he met a stronger foe. Ignus was privy to gossip outside the pagoda, talking about how more participants were assassinated. Ignus also killed a few assassins that infiltrated into his own pagoda. "Big brother is finally out!" Bu''er cried as he saw a black cloaked youth appear, the armor stashed in his storage bag. "Ni Lang!" Ni Kong cried and all but one of his siblings arriving as Ni Feng left long before he returned. "You''re alive!" Ni Qian cried. "You sound shocked. Should I feel insulted?" Ni Lang asked his dad. "No. Assassins have grown bold lately. They nearly killed your sister. My first wife, Li Qing, killed the assassins but got poisoned. She is fine now, but we checked Ni Zhang he and his family were killed. Many of the sub branches are angered with the death of the prodigy and all but one faction suffered attacks. However, there is no proof they did it," Ni Kong growled. "What is the name of that faction?" Ni Lang asked. "The Nine-Headed Hydra, a mix of various clans of mages and martial artists that kill and raise magical beasts. Some rumors claim they are involved with the underground trafficking of spirit reactors," Ni Kong answered. "It was completed?" Ni lang thought, shock in his heart as he asked, "What is it?" "A lost technology from the Era of Dragons. It is a device that acts as a magical treasure that augments a cultivators spirit energy. It allows mages to cast more powerful spells, or martial artists to display their techniques above their cultivation stage. The problem lies in its manufacturing. It is not an item that became magical due to elemental energy," Ni Kong began. "It contains the heart of a cultivator," Ni Lang finished as everyone was stunned. "How did you know?" Ni Kong asked. "The heart is the main organ that pumps blood throughout the body. Elemental essence is absorbed into the Soul Realm, the soul fire converting it into spirit energy for the body to use as mana or for techniques. The brain cannot contain elemental essence or spirit energy after death, but the heart can be preserved even after hundreds of years," Ni Lang said, oblivious to the people around him as they were shocked at the details. "But why assassinate those below the Flame Realm? They lack the amount of power necessary for it to be effective." If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "What if a regular person got those?" Ni Qian asked. "It could work then," Ni Lang said, everyone turning to her. "The regular human cannot use the regular spirit reactors, but a weak, ordinary human can." "So that''s why their hearts are missing," Ni Kong cursed. "Ni Qian, I am going to the patriarch to explain the situation. Have all the sub branch members living outside the Burning Phoenix District to take residence here. Alert all the guards and recruit people who specialize in spirit energy detection. We will kill these assassins if they dare trespass again!" "Yes, father," Ni Qian said and ran toward the gates where the guards protected the only entrance to the district as Ni Kong and the others left. "In light of what happened, I assume this means you will join the tournament now, Ni Bu" Ni Lang said as he stared at Ni Bu, not using the suffix of affection as they were brothers. "I won''t win, with big brother participating, but I can place third," Bu grinned, the eldest of the third wife happy and sad to hear the news. "I''m scared though. Mom, also worries we''ll be attacked by the assassins like Ni Qian and her mom." "Where do these people of the Nine-Headed Hydra live? Is it close by?" Ni Lang asked. "Not really. It''s half way across the city. Will they try to kill me, big brother?" Ni Bu asked. "Relax. Father will protect you. Run along now. You''re sixteen. You need to be brave for our other five siblings. It''s gonna be alright," Ni Lang said, Ni Bu nodding and ran to his mother. "Well this is quite the fun situation. I say we kill and loot this so called Nine-Headed Hydra faction," Ignus smiled. "We''ll make our move tonight," Ni Lang said and went to the third floor of his pagoda, setting a link to his black talisman there. When dawn fell, Ni Lang quietly left the Burning Phoenix District. His golem was left to care for his panda cub while he left his storage bag there and donned a silver tiger mask and simple black cloak. He also wore a black gauntlet over his left hand and donned a Steel ranked staff. Raiding the luxury houses and pavilions in Quentican City had its perks. "So long as it''s not a cultivator at the Obsidian Realm, I should be fine," Ni Lang said. "Ignus, do you see it yet?" "Up ahead is a giant hotel. Mana stone lamps are everywhere. It has twenty guards at the eighth and ninth stage of the Metal Realm guarding the perimeter," Ignus said as it used its superior eyesight and spirit energy sensitivity. "I sense another group up ahead, watching from a distance. I think they also aim to go inside." "Where is the tallest building near that group?" Ni Lang asked as he grasped his staff. "About six blocks ahead. Why master?" Ignus asked. "You will sneak into the hotel from here and destroy the stairs. As for the distraction, leave it to the other group. It is best to distract the guards with another dagger. I''ll use magic to make them notice that group. We will btoh be able to infiltrate with ease," Ni Lang said. "This Steel ranked staff will suffice. Go when you see the fight starting." Ni Lang and Ignus stood at a six story building roof as Ni Lang lifted his staff into the air. A lot of mana condensed into the staff, causing it to glow with a sandy aura. A magic circle appeared on his left hand as he pointed it between where the guards and the other group where, Ignus guiding his direction. Ni Lang felt his body weaken as he used a fifth of his spirit energy. The duo watched as a small waves of explosions occurred from the group eastward, toward the left side of the hotel. The guards screamed as some of them perished while others scrambled to see who had