《Fallen Immortal》


 Prologue and Chapter 1: Azure Lightning

    Enjoy the first of hopefully many releases. Had a trail of thought so this might be long to some.


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    Moonlight.


    Three moons were complete in the sky. Such an event was prophesized to occur to signify the end of the Thousand Year War.


    Dragons, phoenixes, and other mythic creatures, known as spirit beasts, gathered to watch the night sky.


    Humans all over the continents gazed at the sky while docile creatures trembled in their homes as lightning flashed and thunder boomed randomly.


    "The final battle between the immortals and devils must have begun in the Heavenly Realm," a man in his twenties sighed with wonder. His name was Count Marus of the House Maltos and was watching the night sky with his wife and son.


    Gold and black liquid rained down from the heavens. If one felt the liquid, they would notice that is was blood. The Count put a hand on his wife''s shoulders as she sat on a rocking chair with their one year old son. The baby''s eyes were wide with wonder as he stared at the three moons and giggled as the gold and black blood hit his face.


    "Tonight the Thousand Year War ends and one of the moons will fall," the man murmured. "This will be the last time blood rains instead of water. It is a pity though as the blood of those immortals and devils contain so much qi. Grotesque it may be, many martial experts were able to cultivate faster while absorbing the energy from the blood."


    "I''ve had enough of thunderstorms and blood rain appearing at random," his wife, Lily smiled. "Many innocent lives were lost to those lightning bolts that hit the ground."


    "It is said that some thunderbolts hold the essence of immortals and divine powers unattainable in the Mortal Realm," the man laughed. "It is a pity most who are fortunate to get hit by the lightning don''t survive."


    The Count''s eyes widened in alarm as an azure lightning bolt descended from the heavens.


    The man roared in shock and anguish as the lightning bolt hit his son and blasted his wife away.


    Luckily, his wife was a martial expert and managed to protect her vitals as the lightning bolt struck but was not powerful enough to protect her son as well. The Count caught his wife before she hit the ground and was relieved she was alright.


    The baby boy was a different matter. The soul of the body was disintegrated and replaced with a more powerful soul. The Count did not see that the azure lightning bolt contained the soul of one of the Nine Thunder Beasts, spirit beasts that ascended to immortality and guarded the Mortal Realm from the six immortal realms.


    The soul was so strong that it nearly destroyed the body it acquired. The spirit beast was once Malverok, the Seventh Thunder Beast, and guardian of the Mortal Realm. His form was that of a jaguar ten times its natural size with three tails, azure colored eyes, and a fang-shaped horn the color of silver. Despite being the most average in terms of strength, Malverok had the greatest defensive capabilities and was the most dangerous of the Nine Thunder Beasts.


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    Malverok was stunned as he did not know what happened. One minute he was devouring a devil that tried to escape immortals while heading to the Mortal Realm. Now he was stuck in the body of a mortal, a baby no less. His last vision before dying was fifty spears of darkness thrown at him as he ripped the spine of the devil with his jaws.


    He roared with rage upon his revelation, but his new form only wailed. Malverok''s soul also changed the baby boy''s body as his soul was too strong. The boy''s raven black hair now had streaks of azure while the boy''s light brown eyes turned the color of frost. If one looked closely, lightning crackled on the edges of his pupils.


    A portion of Malverok''s powers were still with him but he could not use them. He tried moving but the anatomy of a Two Leg was foreign to him. The only movement he could manage was wiggling. It truly was a fall from grace.


    "Duren!" Count Marus screamed as he ran to his son. His pace slowed as he saw the changes in the boy and wondered what transpired.


    "My baby!" his wife screamed, worrying only for his safety and not the changes. She cried as she hugged him close and tried to stop his crying.


    "Could it be?" the Count realized. "DId he gain the powers of an immortal? If he trained in martial arts, he would have an edge above all others!"


    "Who cares about that!" his wife snapped as the gold and black blood soaked their clothes. Malverok, now Duren, felt the qi from the blood rain and stared enviously at the heavens. The other Thunder Beasts would replace him and his killers would mutilate his body for materials. He trembled in anger and shame.


    "We need to get out of this gods forsaken place," the Countess screamed and ran toward the road. A golden carriage and two pure white horses were waiting by the road, a butler frowning in alarm at the sight of Duren.


    "My lady?" Gustav asked. "Were you not watching the night sky tonight? Where is the Lord Count?"


    "He will be coming shortly," Lily shouted while looking at her husband who was lost in his thoughts.


    Shaking his head, Count Marus realized his wife was leaving and took one last look at the night sky. He did not know if his son was blessed or not but the heavens let his boy live. That was enough for now.

 Chapter 2: House Maltos

    Wow! My story got approved and people like it. As it is summer I will try to write and release chapters quickly. As you know the MC: Duren (formerly Malverok) was not human before so human emotions will be strange. Expect an MC struggling to survive as a human. This chapter will contain background info to provide a richer story experience so it will be longer than the previous chapter maybe. If you wanted action right away: how is that a novel? :-TsavKAnz-: Ha ha. Without further ado, enjoy my next chapter.


    Chapter 2: House Maltos


    Seven years passed as the Thousand Year War ended.


    Qi-rich blood no longer rained from the sky and qi cultivation became as slow as it should be. Rumors spread among the human nations that the Heavenly Realm won and that the devils fled. Others who attained immortality decided to leave the Mortal Realm as it was now safe.


    Duren was a son of Marus of the House Maltos. Count Marus was a Count of the small nation known as Kaid. Kaid was located in between two major nations in the largest continent of eight known as Avalent. The nation to the west was the Kingdom of Morane, a nation rich with people who use qi to perform magic. It was a kingdom full of plains, rivers, and lakes. Ruled by King Edard, many who had an affinity for qi (mana and qi are both energies) and wanted to perform magic went to Morane.


    (Authors note: I did say that I use wuxia terms but this is my own take on it. This is my own original after all.)


    The nation to the east was the Empire of Galza, the largest nation in the continent and famous for many qi cultivators pursuing martial arts. Many spirit beasts could be found in Galza and could be tamed to become a Spirit Guardian and serve and protect its master. Ruled by Emperor Weizeit, it was a nation striving to conquer other lands and many potential immortals lived there.


    All three nations were in an alliance of mutual survival as other continents wanted to conquer land in Alvalent for its geographical location as the center continent connecting to all the other continents and a major trading center for merchants.


    Kaid occupied the southern most region of the Alvalent continent closest to four of the remaining seven continents. The Count was a merchant first and martial artist second. When the nation of Kaid was established by the ancestors of House Maltos, their family had reached a level of prosperity rivaling those of kings and emperors ruling nations ten times their size.


    Many schools of martial arts established themselves in Kaid as Kaid never had a war with the Kingdom of Morane and the Empire of Galza before the alliance. A few of the best magic academies were also established and the nation was mercantilism heaven to traders everywhere. The land was also rich with qi as the Thousand Year War raged above its land before it ended as the Gate of Immortals was located somewhere in the land. Many Immortals spend decades, centuries, and even millennia to reach immortality and not find the Gate and its Keeper. As many Immortals traveld all over Kaid, it was only natural Galza and Morane never waged war for Kaid''s rich lands. There were also regions where spirit beasts gathered and even immortals never strayed too deep in their territories.