done it. "Go," Ni Lang ordered and Ignus grinned and sped in a bolt of black lightning. Ni Lang waved his staff and killed the guards in Ignus''s path with spears of earth that fell from his location and impaled them to the ground. He waved his staff again and shrouded himself in darkness as he entered the hotel grounds and entered from the third floor balcony, using spirit energy to enhance the power of his legs. Ignus entered the hotel from the twentieth floor as Ni Lang smashed his way through the guards. "Don''t move!" a group of mages shouted but Ni Lang brought a finger to his mouth, waving it outward and sending spears of darkness into them. "Voiceless incantations? But how? He doesn''t seem to be at the Obsidian Realm?" a mage cried, unable to see his cultivation as it he shrouded in darkness, as if his body absorbed the light around it. "Die for me," Ni Lang said as placed his hands on their heads, their mana restoring his spirit energy as he used his dark magic to drain their life force. In his day, he saw many mages executed using this horrible and absolute magic that only magical treasures defenses could stop. He would have used wood magic to absorb "They are innocent. I didn''t see any spirit reactors in their vaults. I did steal something of note. I will head to you," Ignus said, using their thrall link. "Now I feel a little bit guilty. Perhaps the group sneaking around were the assassins? I better make my escape," Ni Lang thought as the roof burst, a man in emerald armor and a giant battle awe staring at him. "Stop right there, assassin!" the man roared as he ran forward. "Crap! Is he at the Obsidian Realm?" Ni Lang cursed as the man wielding heavy armor and the giant axe moved as if they were weightless, the air releasing a strong pressure as the giant axe scarred the roof as it swung down at him. As Ni Lang dodged it, the man smirked as he swung it sideways as it fell, the side of the axe smashing Ni Lang through three desks and cracked the wall as he slammed into it. His staff shattering on impact with the axe as Ni Lang swallowed his own blood as he fell down from the wall. "You want to kill the participants of Nine-Headed Hydra? Dream on!" the man roared and charged at him. Ni Lang focused earth spirit energy into his left hand as he smashed it on the ground. The man''s eyes widened as the floor instantly broke to the next floor down, losing his balance due to his charging movement. Ni Lang twirled his staff in the air and slammed it three six inches in the floor as he yelled, "Shadow paralysis!" The shadows of his spear reached the fragments of the floor and connected with the man''s shadow as he fell. The man''s eyes widened as he could not move any of his limbs and his eyes wandered to the silver masked assassin. Ni Lang rushed out of view, Ignus turning to its spirit form as it entered within range. The man roared, his voice carrying strong spirit energy that exploded around him. Freed, he rushed to the assassin and his eyes widened as his giant axe met empty air as he vanished with a puff of smoke. He spread his spirit energy, trying to sense the assassin but only detected a group that currently engaged with his guards. Enraged, he threw his battle axe and cut two assassins in two before it made a crater on the ground. Appearing next to them, he saw they all wore black clothes and had a black leather cover the bottom half of their faces as the rest were covered in a black turban. They could do nothing as the man killed them and screamed with rage. "Third Boss," the guards said, seeing the third strongest of the Nine-Headed Hydra leaders looking at them. "What the hell were you doing? They were only at the initial Flame Realm! You could easily overwhelm them with your numbers!" the man roared. "It''s not our fault, Third Boss. We feared another explosion wave of earth and did not detect a single mage among them," the guards said. "Third Boss!" a guard cried as he appeared in front of him. "One of the vaults was raided. Only it was empty. Records stated that Second Boss stashed a single item there." "Shit! Right when my eight drinking brothers left, these assassins showed up! First them and now a mage thief?" the man cursed. "The mage was not with them?" the guards asked, confused. "No. He must have sensed the assassins and used them to distract you. He probably thought they were like him, suspecting us of being the assassins and secretly aimed to search the hotel for evidence against us. There must be more than one. The mage I fought should not have had enough time to break into Second Brother''s vault, much less find and break into it. They must be from a thieving organization! I want all our men to gather all information of any thieve ring in the city and wipe them out! No doubt, this incident will prove us as innocent as we have the dead assassins here." "Should we clean the mess, Third Boss?" a guard asked as others moved to alert others about their orders. "No. We guard this scene and not tamper with it at all. It will be proof we didn''t kill the participants of other factions. Fuck, who the hell is using us as a cover?" the man roared. Back in the pagoda, a silver masked man crashed onto the floor. Safe, he no longer cared as he spat blood and changed clothes. The panda cub licked his face and stared at him, worried. He smiled and pat its head, telling it to go ahead and sleep. It looked at him and then slept on a stone bed near his own bed. "Sorry, master. I was not fast enough," Ignus bowed his head. "Don''t worry about it. No traces were left behind. Still, they would believe a mage was responsible. It is a damn good thing I remembered the spells I witnessed and learned in the past," Ni Lang sighed. "What about the staff?" Ignus asked. "A Steel ranked staff. Even a commoner could afford one. Just what did you steal?" Ni Lang asked. "This weird bonsai tree," Ignus said as it gently placed it in front of him. "I don''t know what it is but it seemed special as it was the only thing in the vault. I think master should--" The imp stopped as it saw the panda cub lunge and bite the whole tree into its mouth, even tearing the pot to eat the roots. Ni Lang and Ignus stared at the panda cub as trembled while a foreign energy appeared. Ni Lang cried out as a black gas came out its mouth, turning the floor it touched into ash. The panda grew to two feet in height and now had a black, white, and orange fur. "Uh, master, I think the panda just gained the death attribute. I don''t know about any other, but i suspect it is the lava attribute due to the orange color," Ignus said as it stared at the panda, dumbfounded. Ni Lang didn''t know whether to laugh or cry as the panda discovered its fur had three colors now. It burped and Ignus hastily flew out of the black gas''s path before it vanished. "We might have to keep a closer eye on you. I wonder what name I should call you," Ni Lang wondered as he decided to rest and cultivate before the tournament''s start. Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm Writer''s note: Forgot to post this chapter due to midterms and papers. Thus, it will be a double release. Good luck on midterms guys! Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm "Remember, you three represent our Ni Clan and the Burning Phoenix District in this year''s Young Sun Tournament. If you don''t even pass the qualifiers, you will be subjected to ten month solitude confinement and forced to do closed door training," Ni Kong warned his children. "That''s too boring!" Ni Bu cried as he and his eight other siblings followed Ni Kong and the patriarch. Several members of the sub branches and Ni Clan guards also traveled with them. "Then you better qualify, Bu''er," Ni Kong warned. "It seems the black pearl and talisman wasn''t truly wasted after all. You actually entered the late stage of the Flame Realm," Ni Wang laughed as he walked alongside Ni Lang. Ni Lang laughed weakly and said, "My hard work counts as well." "This one looks so cute now," Ni Qian said as she stared at the panda. "Did you name it yet?" "He''s more dangerous than he is cute. Don''t touch any black gas escaping its mouth, it will turn all it touches to ash," Ni Lang warned the panda burped as it chewed on bamboo, some the rocks on the ground turning to ash as if all its vitality was destroyed. "Death attribute?" Ni Kong and Ni Wang cried, staring at it in shock. "I decided to call it Yomi, for death," Ni Lang answered, thinking back to his empire where the name meant death in that language. "The name fits," Ni Kong sighed as he stared at the ground before the black gas disappeared. "How did it grow so big so fast? It''s even at the ninth stage of the Metal Realm." "Stronger than me and Ni Bu?" Ni Qian gasped as she and her little brother trained hard and used their clan''s resources to reach the ninth stage. "This panda?" "He ate something he shouldn''t have and grew instead of me," Ni Lang shrugged as the panda looked at him with pitiful eyes. "Heh. That won''t work on me." "Whatever the case, you wear the jackets of our clan," Ni Wang said, all three children wearing crimson jackets with a black phoenix on the front and back. Without a hood covering his head, people noticed Ni Lang looked incredibly serene, as if a monk that attained enlightenment. If it wasn''t for the fact that he had grey eyes and affinity to darkness, destruction, and the evil jade fire; they would really think he was a man from the Heavens. "Lots of girls distracted, a lot of items stolen and dropped into master''s shadow," the imp laughed. "Wait until they learn you have affinity to wood, an extremely rare element. Hehehehe." "Behave yourself for now and stay in my shadow. Too many eyes and powerful cultivators here," Ni Lang warned, the imp flying into his shadow after receiving the mental message. "Big brother, what''s with that rectangular box inside your jacket pocket?" Ni Bu asked. "Oh, this?" Ni Lang asked as he took it out. "It''s a secret weapon, the apex of combining mana into an item." "You''re a mage?" Ni Kong cried, everyone staring at him in shock. "But how? Your soul fire only converted elemental essence into spirit energy, not mana." "It''s because his soul evolved. It''s possible," Ni Wang said. "What''s in the box?" "Uh, scarlet talismans with white runes," Ni Lang answered. "So far, I am only able to use destruction type magic with the talismans." "Where did you get them?" Ni Kong asked. "I stole it from a very luxurious house," Ni Lang wanted to say, but said, "You all know most mages use magical gloves, rings, scepters, or staffs. I prefer a talisman as I wield a sword." "Ah, the low immortal ranked magical sword all the main branch members use?" Ni Kong guessed. The Ni Clan all had weapons made of a black, fire-like metal of the low immortal tier grade. It could be considered a magical treasure as it could be bound by blood and very few clans or organizations had any immortal ranked treasure. It was why it was every mage and martial artist''s dream to enter an academy or sect. "Talismans, an old mage method of fighting. I''m surprised talismans even exist," Ni Wang nodded. "Wait, you said you''re a mage? That means you can manipulate the elements before the Obsidian Realm!" "Yeah, but I can''t use manipulate fire as it stimulates the curse," Ni Lang said. "So that''s why you''re hand is covered in rune bandages," Ni Qian noted as hey all stared at his left hand after hearing her words. "Enough. We are headed to the city palace. Mind your manners and try to endure the formalities of the banquet. You three and I will go there with your father. The others will rest in the guest wings with all the other escorts and families of other participants," Ni Wang said, the five saying goodbye as they headed inside the black palace in the center of the city. "Behave, Yomi. Do not release your black gas," Ni Lang warned his panda using their connection as magical beast and master, his