    (Author''s note: Hope that''s enough background and map visualization for you. Kaid is a land where one wrong move and [th_0tive.gif])


    (Back to the story. Sorry if this confused some people)


    -----Duren------


    Seven years as a human cub was too peaceful for Malverok.


    He had gotten used to the name Duren but his body was too weak for him. He once had brilliant white jaguar fur that shattered steel swords on impact. Now even splinters made him bleed.


    Then came human "manners." He had to bathe every day, smile to the weak, care for others besides himself, and do other human etiquettes as a son of a human Count. He really wanted to rip them all to shreds but his new form could only handle very little of his powers.


    As he grew up, he cultivated his qi using ancient Yin cultivation techniques from his former life. It was different for him as the spirit roots of a human were different from a spirit beast. From birth, it took him six years to finally manifest qi outside of his body to create ice. His human mother said he had the aptitude to be an ice magus, but he loved martial arts as it involved his body. Everyday was torture as he couldn''t use the thunder and lightning techniques he used as Malverok.


    Duren was sitting cross-legged in his room cultivating his qi when his father walked in. Count Marus shivered as he could feel the cold Yin energy emanate from his son. Eight years old and a true prodigy thanks to that mysterious azure lightning. Count Marus couldn''t figure out why his son chose to hide his abilities and asked his parents not to say anything to others.


    "Duren, it is time. Prepare yourself for meeting with the noble houses," he said.


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    "Why should I go father? Tell my little brother and sister to go," Duren waved.


    "They are five years old. You are almost at the age to attend a martial arts school at age nine," the Count said. "You have no aspirations to be a Count but you are my son and have to at least act like a noble in official meetings. If you agree I will give you access to the Treasury to look for some qi techniques."


    Duren scowled as his father left the room. He didn''t want to go but he would be a fool to say no to qi techniques. He might find a lightning or thunder qi technique and feel closer to accepting his new form. Thunder and lightning was his life in his previous life of three thousand years as an Immortal. He was one of the Nine Thunder Beasts. He WAS powerful. He WAS the KING of predators.


    He changed into a crimson coat adorned with sapphires and headed for the throne room. Various maids and butlers all bowed as he walked past him. Duren carried an aura of majesty that rivaled a king and paused as he noticed an entourage near the door to the throne room.


    "If it isn''t the eldest son of a COUNT," a boy wearing ridiculously bright silver armor laughed as Duren approached the door. "Tell me LITTLE lord, are the banquets in this land only for peasants? In my father''s land in Galza, my room alone is the size of your little palace."


    The noble from Galza and his knights all laughed. Malverok would have leapt at the bow and ripped off the noble''s arm with his teeth before tearing into his back to rip the spine. Duren clenched his jaws and attempted to ignore him.


    "Hold it right there!" a knight of the Galza noble said and barred the door to his father''s throne room where all the other nobles and guests were waiting. "Didn''t you hear the young master''s words? Answer them!"


    Duren smiled and said, "I can''t hurt a guest but I can hurt a low knight. I must thank you stupid human. On you, I will vent my rage."


    The knight howled in pain as Duren grabbed the knight''s left wrist. He twisted the knight''s wrist outward, causing the knight to turn his back on Duren. Duren let out a malicious laugh as he focused his qi into his right hand and claws of ice appeared over his human fingers. He laughed as he ran his claws over the knight''s throat and grinned as he watched the knight choke on his blood.


    The Galza noble felt a shiver down his spine as he saw the blood and belched his breakfast on the floor. Duren only laughed at the "mighty" noble and flexed his arms as he faced the other knights. he noble''s face turned Gaunt and he ordered the knights to kill Duren.


    "YES! Fight me little humans!" Duren laughed as the knights approached. "Let me reminiscence my old memories as predator feasting on you pathetic trash. Let me feel your blood in hands and see the fear in your eyes as you realize your own end. Fight me!"


    The Count and the nobles inside the throne room stopped their idle chatter as they heard screams outside the throne room. The Count nodded to one of his servants who ushered toward the door. As the servant left the door, the Count and his guests heard the servant shriek in fear and rush back inside, slamming the oaken doors behind him as he grabbed the handles of gold.


    "M, my Lord," the servant bowed on one knee. "Young master Duren is currently in, a, um....meeting with another noble."


    "You dare mock ME and my family in OUR land!" they all heard and knew it was Duren. "This is the land of the House Maltos! No one can save you. No one will care if you scream here. No one can do nothing to me if you DIE here!"


    "MERCY! MERCY! I was wrong. I was wrong," the noble whimpered.


    An eerie silence followed an ear-piercing cry and the Count sighed and shook his head. His son did act like a noble but went a little too far. He was right though. The noble would have been punished by the Count if he heard the noble''s arrogant words.


    "P, pre, presenting Duren of the House Maltos!" the servant said shakily as Duren walked into the throne room. Before the door closed behind him, the COunt and his guests could see bodies of knights on the floor not moving and the body of a shiny silver knight with his head missing.


    "You took your time getting here son," the Count laughed as his son sat to his right. His wife hurriedly gave orders to the servants and maids. Apparently this was not the first time this happened and the guests felt nervous for their lives.


    "Now that my son is here," the Count began. "We can begin. I apologize for the slight disturbance outside the doors. We take respect toward our families very seriously here in Kaid."


    Duren only watched half-heartedly as his father began his duties as a Count. He sighed as he flexed his right hand, remembering the ice claws on his hand. If only it was lightning, it would have been a lot more gratifying.

 Chapter 3: Divine Tattoos

    Hello again. Chapter 2 had a nice ending huh? I decided to release another chapter today as a trail of thought appeared in my head. Can''t let it waiver or writer''s block. Although magic was introduced, the MC will be doing martial arts. You can bet magic and martial arts will have conflicts with each other but that is another time away. You all saw his anguish as a human. Now we delve deeper into character progression. The whole school of martial arts will start at around chapter 7? I plan to write a more solid foundation of the MC so it might take that long. Side note: I listed a tragedy tag so feel free to speculate. Romance tag...I dunno when but it might show. Just put any tag I thought might appear besides the ones I planned.  Man I didn''t expect it to be this long. Would have split it but then ending will tell you why I didn''t. Hope you enjoy.


    Chapter 3: Divine Tattoo


    "You certainly know how to make an entrance son," the Count laughed late at night after the noble meeting was over. "I bet you can''t wait to get into the Treasury. Come."


    "Yes father," Duren grinned, his hopes soaring.


    The duo walked down three halls and past sixty royal guards, all of them dressed in white armor with the royal emblem of a Two-Headed Violet dragon with one of two wings half cut and full of holes. Legend had it that their ancestor tamed a spirit beast and became a Spirit Guardian. As tribute, the ancestor made his Spirit Guardian the royal emblem when he founded Kaid.


    Supposedly they had relatives from the royal family of Morane that recognized their ancestor as a Count of a new nation but that was hundreds of years ago and the Morane royal family had been destroyed and replaced countless times from civil war and rebellions until two hundred years ago.


    "Now Duren," his father started. "I don''t know what qi techniques you want but I must warn you about one thing. Two different types of qi inside one body will destroy the body. Mana and qi are similar but mana is omniscient and allows all types of magic. Heresy I say. Don''t follow your mother and be a mage. I already have one ice queen. I don''t want a son who already has indifference to some moral behaviors. I don''t need that indifference personified."