golem appearing and holding the panda. The guards stared at the grey golem with unease as it walked behind the others, the ground shaking near its feet with every step. "Ni Wang, old friend, you came," a bald man with dark black tattoos on his head laughed as the five arrived. "And even a golem. Where did you buy that?" "It belongs to my grandson, Ni Lang," Ni Wang answered. "What? Initial stage Flame Realm?" the man gasped as three people appeared behind him, no one able to see his cultivation as dark elemental essence suppressed it. It was the unique power of an undead while humans with darkness affinity could learn it through a cultivation clouding technique. However, most people did not practice it as they lived in a world where power meant survival. "Your clan is truly gifted. Even the girl and other lad is at the ninth stage of the Metal Realm," the man said. "I, Mao Yoshi, am truly jealous. However, my young warriors and assassin will defeat your grandchildren. Is that right?" "Yes, Yoshi-dono," the three children, two of them boys, cried as they appeared behind him in a flash. They were all at the ninth stage of the Metal Realm. "Since you arrived twenty six years ago, you are considered a native faction. What do you think about these new four?" Ni Wang asked as his group walked alongside Mao Yoshi''s Mad Blade Clan, a clan comprised of foreigners from the far east with incredible sword and dagger techniques. Their clan made money by mercenary work while the Ni Clan sold spirit pills and mana stones. In Black Sun City, they were the only two major factions that withstood the change in power after the refugees came from many western and south western continents that bordered the demon lands. "The Nine-Headed Hydra Group were not the culprits. The destruction and dead assassins testify that. I just know it is one of the other three. Their aim, I can only guess," Yoshi sighed as they entered a giant banquet hall with refreshments and waiters everywhere. "I don''t like it. They are killing others for spirit reactors. My men have been encountering bandits that even had ordinary humans casting spells or techniques without any cultivation. We need to stop whoever is causing this chaos. Even the Guan Dynasty has made its move." "They are? Good. Our cultivators are not weapons that exist solely for power or to kill demons and undead. We are living beings. For the Guan Dynasty to move, it means one of their extended members must have been a victim. I fear one might be watching this tournament," Ni Wang brooded aloud. "You teenagers enjoy your last years of youth. Mingle but try to stay out of trouble," Ni Kong said. "He still thinks we are kids," Ni Qian pouted as the six left the three adults alone. "I mean, all of us but Ni Bu are in our twenties, right? We are of age to go to sects or academies already." "Your complaining like a kid," Ni Lang said, Ni Qian glaring at him. "We should be introducing ourselves to each other." "Hello. I''m Ni Bu, the fifth child of Ni Kong," Ni Bu grinned. "This big sister Ni Qian, the third child of my dad. The strongest of us is Ni Lang." "I am Mao Ken, a warrior of the sword," a tall youth with massive muscles said. "This is my brother, Shiro, and the assassin of my group, Hamada Tifa. We are all nineteen, not twenty. My own grandfather, you met as we met yours." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "Younger than me and at my cultivation," Ni Qian sighed, then thought about her two brothers while one was even at the Flame Realm. "Dark, water, and wind element affinities?" Ni Lang asked as he stared at the girl. "Yes. As expected of one in a higher realm of cultivation," Tifa nodded. "Yup. Big brother was always talented, convincing father to even let him join a sect two years ago. However, it is gone," Ni Bu said. "I joined a sect that happened to be in Quentican City," Ni Lang answered as they stared at him. "You were there during the massacre?" Shiro asked, eyes widening. "Did you kill any undead? What are they like? Oh, and demons too." "Idiot," Ken snapped, slapping the back of Shiro''s head. "The city was massacred!" "Ah, sorry," Shiro said and inclined his head. "It''s alright. There were countless demon races. Some with six arms, four heads, twenty feet height, tentacles, horns, wings, and much more. As for undead, they are weaker and tended to wear more armor close to a complete set, including a helmet. Each of them had two golden golems under their command. It was quite scary. I escaped using my own golem to crash through houses in my way," Ni Lang answered. "So that thing with our grandfather, and your dad and patriarch, is yours? Sweet. Why a panda magical beast?" Shiro asked. "Never seen one like it. It has a few nasty surprises," Ni Lang grinned mischievously. "I wouldn''t upset it though. It''s as strong as you are, cultivation wise." "You''re lucky. Magical beasts are hard to tame as you have to make it submit unless it is given with a submissive intent. It''s why most cultivators join an academy or martial sect. You only get three magical beasts in life," Ken said, all of them staring at the panda. "Master can have two more thralls and magical beasts. Heh. You get three more than others, excluding magical items like that golem. That''s a total of six. Hehehe. Course, there is no better imp than me and most people don''t even tame three magical beasts, willing or otherwise," Ignus snickered through the thrall link. "Fuck," Ni Lang thought as he clenched his left arm, the curse beginning to pain him. "Something wrong?" Tifa asked, seeing Ni lang''s expression harden as he held his left arm. "Is he injured?" Ken asked. "Big Brother Lang was cursed by--ouch!" Ni Bu cried as his sister chopped at his head. "Little brother," Qian began. "I''m fine," Ni Lang said. "Sorry. It passed." "No way! I thought curse arts were lost," Shiro gasped. "If it was a flash of pain, it would not spread," Ni Lang sighed in his heart. "What have we here? These are the so called native factions? I expected better," a man said as he approached them, three people behind him. "Do I know you?" Ni Lang asked. "Oh. You''re just an insignificant faction. I would have known you otherwise." "You tell them big brother," Ni Bu laughed, all eyes turning to them as Ni Qian sighed at the development. "I am one of the elite of my faction. My name is...." the man began when Ni Lang held a hand up. "I honestly don''t care. Your participants are at the seventh and eighth stage of the Metal Realm and you are just some foreign power that became one of the top six due to money. In this world, money means nothing in front of raw power," Ni Lang shrugged. "Insolent brat!" the man roared as a fist came at Ni Lang''s face. "And a fool too," Ni Lang sighed as he dodged the fist, grabbed the wrist, and pulled forward. The man lost his balance as he was pulled forward and Ni Lang spun the man''s arm, slamming the man on the ground. Ni Lang had an evil grin on his face as he lifted his foot and stomped it on the man''s face. "Really? You can''t even see I am at the initial Flame Realm? Please," Ni Lang sighed and stared at the three henchmen as they ran forward. In a flash, two of the three were slammed into the ground as the third choked as Ni Lang held him in the air by his throat. "You know, I really hate people who look down on others without warning. I don''t even know you people. Do you see me bullying or acting haughty in others, recklessly provoking them like an idiot? You don''t even know what kind of hellish training I''ve been through. Such arrogance can get you killed outside Black Sun City." "Kuck---" the boy coughed and fell to the ground, gasping for breath as Ni Lang let him go. "Strength displacement? Using the opponent''s strength against them? His technique is quite good. You raised a fine lad there," Mao Yoshi laughed as Ni Wang and Ni Kong laughed helplessly. "It seems the Ni Clan are not the champion without reason," some teens commented. "Of course not. When my clan was one of the top six, we lost due to Ni Feng and Ni Jing, both were also at the Flame Realm. It seems the Ni Clan will be the victors this year," another said. At that moment, twenty eight assassins arrived in a pyramid formation. All the guards, patriarchs, and elders of the various organizations and clans cried out in shock! So many came and half of them were at the Flame Realm!" "Foolish!" Yoshi and Ni Wang cried as the leaders rushed to them, crying out in shock as they were trapped in a formation barrier. "Run!" Ni Kong cried as he was also trapped with the golem and panda cub. "They are here to bind us in a powerful formation! There must be more to kill you!" "Hearing Ni Kong''s words, all the teenagers and young adults ran out of the banquet hall. As they rushed out, dozens of assassins from the sixth to ninth Metal Realm appeared. "Little Yomi, quick, expel your black gas!" Ni Kong cried and the panda nodded while the golem pounded at the formation barrier trapping all the adults and the people who stood nearby them. No matter their methods, only the panda cub had some effect on the barrier. This shocked many elders and patriarchs of the various factions as they all looked down on panda magical beasts. "Our hopes are on you, Little Yomi. Ah, if only we had our formation experts with us," NI Wang cursed. "We can''t even communicate to them with magical treasures." "It seems we can only hope they get away. I imagine Ni Lang will be able to hold them back for some time before they realize his cultivation," Yoshi said. "Still, this proves that someone wants to cripple our city. The whole Wu Province knows that Black Sun City is one of the top most powerful and prosperous cities in regards to trade." "How could this be happening!" Shiro yelled as the six late teens ran for their lives. "Can''t we just find a room somewhere and duke it out?" "Our swords are katanas, too long to be used effectively in the halls and rooms. Also, cultivation stage does not matter if they gang up on higher numbers and obviously have superior teamwork. Even Ni Lang is running," Ken shouted. "Our best option is not to hide ourselves, but disguise it. For that, we need to find a dark room. Try to find one that is unlocked. We can''t break in and leave any traces. I''ll handle the rest after I hold them back. Whistle when you found one," Ni Lang said as he faced back and drew his sword. "Let''s go, Ni Bu!" Ni Qian shouted as her youngest brother looked back. "But big bro..." Ni Bu said as she shook his shoulders. "He is a talisman mage! Mages who use talismans are suited for subterfuge or ambush tactics! He is also at the Flame Realm. He will make it back," Ni Qian shouted, causing the three Made Blade Clan stare at him in shock as they helped drag Ni Bu away. "Not a staff or scepter, but talismans. I don''t know how to counter that kind of mage. They are close to medium range combat mages," Ken muttered, Shiro and Tifa nodding in agreement as they sped into different halls to try to find an unlocked room. "Ignus, looks like we are devouring souls tonight," Ni Lang said as the imp materialized, stunning assassins as they saw the imp. "What the hell is that thing? Aren''t imps much smaller than that?" one of the assassins cried. "I am the Mighty Ignus, greatest and most powerful thief among all imps! Hehehehe! I''m gonna devour souls! Feed me! Feed me!" the imp laughed as black fireballs appeared in its hands the size of melons. "How do you gentlemen fight in the dark?" Ni Lang smirked as he threw a talisman in the air and covered the whole hall in pitch black darkness. Chapter 10: Palace under Siege Chapter 10: Palace under Siege "Hehehe. Burn. Burn. Burn!" Ignus laughed as it threw fireball after fireball, the black flames devouring all it touched and turned anything within its blast radius into ash. "Go on ahead and steal from the assassins. Kill any traveling alone with weaker cultivation. Your