    "You mean there are some qi techniques I can''t learn?" Duren asked shocked, he didn''t know the human body could be so weak.


    "Of course. We are only human. Spirit beast constitutions are different," the Count continued, not noticing the shock of his son. "Spirit beasts have qi that are similar to mana and can practice all kinds of qi technique but for their physical bodies. Spirit Guardians are the exception as they can only use the qi techniques that have the same elemental attunement as their master. Take you for instance. For now you can use ice cultivation and can only bind spirit beasts with ice. They can use later elements as you progress. The greatest qi techniques involve an element while others are just physical so they don''t have restrictions. Enough of this. You came for the scrolls so let''s get in."


    Duren took a moment to absorb what his father said. He didn''t expect humans to have restrictions on qi techniques. Surely there must be a way to circumvent that weakness. Hope shined in his eyes and he entered the Treasury. Piles of gold and silver coins and jewelry were piled high in the first room of the Treasury. He could literally swim in money as the first room had coins three feet deep until the door which was atop four stairs. The Count looked amused as his son tried walking his way to the next room by force, coins flying as he struggled with each step.


    "This human family is really rich," Duren muttered as he finally reached the door. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and opened the next door. Inside more gold and silver were found but in piles around various weapons and artifacts. Duren was surprised as he picked up a goblet and felt qi from it.


    "Surprised?" Marus laughed. "That there boy is a goblet that had qi blood rain on it during the Thousand Year War. Given enough exposure, qi can remain in an object for a long time. Go ahead and absorb qi from various objects, This room only contains junk with qi. What looks like an artifact is just a ruse to keep robbers occupied should they enter. We''re rich and we need to have safeguards to ensure it stays that way."


    Duren nodded and absorbed qi from objects that had Yin energy. Those who practiced with qi  had levels just as magus have levels. For a magus to reach immortality or the level of Deity, there was three tiers. The tiers for magus where novice magus, warlock, and arch magus. Qi cultivators had four tiers to follow, each containing nine ranks. They were spirit shadow, spirit knight, spirit lord, and spirit ancestor. This was because magic could destroy buildings and mountains a lot easier and even a novice could blow up a building by accident.


    Duren had reached a bottleneck in spirit shadow rank seven by the time he reached the next door. He was not at genius level at eight years to be a rank seven spirit shadow but he was a lot better than average kids his age. In a world full of qi and magic, strength meant power and also enemies. Being better than average was better than being a genius as being a genius could get you killed out of fear or jealousy.


    "This next room will have weapons and weapon manuals. It is best to start at a young age while the body is still growing. The next room has what you want," his father said silently, wondering what weapon style his son would pick.


    Duren cared little for human weapons before as a Thunder Beast but having to waste qi to make claws of ice made him change his opinion. He looked around and saw various swords, spears, and shields. There were some very powerful weapons here and some even had qi inside. He rubbed his hands and began browsing. He wanted a weapon that could rip his enemies to shreds like his Spirit Beast claws did so long ago. He didn''t have enough control with the Two-Leg body he now used and couldn''t use martial arts technique which required finesse and intricacy.


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    A two-handed weapon would suit his taste. Two-handed weapons had higher durability and massive blows. He skipped the war hammers as he did not want a blunt weapon. He wanted to rip his enemies insides and watch their blood spray. He wanted to cut off limbs if he was outnumbered. He skipped the lances and spears as they were more suited to piercing and not slashing techniques.


    He stopped in front of one two-handed sword that seemed to emanate an evil qi. His eyes widened as he realized it was qi of the destruction element. How did a qi of destruction end up in a weapon? It was one of the four ancient qi (to humans anyway) and the element he wanted to learn as he mastered lightning while he was Malverok.


    "Ah this two-handed sword was one of two our ancestor wielded when he founded our House and Kaid," His father laughed. "Our ancestor had five weapons and this particular one was one he feared to use. It has the ancient element of destruction qi. It is quite good. The handle is made from the leather of a black lion spirit beast and the gold handle from a primordial golem. The blade itself is made from the very bones of the two-headed dragon that is our royal family emblem. The qi originated from the dragon and this sword was made with another pair when the dragon died. Dragon Spirit Beast bones are indestructible and ever sharp so the fact that this blade was made is another proof that our ancestor was magnificent in his own right. The two-handed sword can be adjusted to any size at will so you can also have it as a dagger. As a child, a shortsword  is a two handed sword to you anyway."


    Duren grinned and his father''s words were true as the greatsword shrunk to that of an adult shortsword. His father emptied a short sword sheath of another weapon and Duren used it as the sheathe of his own. He named his greatsword Blightfang and was satisfied. Qi cultivation and a weapon. A great haul. His father also grabbed three two-handed sword manuals. They were the Imperial Executioner style, Frost Chaser style, and his ancestor''s own Twin- Dragon fang style. Supposedly his ancestor created the sword style as he made the Blightfang.


    "Before you head in the room and get what you wanted most, I must warn you," his father began, his tone very serious. "If you choose to cultivate a different qi element technique besides Yin of ice and the elements that go along with it: you will die. The only way is to get a divine tattoo for every element not aligned well with ice. One of them will be for the destruction qi in that greatsword."


    "Divine tattoos?" Duren asked, curious. "I never heard of those before. What are they?"


    "They are the most closely guarded secrets of any qi cultivist. Just one divine tattoo of any type is worth millions of gold," his father answered, his voice grave. "They appear on your body after certain rituals and many kill to have their hands on the rituals. What elements are you interested in learning?"


    "Fire, earth, and thunder," Duren answered automatically. "Fire as it is the element I am weak against. I picked earth for the defense, and thunder as it makes me feel alive."


    "You can''t learn fire qi techniques as it requires Yang cultivation," his father sighed. "You can''t learn earth as it is the opposite of thunder or lightning. I do have a few divine tattoo rituals for lighting so you can learn that. That will be two divine tattoos."


    "I want three," Duren said.


    "Don''t be arrogant boy!" his father shouted. "Most consider it a miracle to survive one divine tattoo or manifest one. To attain two more is suicide."


    "I need power to become an immortal. Having four different qi element techniques will give me an advantage against those geniuses who can already use three without a divine tattoo," Duren argued.


    "Then what elements are they?" his father asked.


    "I want divine tattoos of lightning, wind, and destruction," Duren answered.


    "Wind I understand as many profound qi techniques are of wind and easily augment physical techniques. The destruction element is the most dangerous. I suppose you picked it to control the qi in your new weapon," Count Marus pondered aloud. "Very well. Get the techniques you want and than we will do the Divine Ritual for those tattoos. Your mother will kill me for this, but how can I stop my boy from being a man and wanting power. Hahaha. Show those geniuses how powerful the House Maltos is in the future son. I''ll need time to gather the materials for the ritual. Take your time. In a week, the ritual will commence."


    Duren grinned. His father affirmed his hopes after all. He can do thunder and lightning qi techniques and continue his Yin cultivation. He began browsing. For wind techniques: he picked the Phantom Blast, Void Step, and Wind Walker manuals. For thunder, he struggled to find techniques that a beast would do. He picked Thunder Lion''s  Claw and Lightning Dragon''s Roar. For the destruction qi techniques, he found one that was also created by his ancestor. The name was Sundering Eclipse of the Destroyer. This manual actually comprised of seven techniques.