mission is to find out information on who they are," Ni Lang said, Ignus nodding as it sped past the assassins. "How do you have a demon familiar?" the assassins asked. "You a necromancer, a black mage? Where are you?" "You depend too much on your eyes. True assassins should sense with their spirit energy," Ni Lang whispered, his voice striking fear into them as they could hear their comrades die and even accidentally killed each other as they could not discern friend or foe. "Exit the darkness and regroup outside!" one cried and they all dispersed, some of them crashing into each others. "Heart, liver, arm, leg, neck, waist, and eyes. What to stab? Which to run through or sever?" Ni Lang asked, his voice ominously raising his voice with each syllable. An assassin cried out with each syllable and the assassins never felt such fear. They were used to darkness, but this was magical darkness. They tried to remember where they saw the talisman thrown, but pieces of the ceiling fell from every miss. Each crash on the floor sounded like thunderbolts crashing from the sky. They were the ones being assassinated. They were the ones being hunted, and they knew it. Ni Lang killed twenty three assassins before he heard a whistling sound. Eyes narrowing, he ran out of the darkness. He put a finger to his lips and concentrated his mana, overloading the talisman with magic as he made it explode. Six balls of soul fire went into his chest, meaning at least six died from the explosion. Ignus also returned, by his command, tiny slips of paper in its hands. "Did you find out who did it?" Ni Lang asked, Ignus pausing as it was about to enter his shadow. "The Sacred Spear Faction," Ignus said as it read one of the pieces of paper. "Accidentally leave those out where my father and grandfather are trapped. Their faction leader should be trapped with them. Best to let them take care of him," Ni Lang said and his golem appeared before him at his bidding. "Magical items are great. I suppose I can''t summon Yomi, the panda cub should allow them to escape with that black gas. Golem, head north, to the Sacred Spear faction. Kill all people there. Ignus, what does there symbol look like?" "Uh....it is a white spear with a golden spear head, a gold snake coiling from the shaft to the metal," Ignus answered and the two left to do their duties. Golems of the Golden Army were able to store items within their bodies. Ni Lang would kill the assassins and gain their treasures as their most powerful cultivators should be assaulting the palace. He would kill two birds with one stone. "Sometimes it is best to be cunning than to use tyrannical strength. I guess my training as an assassin has some affect on my personality and preferences," Ni Lang brooded as he saw Tifa and followed her to the room Ken found. "Big bro!" Ni Bu cried, racing to his brother. "Not even a scratch on you?" Shiro asked, impressed. "Well, I did not face them head on. That would be foolish," Ni Lang nodded as he saw they had all made it as Ni Qian waved at him. "I can shroud us in darkness, using my talismans. With the element of destruction, I can erase traces of our spirit power from escaping out of the barrier of shadows. However, do not make any sounds." "Right," they all said and stood with him as he held two talismans. "We meditate in a pyramid formation, you all putting your hands on the person in front. I will be at the top of the pyramid, using your spirit energy to maintain the barrier and spirit nullification. If I was a martial artist adept at formations, this would not be necessary and a much easier task. Remember, try to control your spirit energy and make it harmonize with the person in front before sending it to them. Send pure spirit energy, no elemental spirit energy. If they do not have the same affinities as you, sending them elemental spirit energy might kill them," Ni Lang warned and sat down. The other five concentrated on supplying spirit energy while two talismans floated above his lap. One glowed violet and destroyed any spirit energy that tried to emanate past the barrier while the other glowed black and made them invisible in the darkness. "This is so strange. I never saw this technique," Ken whispered. "Talisman mages really are gifted at subterfuge magic," Shiro whispered back. "I never knew any talisman masters still existed, to teach Ni Lang to this extent. "Big brother is self taught. I know it," Ni Bu said. "You three be quiet back there," Ni Qian said, both of Ni Bu''s hands on her back while Ken''s left hand was on her while the other was on Tifa. "You might expose us. We don''t know where those assassins are, or who they work for." "They work for the Sacred Spear faction," Ni Lang answered. "Since all your spirit energy is directed to me, I can sense that the nearest assassin is several yards away." "The Sacred Spear? But why? Weren''t they the first to be targeted?" Tifa asked and then her eyes widened. "It can''t be....they sacrificed three of their own participants to eliminate any suspicion on their faction before they targeted others. What a vile plan." "We have to tell grandpa," Shiro said, his voice rising. "Be quiet!" Ni Lang hissed. "I already provided evidence to them. Since the faction leader is, no doubt, trapped with them; there should be no problem in killing him. We need to survive this assault first. Do your best to ignore the screams or your own death cries will join them. When the noise stops, we will head out. Stay calm or your spirit energy will fluctuate and disrupt my talismans'' effects." A half hour later, Ni Lang released the talismans'' magic and the other five hurried to the elders and patriarchs as Ni Lang laid back against the wall, exhausted. One thing he did not tell them was that part of their spirit energy would become his, making him stronger while increasing the size of his Soul Realm. His spirit energy was fully restored, even higher than before. He was only mentally exhausted and Ignus floated around him, in its spirit form as it kept watch. The golem returned ten minutes later, dumping many things on the floor while Ignus searched through it. "Find anything?" Ni Lang asked. "I did. It seems that a concubine of the Guan Dynasty''s emperor had fled the imperial palace three years ago. Some papers indicated she has connections with Black Sun City. She saw something she shouldn''t have and a faction wishes to kill her. According to a few reports, it seems to be the Princess Consort. The reports say the current Princess Consort is the third concubine who is also the mother of the crown prince. The reports also say she stole something they would very much like back. Three actually," Ignus answered. "Political intrigue. How fun," Ni Lang laughed. "So what did she steal?" "It---someone approaches, cloaked in darkness. Master must take care," Ignus warned as it faced the door. "We''ll be safe here. No assassins seem to be approaching this area," a male voice said. "We must secure your safety and report to my imperial father about this matter. The true aim of the assassins is you," another male said as he seemed to be talking to someone else. "Your Highness, you must not risk your life for me," a female voice said and the three owners of the voice arrived in the room, accompanied by ten guards with their swords drawn. The thirteen stared at the giant golem, the treasures on the ground, and a young adult who currently had his back on the wall. His hair was cut short around his head, the top of his hair around two inches long. He had blonde hair and grey eyes, but he looked like a native from the Tian Continent. "Who are you?" a guard asked, the other nine taking a formation in front of the two. "So spirit reactors were truly not the only aim of these assassins. They are using you as an excuse to bolster enough forces to also wipe us out. I assume you must be a prince, a noble, the escaped concubine, and the prince''s royal guards?" Ni Lang asked. "How do you know that?" the guard captain cried, his armor much more intricate and inlaid with some gold. "These are the treasures and reports of the faction that hired the assassins. Some of them even dressed like them so as to kill their competitors in Black Sun City," Ni Lang answered, tossing the reports at them. "Explain yourselves or I will kill you." The guards narrowed their eyes as Ni Lang''s cultivation skyrocketed to what seemed to be the late stage of the Flame Realm. This was an extremely talented youth, for someone not of the noble clans or sects. The guard captain nodded at his men and four of them rushed to him, all four at the middle stage of the Flame Realm. Ni Lang did nothing as their swords were about to strike, a grey golem appearing out of the shadows and rammed through all four of them. They cried out as some of them had their shoulders or arms broken on contact. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "I should warn you, I never fight alone. Tyrannical strength has its advantages, but I hate to underestimate my enemy. I underestimated an action I made once, with eleven others, because I blindly listened to someone I trusted. I won''t make the same mistake twice," Ni Lang said, the golem standing at his side. "You dare harm the Fifth Prince?" the guard captain roared but paused as one of the two young men held his hand up. "My apologies. My guards acted rashly. I am Shen Guilong," the prince said cupping his hands to Ni Lang. "May I ask for your name?" "I am Ni Lang, a grandson of one of the top six factions of Black Sun City. The concubine you are protecting has brought much trouble to the city," Ni Lang answered with the same gesture. "You have a top knot with a jade ornament and long pin. It seems you are of noble birth. The other has one as well. Now, why are you here?" "I am sorry for the grief I have caused. My name is Su Bingbing," a beautiful girl around twenty said, bowing on both knees to him in apology. "Please, is there somewhere safe we can talk?" "They must be freed by now," Ni Lang muttered and a gold rune circle appeared before him, Yomi appearing ten seconds later. Ni Lang handed the panda to the golem, the panda exhausted from its efforts. Ignus kept its guard up as Ni lang took out five talismans. The thirteen''s eyes widened as they saw him use the talismans to create a five star, pentagram circle. "Please enter through. It consumes far more mana than I would like, but it will take us to my pagoda," Ni Lang said, allowing the golem to walk through first to prove that it was safe. The guards had their eyes on him as they walked through, the four injured taking the rear. After they left, Ni Lang waved his arm and the treasures entered his shadow as it extended below them. He walked through as his talismans began to burn and turned to ash as soon as he and Ignus walked through. "That''s a strange creature you keep with you," Su Bingbing said, shocking Ignus and Ni Lang as they turned to her. "An imp! A demon!" the guards cried as Ignus materialized before them. "Enough! It must be one that is tamed. Otherwise, it would not be as his underling. We know not the mysterious ways of pugilists," the prince said, the guards uneasy as the imp snickered at them. "I am not one that wonders the world, yet. However, I have my methods that are ancient and long forgotten," Ni Lang said as the imp appeared and served them tea. "Relax it is not poisoned. I could have killed you all, but I fear Your Highness, the noble, and the guard captain are at the Obsidian Realm. It would prove....difficult, but not impossible." "I am Duan Jingrui," the noble and friend of the prince greeted. "Please, allow me to explain our situation and askfor your aid." "It is best to hear them out first. I can always slit their throats or steal their weapons before they make sudden movements," Ignus giggled, using their telepathic link as thrall and master. "Speak and spare the formalities. I do not know how long we have