    Laughing at his ridiculous bounty, Duren left the Treasury (after struggling to walk through the first room of coins again) and decided to cultivate his Yin qi again and break the bottleneck to the next rank. Hopefully it will be enough to survive the rituals his human father talked about. His human potential didn''t seem that bad and a part of him accepted the new change.

 Chapter 4: Price for Power

    Over 500 views? Wow! Thanks guys.  Anyways, I am bad with naming styles and stuff and use what sounds cool to me. In this chapter the MC undergoes both a psychological and physical change. This chapter might seem dark so be warned. Is this the last chapter of the day? Dunno. Trails of thought enter my head and I get tired of waiting for new chapter releases as I am the one writing it. Haha. Big thanks to those who like my story and I will try to write to your expectations. Hopefully my imagination is big enough. This chapter has the whole ritual vibe to it and really was exciting to write. Enjoy.


    Chapter 4: Price for Power


    "You are doing WHAT!?" Lily Maltos screamed as she barged into the throne room. Count Marus''s face turns gaunt and hurriedly ordered his servants to prepare the ritual.


    "Have you lost your mind! He is only EIGHT! In the name of the Realms, what are you thinking allowing our son to do it? Our EIGHT year old son undergoing not one but THREE divine tattoos!" Lily roared.


    "D, Dear calm down," Marus laughed nervously. "The boy was blessed with azure lightning. He can survive this. I would definitely not let our son do this if I didn''t have the preparations necessary for his survival."


    "At what cost! People pay a price for that kind of power! Even if you and our son don''t want him to be an ice magus, he shouldn''t be doing this! What need does he have for power? He is our SON. A son of the wealthiest family and most feared and respected nation in the land! You got to him right now and tell him this farce is over!" Lily ordered. "And what blessing? Azure lightning hitting our son is a blessing? If the Thousand Year War didn''t end I would be dragging you out right now and see you get this blessing!"


    "Very funny dear," the Count laughed. "Anyway the boy is on the bottleneck of the seventh rank of Spirit Shadow. He is not a genius and can only do ice element qi techniques besides the physical techniques. He can lift a man three times his size and run a mile in less than three minutes. He is not a genius. People might bully him in the academy as they will think he is nothing but a Count''s son with no power behind him. He is not all-powerful. He wanted this. I never asked him to undergo the ritual."


    The Count sighed with relief as his wife stormed out of the throne room. He might be sleeping in his twin children''s room for the next few nights. He felt pity for his eldest son. If his wife was outraged at him this much, Duren is definitely going to suffer a lot worse.


    ---a week later----


    "Finally!" Duren shouted with glee as he opened his eyes. "I reached eighth rank Spirit Shadow. Inside his dantian, a small globe of ice had appeared. Upon the eighth rank, his dantian doubled in size and started to have wisps of ice emanate from the globe. It really took a lot of Yin cultivation to break the bottle neck. He experimented with his qi and made an ice claw. Before he only had claws of ice on his fingers. Now he could make an ice claw all the way to half his forearm.


    He couldn''t practice with the qi elemental techniques of thunder, wind, and destruction until he did the ritual, He had studied the three sword manuals he had received from his father. The Twin-Dragon Fang style was the most powerful, but he did not have the qi to even experiment the style. The Imperial Executioner style was also out of his league as his physical body wasn''t strong enough.


    As for the Frost Chaser style, he had succeeded in the first stage. The first stage required the user to cover his body in a layer of Yin energy to augment his physical body. He had five times the strength and speed when he used the first stage and could destroy a boulder. For his age, it was pretty impressive.


    "Young master," Gustav said as he bowed upon entry. "The Count has summoned you. The time for the Divine Ritual has come."


    Duren gulped and nodded as he followed the butler.


    "What do you know of the ritual Gustav?" Duren asked as they walked.


    "I only know the ritual your father took. Your father had a natural affinity for fire and earth qi techniques. Truly a prodigy if he became a magus," Gustav sighed with admiration. "The Divine Ritual your father did was to combine his two qi into one and become the first magma qi martial expert in the land. Your father underwent the Divine Ritual at Spirit Knight rank five and nearly lost his life. Are you sure you want to do this young master?"


    "I am willing to pay the price," Duren said with emotion. He desperately wanted to use thunder qi techniques. Thunder magic be damned. It didn''t use his real body so being a magus was beneath him. He wanted to rip his enemies apart. Not stand back and watch them disintegrate. Where was the fun in that?


    Gustav opened the door and the duo entered a ritual chamber the size of a small gymnasium. Rows and rows of tables and chairs lined the walls of the chamber as knights sat with grim expressions, each of them holding the hilts of their swords and shifting their shields nervously.


    In the center of the back of the gymnasium, his parents and twin little brother and sister were watching. Little Drax and Dylana had both turned six two days ago and were allowed to witness the Divine Ritual. They waved excitedly upon seeing their elder brother but were reprimanded by their mother. Lily was still furious and would not calm down during the last few days.


    Duren then centered his attention to the center of the gymnasium. A large circle twenty feet long in diameter with a star outlined with magic runes seemed to emanate pure energy. Behind each point of the star that touched the circle''s edge, five people in priestly garbs of white sat cross-legged on the floor, each person in the back putting both hands behind both shoulders on the person in front of them with the foremost priest in the front having his hands make a circle on his lap with the thumbs pointing to the ceiling.


    "You have arrived," Count Marus said grimly. "Today is the day of the Divine Ritual. You cannot stop until all three divine tattoos of wind, thunder, and destruction appear. No matter the pain, endure. Steel your heart and your mind. Do not waiver. If you fail, you will become a monster and the knights here will try to slay you before you leave the ritual circle or die trying. Do not make me and Lily personally end your life in front of the twins. Endure Duren. Endure."


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    Hearing his human father say that brought shivers to Duren. Never before had his father spoke with such seriousness. Was this human ritual that dangerous? He had the soul of one of the Nine Thunder Beasts. He breathed deeply, clenched his fist, and sat, cross-legged, in the cent of the star.


    Gustav secretly made a prayer to the heavens. He had seen the Count suffer and hoped the son would survive as the Count did. He knew the young master was different since the azure lightning hit him and developed an aura of a king.


    "You two stay quiet and don''t move," the queen ordered to her children as she covered their body from the beck down with earth magic. She also did the same to herself as she knew she couldn''t do nothing if her son was in pain. The twins nodded, scared by the tone of voice in their sweet mother.


    "Begin the Divine Ritual! Begin the Five Point Star Array! Do not mind the boy''s screams and finish to the end!" the Count roared and sat down.


    The twenty five priests started gathering their qi and from the back to the front, the qi spread until it reached the circle.


    "AUGHHHH" Duren screamed with pain as the massive amount of qi reached the circle and extended three feet in the air. Slowly, three spheres of qi appeared in a triangle above Duren.


    "The journey to enlightenment begins with wind. Wind is the element we breathe," the priests chanted. "The qi of wind allows us to move as the wind. To shape our breathe, to fly in the sky as birds do."


    A green sphere the color of an emerald slowly descended onto the lower left back of Duren. Duren clenched his fists so hard the nails pierced his skin as the sphere of qi touched his skin and spread. An emerald tattoo of a phoenix appeared on his back and the Count sighed with relief as the first divine tattoo succeeded. He knew it would as it was one of the four basic element qi of fire, water, wind, and earth. The next two would determine his son''s life.


    "Thunder and lightning represent the power of the sky and the heavens!" the priests chanted in unison. "Thunder represents the power of the sky. Lightning bestows on us the power to move blast our enemies and have our enemies bow to us in fear. In a flash life is created, so too, is it ended. Like a wolf of a pack, lightning is not alone. Lightning is a storm and all bear witness to its divine judgment!"


    A sphere of qi the color of gold slowly descended on the lower right region of Duren. As it touched his back, Duren coughed blood and tears flowed down his face. He screamed in anguish and a divine tattoo of a golden wolf appeared on his back. The divine tattoo of the phoenix and wolf both changed shape to face each other in a circle, leaving a large region empty toward his upper back.


    "He did it. He really got a second tattoo. Our ancestors must be watching us," the Count laughed with glee. He stopped laughing as his wife glared at him and remembered about the third divine tattoo. The last divine tattoo was different and more dangerous than his own ritual as it was one of the ancient qi elements.


    "And so the journey ends with destruction. Life is not created without destruction. Destruction signifies the end of One and the beginning of Another. Immortality is not absolute. Even immortals die," the priests chanted, their pitches increased by an octave. "Destruction is power. Power rules this world. Destruction is ancient and lies in the hearts of all beings. Destruction is HERE!"


    The last globe of qi glowed a violet color and radiated danger. The Count and his knights were startled at the amount of qi pressure the orb emanated.


    "Duren!" Lily screamed as the globe descended and time seemed to stand still as all eyes in the audience watched it touch Duren''s back.


    Duren screamed an inhumane roar as the qi slowly spread into his back. scratches appeared all over his arms and legs and blood burst into the sky. The pain was so great that Duren''s scream could no longer be heard. His body, unable to take the ancient qi, suffered a backlash that shocked everyone: Duren''s left arm from above the left elbow down blew up in pieces of flesh, bone, and blood.


    The Countess screamed and fainted on sight. The two twins screamed with fear and muttered repeatedly while closing their eyes. They could not cover their ears as their mother encased their body with earth and heard the cries of shock and fear from the knights. The Count clenched his teeth and wanted to turn away. He didn''t as he made this decision and had to see it to the end.


    Duren fainted from the shock as the last of the qi entered his body. An image of a violet two-headed dragon appeared on his back. The Divine Ritual was a success and the Count immediately ordered his servants to attend to his wife as he rushed to his son.


    "Gustav, you have attended me when I fainted from the ritual. How is he?" Marus asked loudly as Gustav also entered the circle.


    "He will live my Lord but he requires immediate attendance. His left arm is gone but we do have magus experienced with prosthetics. He can receive an arm from primordial golem materials. He can use qi in his new left arm this way, but I am afraid he will remain unconscious for the next few days. He won''t even feel the pain of the prosthetic being attached to what is left of his left arm.


    The Count nodded and let Gustav and his physicians rush out the ritual chamber. His son succeeded but he lost his arm. No arm can replace the original and he regretted allowing a three divine tattoo ritual. He stopped as he pondered what he heard before his son''s arm blew up. How did his son scream an inhumane roar like a Spirit Beast? He shook his head as he stared at the blood on the floor.


    "It was too high a price," the Count said shakily. Too high."

 Chapter 5: Gain and Loss

    (Author: Well Duren sure paid a price. This chapter will go into detail of how the Divine Ritual changed the MC. If you want an OP main character, its not here. That''s all I can reveal. When I start the Martial Arts School Arc at around Chapter 7 (depending on trail of thought)...well you can read it than. Haha sorry for the tease. Enjoy my last release for the day. Was going to post it tomorrow but a lot of people commented on the chapter and I felt obliged to give it today. Enjoy.)


    Chapter 5: Gain and Loss


    Five months passed after the Divine Ritual. Over the course of the five days, his prosthetic arm was implanted. The arm was made of materials of a primordial golem. Primordial golems could adjust themselves in size in accordance to whoever controlled the golem. As Duren aged in the future, his golem arm will adjust itself.


    But the arm was not made of flesh and bone. There were limitations. The hand of the golem could only open and close  to a fist. He could not do any intricate motions like flex his fingers, flick people off, and could not use qi techniques . Duren would only be able to enhance his new arm with qi. He could not do the Thunder Lion''s Claw technique with his left hand if he wanted to. He had to change his main hand into his left as he could not hold his new two-handed sword with both hands unless he just wanted it the size of a regular sword or a dagger.


    Then came the psychological impact of losing an arm. Duren would break down mentally for the first few weeks whenever he found out a new activity he could not do with his prosthetic arm. He would howl in grief and anger and break anything in sight until he fainted from the shock. Knights would stand guard near the door and only his father and mother were allowed in to stop Duren from hurting himself.


    The loss of his arm brought back all the pain and grief Duren kept inside from dying once and being stuck in a new body. The loss of his arm was his breaking point. The only benefit he received was gaining access to wind, thunder, and destruction qi and being able to use his new techniques with the rest of his body.


    Duren spent the last few months in rehab to adjust to being ambidextrous enough to be as good with his left hand as he was with his right. He had the strength of a golem with his left arm and could wield Blightfang at the size of a greatsword to his eight year old body. His right hand would use the qi techniques.


    The concentrated qi from the ritual allowed Duren to break through to the ninth rank of Spirit Shadow, but he had not been able to use half the qi he was able to use before the ritual. His dantian was shaken from the backlash  it seemed as if a barrier surrounded his qi energy. At the ninth rank, his globe of ice qi emanated more powerful wisps of ice than before, but it could not break through the barrier completely.


    His father and various experts on the Divine Ritual said that it was a result of preserving his life that his dantian manifested a barrier to contain most of his qi.


    "I am broken," Duren said, gazing at the heavens. "I was become more powerful than geniuses but instead I am even weaker than average humans."


    Duren tried concentrating qi into his left and right hand. A claw of ice appeared on the fingers of his right hand bit did not extend to his forearm like before. His left hand only felt more powerful but the Yin energy did not emit an ice signatures and appeared as physical qi energy. He tried moving one of his fingers but none of them moved. He tried moving two and three later but they remained immobile. His fingers only moved if he wanted to open and close his hand.


    "WHY!" Duren roared to the heavens. "First you strike me down to the Mortal Realm and now you royally screw me over by giving me this gods forsaken backlash! What did I do to deserve this! Tell me! TELL ME!!!"


    His father and mother could hear Duren from their room as Duren screamed from the balcony of his bedroom almost adjacently below their own balcony. They could feel his pain in their heart and it wounded them. Gustav remained outside the bedroom while the knights barred him from access. They shifted nervously as their charge kept screaming in defiance.


    Another month passed and merchants and nobles were finally allowed access into the palace to do trade and resolve national affairs. Duren never showed up to any of the meetings and remained in self-isolation, cultivating his qi and practicing the qi techniques he gained. It was his only consolation for his pain.


    Nobles and merchants found out what transpired by bribing knights or overhearing gossip from the servants and news of the Divine Ritual spread. Most martial experts would have flocked to the palace upon hearing of the legendary Divine Rituals if it was not for the news of the backlash.