until the patriarch and other senior members of my clan return," Ni Lang said. "Then allow me to explain," Su Bingbing said. "I am the daughter of an ancient clan long destroyed a few years after my birth. I was taken into the palace, for my beauty and body." "I can see that," Ni Lang said, Jingrui roaring with laughter as Bingbing blushed. "Um, I was supposed to serve the emperor on the night of my arrival. However, I was passing the residence of the Princess Consort and saw a strange ritual proceed. Curiosity overcame me and I stole into her house, hoping to prevent it as I sensed something dangerous happening in her courtyard. However, I was seen and I fled. My uncle is cousins with the seventh concubine, the mother of Prince Shen Guilong. No one knows he is here, to protect me. Duan Jingrui is my cousin from my mother''s side of the family and also Guilong''s best friend. We secretly fled here, to Black Sun City, three years ago. My mother was once a friend of the city lord. He hid us here, but the Princess Consort''s spy network is vast," Bingbing sighed. "One mistake in unveiling the mask of my face to admire some painting in the market, and the assassins shortly arrived." "What did you steal that would be worth your life?" Ni Lang asked. "One is secretly in my mother''s possession. As for the other two, I can only allow you to see one of them," Guilong said as he nodded at Bingbing. "We are not sure of this item as we are not mages. As you wield talismans, you should be knowledgeable on ancient magic and artifacts." "This--!" Ni lang cried as Su Bingbing handed him a round, red diamond. They noticed his shocked surprise as his hands trembled as they reached to touch them. "Does Mage Ni Lang know what this is?" Guilong asked. Hey, big brother! Look what I made! Isn''t it pretty? Yes. Yes it is. Cassandra is a good girl. Hehehe. I''ll be as strong as you someday! My enchantment magic is better than you. Don''t get your hopes up. The one I made is even better. You''ll surpass me for sure. Maybe in fifty years? Meanie! "Cassandra...." Ni Lang said as memories as Cid Drake flashed through his mind. "This diamond is your work, but it is far too archaic from what I last saw. I wonder how you are doing now?" "Who is Cassandra?" Jingrui asked. Ni Lang snapped out of his daze and looked at him, saying, "She is someone close to me. I have not seen her in what feels like many millennia. Too long. Way too long. As for what this diamond is, it is a mana reactor, one made by enchantment mage specialists. This might be what is used as the power source of the ritual Bingbing witnessed. Without it, there is no way such a ritual could not attract attention in any courtyard as it would require hundreds or thousands of mages to compensate for its absence. Ritual magic does not depend on how powerful a mage is. It depends on the mana available to power the ritual and one''s own understanding of magic. Based on the color of the gem, the Princess Consort was summoning an spirit of the fire element. What kind, I don''t know." "I see. This is most troubling," Guilong said, Jingrui nodding in agreement. "How did you see my imp in its spirit form? It is impossible for any, but a devil, to see an imp in spirit form if you are not its master," Ni Lang asked Su Bingbing. "Um, my spirit is a four-winged unicorn. The holy power of a unicorn''s horn rivals the dark power of a devil," Bingbing answered. "Master, I sense your clan is arriving back in Burning Phoenix District," Ignus warned. "It seems our meeting is at an end. Please leave," Ni Lang said as he handed back the gem. "How does one make a mana reactor? Is it the same process as spirit reactors?" Guilong asked. "No, it is nowhere near as monstrous and abominable. It just takes a very deep understanding on magic and years of studying magical beast cores. Those that belong to dragons are natural mana reactors as dragons are the most powerful magical beasts on Dajarok, normally speaking. Unless you are a prodigy, it is very difficult to make artificial mana reactors," Ni Lang answered. "You imperials are in quite the danger. If I were you, I would leave this continent if the Princess Consort''s spy network is as vast as you acclaim." "You healed them? Wait, you have wood affinity?" Guilong gasped as the area around the four injured guards glowed with jade and healed them of their injuries. "You will need all your guards to ensure that woman''s safety. Best to leave now. This city will be the center of attention and all exits and entrances to Black Sun City will be closed to kill all remnants of the Sacred Sword faction and the assassins," Ni Lang warned. "Yes. Many thanks, Ni Lang, for your hospitality and information," Guilong cupped his hands and left with the others in haste. "It seems I will be traveling all over this continent, maybe posing as a pugilist? Seeing that gem makes me believe my sister might have been here. Either that, or there are some who might have a connection with my past," Ni Lang said. "Then we will roam the land? Excellent. I hate to confine my mischief to a general area. You just can''t steal as much as you like. Hehehehe," Ignus giggled. "What about the Ni Clan?" "I will return before I turn twenty two, and head to an academy then," Ni Lang answered. "I''ll be fine so long as it is within the age limit. Best to leave with a note by the entrance. Staying here will not allow me to progress to the peak of the Flame Realm and make a breakthrough to the initial stage of the Obsidian Realm." "And the golem and panda?" Ignus asked. "To stay here to protect the panda. It will roam the nearby forests and the golem will interfere when necessary. I can''t be recognized by any undead with fleshy bodies lest I want my identity to be known to Bones and Lyle. The panda must grow stronger and will definitely mutate its appearance as it further evolves," Ni Lang answered and left a note by the entrance to his pagoda before vanishing out the city.