    The prince was once the pride of the family and was now useless in the public eyes. Many nobles who planned to gain Duren''s favor decided to wait for the twins to grow older. Most of the famous magic academies and martial schools heard of the backlash and decided to deny applications for entrance for Duren by feigning over-capacity..


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    The twins were the only ones who thought that the new state Duren was in was an improvement. Before the ritual, Duren did not care at all about his siblings and had minimal interactions with them. Since the incident, he started acting differently with them if they asked him to help them use qi. They would happily sit in front of him and learn more about qi and see his eyes moisten occasionally as he tried to demonstrate a qi technique. To Drax and Dylana, the backlash gave them an elder brother who loved them.


    A royal order had also passed not to mention the Divine Ritual around Duren. The backlash had brought out the bestial instincts of his former life and he attacked any offenders like an animal and repeatedly beat them until they died or he was stopped. Repairs on doors, walls, and the floor had to be made whenever he went berserk.


    Duren was even given the nickname of the Golem Fiend for his actions. He could crush steel and punch holes through walls with his new arm. His bestial attacks made him seem like a monster as he would tear limbs or create claws of ice and rip open his offenders. Water mages were employed to get rid of the blood and scented candles were bought in bulk to get rid of the smell of blood and death. Rumors even spread that he fed on the blood and flesh of his victims.


    Duren gained and lost some aspects of his humanity and only his position as the son of the Count prevented his execution for his crimes. Assassins were sent by wronged families, but they were also killed by Duren. Duren would even beat the assassins and only killed them when he was told who hired them. Duren would sneak out of the palace and slaughter those who hired the assassins.


    After two weeks passed would he stop and manage to control his rage. By then, nine whole months had passed. He had broken through to Spirit Knight rank one after all the killing and forced concentration of qi by the barrier. Upon reaching Spirit Knight was the barrier broken.


    He was as strong as the average martial artist now but not above them. No matter what he did, he could only use qi to enforce his left arm. He had to learn how to use hidden weapons to balance his lack of power now if he had to fight people stronger than him. Instead of overpowering his opponents as he did as Malverok, he had to outwit and out strategize his enemies as Duren.


    Duren had found a dimensional storage bag, a bag used by all magus and martial experts to store items, and would store various herbs and materials he found. He asked his parents to buy various materials from spirit beasts and stored them in his bag. He also bought seven identical daggers from a black market merchant which would be used as flying daggers. He would be able to manipulate them using qi from his left hand as he realized he could use the daggers as an extension from his arm. His golem arm was hollow and he asked Gustav to modify his primordial golem arm to open and close on the forearm and used it as a storage for the daggers.


    He could only control one dagger within three feet of his body which was useless against experts but could work against those weaker than him like Spirit Shadows. He had a new path now. He would use materials from spirit beast and herbs for alchemy and sell potions. He might not become the most powerful but he could train himself to be an immortal and not worry for his life. Alchemists were rare and protected like international treasures. Power was not the only way to survive. Being smart was another path. Unorthodox to the martial world, but even average talent could become immortal.


    "Alchemy," Duren smiled upon his revelation. "This is my new path. Screw heaven''s fate for me. I will be an immortal. I will find out who killed me and get my revenge. Let the whole world scorn and mock my new state. They will all beg to have my potions. They will bow. They won''t have a choice."


    (Author''s note: First time putting a note in the end of a chapter. This will be the only time. I will only post notes in the beginning of the chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and realized what it was like for those who do have prosthetics. I appreciate you guys for reading my story. It means a lot to me to write my own version of a wuxia/magic mix  novel. I appreciate any feedbacks and will work hard to close any loose ends you might feel unless I intentionally left it.)


    <hr />


    PS: the dialogue picks up after this chapter as well as the action. Like I stated before, this arc was mainly to make a foundation for the character.

 Chapter 6: Alchemy and Departure

    (Author: Hello. For those wondering about Spirit Guardians, simply put, they are spirit beasts that are tamed and bound to your soul and call you master. They will be mentioned in the next chapter when the martial school arc starts and in the following two chapters....the hero might get one as required by the martial school he wants to attend. Just what it is will be revealed than. The first chapters have finally revealed the path of the hero. Hope you enjoy this chapter.)


    Chapter 6: Alchemy and Departure


    When Duren told his parents, they were not pleased but at least their son chose to be an alchemist. They immediately summoned Gustav and had him teach Duren alchemy. Duren began to wonder just who was Gustav as alchemists were rare and could be serving in more powerful nations.


    "Alchemy is not an easy path young master," Gustav began as they sat down in the herbal gardens. "Alchemy requires a man''s qi to extract the essence of the materials he chooses. An alchemist must than put those essences in a special cauldron specifically made to withstand qi. Your divine tattoos might help you in battle, but only your natural qi can be used in alchemy."


    "Why is that Gustav?" Duren asked. "Doesn''t the divine tattoos give me the abilities to use wind, thunder, and destruction type qi?"


    "Alchemy deals with the essence and not the physical," Gustav sighed. "Think about it young master. When you observe your dantian, why is it only of ice? It is because ice is part of your soul. You were born with it and continue to become stronger with it. The divine tattoos on your back are merely catalysts that transform the essence of the qi into wind, thunder, and destruction type qi. In the future, the destruction type qi will actually merge with your ice qi as it is one of the ancient five qi and none know their limits. For now, we deal with what you can use and have you learn it before you leave in two months for the trials of the martial school your father selected. Worry not, there will be alchemists there who will help you grow as an alchemist. Now, let''s begin."


    Gustav took out a an ancient looking cauldron with dragons encircling the cauldron made of jade and put it on a wooden table. The pauldron was a foot high and almost two feet wide in diameter. Gustav also took out various herbs, claws, and horns from spirit beasts. Duren swallowed in anticipation. Gustav motioned for Duren to stand behind the cauldron.


    "Now as you can''t use ice qi in your left hand, it will not matter with alchemy. One hand is used to extract the essence while the other uses qi to enforce the cauldron and keep the essence and qi contained within. I have seen young master enforce his arm with qi so it should not be a problem," Gustav smiled. "Now close your eyes and pour your Yin qi into the herbs.  Use your qi to surround the herbs and pull at the herb with your qi."


    Duren''s eyes closed as he poured his qi around the herbs on the table. Some of the wood beneath the leaves froze and cracked as the qi concentrated around the herbs. Duren opened his eyes with surprise as he felt something inside the berbs and stared at Gustav.


    "That''s very good young master," Gustav praised. "All living things part of a living body contain essence. Now focus that qi essence into the cauldron. Use the qi in your left hand to harden the cauldron and make the contents swirl in a circular motion. Than proceed with the claws and horns. What you are making consists of snow lotus petals,  hundred year spring grass, armored panther claws, and horns of a rhino boar. The potion you are making is  weak paralysis potion that alchemists use to protect themselves. This one is more potent as it also prevents the victim from using mana or qi. The drawback is that more powerful people won''t be affected and you need to be within five feet of the target. Once you put all the essence into the pauldron, it will change color from white to jade. The more green it is, the better the effect depending on the materials used."


    Duren nodded fascinated about his discovery. As Malverok, he often paralyzed his victims with lightning and forced the comrades of the victim watch as he ate them alive. He was an animal than. A true predator kills as he eats. That was the law of the world to spirit beasts. The strong devour the weak and the weak obey and endure until they become strong.


    As Duren extracted the qi essence from the claws and horns, he found it took a lot more qi than when he extracted essence from the herbs. He realized it was because the herbs were alive while horns and claws no longer received qi from the main body they were attached too. The more qi essence in the material, the easier to extract.


    Duren spent the last month learning about alchemy from Gustav. When he asked about rankings from Gustav, he was denied and said that he would have to learn another way. Unless Duren was recognized for his skill by several accomplished alchemists, apprentice alchemists were not considered a part of their small society. Duren had an advantage as a son of the Count of Kaid and got achemist recipes from the Treasury, saving himself from some of the effort to make his own recipes for a time.


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    Duren also trained in his sword techniques on the last month before his departure. With his experience at using qi with his body as Malverok, he reached the first stage of all his qi techniques requiring his new elements. Duren also trained into the second stage of the Frost Chaser style and create small pillars of ice to surround himself when he pierced the ground with Blightfang. The Twin Dragon Fang style still seemed impossible but he managed to succeed the first stage of the Imperial Executioner style, which allowed him to use his qi to intimidate his opponents.


    "I am ready to leave father," Duren said.


    "Don''t go!" the twins cried as they hugged their brother. He had finally connected to them on a personal level and now he was leaving.


    "Train your qi well Drax. You be good to mother and learn how to control mana better Dylana," Duren said. A part of him accepted them as teaching them about qi made him forget the pain he suffered during the last few months.


    The twins nodded while trying to stop the tears going down their eyes. They sniffled loudly as their mother hugged them and led them away.


    "The martial school you are attending is the most prestigious in the Kingdom of Morane," the Count began. "Naturally the martial schools and magic academies are better here in Kaid but those upstarts have denied your application upon hearing about the incident. Worry not son. They will pay three times their former tax until you accept a formal apology from them. Study well in Morane son. My authority is not absolute so try not to lose your temper or go overboard. Your mother also told me that no girl is allowed to marry you unless she says so. Between you and me, I don''t care who you date unless it is marriage. However, the more beautiful and powerful the girl and her family, the better."


    "Yes father," Duren bowed. The Count appeared amused at Duren''s maturity at age nine and dismissed it as childhood ignorance. "As you are now nine, Gustav and I will present you with an interspacial ring. Gustav?"


    "Yes my lord," Gustav bowed and smiled at Duren. "Dimensional storage bags are different than interspacial rings. Whatever enters the bag does not age and you cannot enter it. There is also the hassle of trying to remember what you put into the bag in the first place. Interspacial rings are used by alchemists to grow their herbs. The interspacial ring we are giving you contains herbal gardens and a vast library of various books and equipment you will need in the future. There are also one dozen rank 1 golems, the weakest of golems. The good news is that they don''t require your control to operate. The bad news is that they can only do one programmed activity until they are destroyed. The ten golems have been given their instructions. The cauldron you used while learning from me is yours. Even the poorest of cauldrons are worth tens of thousands of gold. Use them well young master."


    "Thank you father. Thank you Gustav," Duren bowed to each of them. Their kindness allowed Duren to become more human and not see humans as meat to be eaten or trash to be destroyed. Well, a few of humanity.


    As Duren followed a knight to a caravan in town, the butler and the Count watched him leave silently.


    "Did you investigate what I asked?" the Count said silently.


    "Yes my lord," Gustav answered. "The Divine Ritual changed some of the humanity in the young master. That is why the young master roared like a spirit beast. Alchemy usually takes enormous qi to extract qi essence from herbs alone but he did not struggle as much as a beginner would. The young master may be average in terms of martial arts requiring qi, but as an alchemist, his future is peerless. My only worry is if he becomes more of a beast and loses some of the humanity he gained."


    "He and the twins did grow closer as a result," The Count nodded in agreement. "Are our spies in the martial school?"


    "Yes my lord," Gustav said. "As you requested, they will not interfere in any way and will report what they see back to us. If any wrong the young master, we can have them killed once they and their affiliates enter Kaid.


    "Duren," the Count thought as he walked back to his throne room. "Study well and bring honor to House Maltos."

 Chapter 7: Star and Moon Sect

    (Author: It''s finally begun! The first chapter of the Martial School Arc. Needless to say, it will be more difficult to write this arc as it will involve countless martial arts theories, a lot of names, and trying to come up with an interesting plot for the school arc to come together. Our hero does know a lot of techniques, but you all know I don''t want to write an OP hero. The previous arc introduced to you the background of the hero as I did not want to make a story with the main character already in it. Our hero expanded from Kaid to Morane. You will hear about different parts of the continent of Alavent (now official name of this continent). Hopefully no one wrote the name of the school with the one I came up with....I hope you all enjoy this first story of mine. I meant to post this chapter sooner but I got caught up with stuff. The next chapter might contain some details that contain gore and a lot of fighting.Thanks for all the views and enjoy.)


    Chapter 7: Star and Moon Sect


    Duren spent two weeks in the caravan headed to the Kingdom of Morane. He kept to himself and constantly meditated, ignoring all the comments about him "wearing a gauntlet" on his left arm. None of the members of the caravan knew who he was and thought he was a minor noble as the knight who led him to the caravan left after he joined them.


    They suspected he was a noble aspiring to be a mage as the Kingdom of Morane specialized in magic academies. After the two weeks, Duren left the caravan and headed to the mountain region known as Jaglhant. He noticed a long line at the front of what seemed to be an entrance to the mountain range.


    A large arc stood above the entrance signifying the entrance to the Star and Moon Sect, the martial school his father sent him to. Apparently this martial school wanted to avoid competition with other martial schools for talent in the Empire of Galza as well as gather potential students interested in the lucrative alchemy trade. Alchemists were not the strongest in the world but they were the most respected and treasured by all nations. As a magus tended to be more powerful than martial experts, creating a martial school with alchemy in a land full of magi was a smart move.


    "Hey there friend," a boy with dark brown, wavy hair greeted as he saw Duren. "You looking to join the Star and Moon Sect? They only accept the most talented or those rich enough to pay a tuition and avoid the acceptance trials. Name''s Glint Halls."


    "My name is Duren Maltos," he answered, eager to learn more about the trials as he did not want to spend any money he had taken from the Treasury during his studies. "What trials were you talking about earlier?"


    "The trials of the Star and Moon Sect are insane after the basic qi measurement test," Glint sighed. "They only accept students below the age ten with at least rank one in Spirit Knight tier. What are you? I am a rank three Spirit Knight. Most people here are rank two and above. Rumor has it some guy here is a rank five Spirit Knight! That''s geniuses for you. Pretty sure he''s some well-off noble from the capital."


    "I am a rank two Spirit Knight. Just broke through a couple of weeks ago. I plan to be an alchemist," Duren laughed weakly as the wealth of his family dwarfed the Morane family''s money due to its geographical location and focus on improving international trade and relations. "So about those trials?"


    "Ah, right," Glint said apologetically. "Each year there have been four trials with their difficulty adjusted according to the number of applicants save for the first and last trial. The first and last test never change so I can tell you about those. The first is the basic qi measurement test. We''re shoe ins for that so no worries. As for the last test, it''s probably the most insane requirement in the Alavent. The final trial is binding with a spirit beast and gaining a Spirit Guardian. A Spirit Guardian!"


    "What''s wrong with that?" Duren asked confused. As Malverok, he was a spirit beast and had killed hundreds of thousands of people and spirit beast alike. They were nothing but food with different kinds of tasty qi. He noticed no difference in the meat and might of a spirit beast to a Spirit Guardian.


    "Nothing wrong?" Glint asked incredulously. "Dude Spirit Guardian''s are bound to you by their souls! Do you have any idea what that means? As you use more different types of elemental qi, they can use it too. They are your partners on the battlefield and obey you to the point of sacrificing their very lives and qi for you. Not only that you can only bind up to two Spirit Guardians at once. Having one Spirit Guardian automatically makes you a noble. Not only that, your qi multiplies enormously and you can communicate with them, giving you a tactical edge. There''s even one major change with binding a Spirit Guardian!"


    Glint stared up at the sky with wonder after a moment and said, "Having a Spirit Guardian increases the rate of your qi cultivation, allowing you to become stronger even faster than people without one. Not only that, you even gain some abilities depending on your Spirit Guardian. For this martial school to have that as a trial to enter is absolute insanity. Many people spend their whole lives not having a Spirit Guardian and ascend to immortality without one."


    Duren''s eyes widened with shock. He had many techniques at his exposal but his ability to use them in battle made him on par with only those at his level unless he used tactics and trickery on people stronger than him. Gaining a Spirit Guardian was a must. He needed large amounts of qi for alchemy. Having a Spirit Guardian would allow him to kill stronger spirit beasts to use for materials. He planned on using alchemy to make up for his lack of talent compared to geniuses.


    "Let''s line up Glint," Duren grinned, accepting Glint as a friend as he had need of him for now.


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    "Awesome. Let''s join the Star and Moon Sect and be the greatest," Glint laughed. "You might want to remove that gauntlet though. Armor gets in the way of martial arts unless you specialize in kicking techniques."


    "It''s not a gauntlet," Duren said silently and joined the line. It took a moment for Glint to realize what Duren meant and he shivered. What happened to his new friend to require a prosthetic. Still, it looked cool as it seemed to be made from a golem. His new friend was interesting and decided to stay close to him. Besides, having an alchemist as a friend was better than another martial artist or mage. They could be found anywhere.


    "Next applicant!" a proctor shouted as almost an hour passed and Duren was finally next in line. "What''s your name and rank kid and where do you come from? Got your acceptance letter to join the trials?"


    "Duren Maltos, rank two Spirit Knight," he answered as he gave him a piece of paper.


    The proctor looked on his list of applicants and one eyebrow raised as he saw the applicant''s sender was the Count of Kaid. The moment passed as this was not the first noble to come here, let alone an aspiring alchemist.


    "Please manifest your qi into your hand. You must display rank one Spirit Knight qi at the least to be accepted to the next trial. Please create a globe the size of a fist for each elemental qi you have access to," the proctor said, thinking this noble didn''t amount to much. Duren didn''t wear fancy clothing and only had a simple crimson shirt and pants on. He didn''t consider Duren only wore simple clothes as they were more comfortable to travel from all the way from Kaid.


    "Yes proctor," Duren said and quietly concentrated his qi. He didn''t want to reveal his destruction type qi in Morane and created a globe of ice and wind, his globe of ice considerably denser and emanating more qi than his wind and thunder.


    "Average affinity for wind and thunder. Exceptional affinity for ice," the proctor said surprised. "Shame you wanna be an alchemist but I hope you pass. Our sect desires to cultivate alchemists and we have far too few for our liking. NEXT!"


    "Glint Halls, rank three Spirit Knight," his friend said. The proctor nodded and was shocked as Glint had exceptional affinity for fire and wind qi.


    "A noble alchemist and a dual qi monster," the proctor shook his head in wonder. "This year''s applicants aren''t a total loss. The proctor got up as his shift ended. Duren, Glint and the few who passed followed the proctor to the top of the mountain. Jaglhant was a mountain region with several mountain ranges so it wasn''t a surprise to Duren that they had to go to the top of the mountain.


    After waiting three more hours, the sun had started to set and eight groups of around fifty, with Duren''s group being the second, gathered in front of a plaza surrounded with three buildings in front of them. They had all been forced to change in light brown clothes. All initiates wore light brown clothes until they passed the trial to signify their status of Spirit Knight and taking the first step into enlightenment.


    People who aspired to be martial artists had an image of a black phoenix with its wings encircling the sun in a black circle on their backs with a smaller version over their heart. Those who aspired to be alchemists had an image of a white dragon circling a gold bottle with a vapor of jade leaking from the top in the same locations on their shirt.


    Each group was required to remain isolated, with the odd numbered groups on the left and the even numbered groups on the right.


    A woman in the purple clothes of a senior disciple appeared from the center building with four people to her left and right in the red clothes of an adept disciple. She cleared her throat and stomped on the ground, sending a wave of qi from here left foot that left cracks in ground.


    All the initiates stopped talking and gave their attention to the senior who had arrived.


    "Welcome initiates," the woman began. "You have proven yourselves to be worthy to begin the first TRUE trial of the Sun and Moon Sect. You have been divided into two large groups. Your first test is simple. Inside both of the houses behind you are one hundred rank two spirit beasts on the first floor. Inside the second floor is a ten rank 3 spirit beasts. Your mission is simple: survive. Only those who kill three rank two spirit beasts may pass. Those who manage to kill one rank three spirit beast will pass and receive an anonymous reward. When the sun sets, you may begin."


    The initiates were startled. Both groups had initiates that numbered two hundred and they had to enter a house with one hundred and fifty spirit beasts. Killing rank one spirit beasts was easy, but killing rank two spirit beasts was suicide for martial experts below rank five. Not only that, those who passed had to kill three of them.


    The sect was testing their teamwork. A sect had to fight against other sects and could not risk in-fighting in combat. This test was created to see who would put the sect first before themselves and prove their worth.


    Duren licked his lips and grinned malevolently. Spirit beasts leave behind a ring of their own qi and those who killed the qi may absorb it and leave the body behind. This trial was practically a scavenger hunt for alchemists. Not only that, killing spirit beasts raised the blood thirst in Duren. Living life on the edge of death in the battlefield was the thrill of any predator.


    "Set, set, set, set," Duren muttered with his eyes on the house behind his group. "I want to kill. I need to kill. I need to feel alive,"

 Chapter 8: Not Enough Blood

    (Author: Hello. As the titles implies, there will be blood. People will die. Some readers might be entertained. My story is my own original and this story is not all sunshine and rainbows. There are no sudden events that make the MC become OP. People die and stay dead. Limbs don''t grow back. People kill out of jealousy. That''s life and I plan on writing that way. Again, this chapter will contain blood. I did put a tragedy and mature tag for this story. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. I made this long as I wanted the second trial done in one blow without a cliffhanger. I know what that''s like. Thanks for reading.)


    Chapter 8: Not Enough Blood


    As the sun set, many of the initiates burst toward the houses. Duren held Glint back and shook his head.


    "Let the masses go first. We need to know what we are dealing with and the first wave suffers the most casualties," Duren warned.


    Glint nodded and it did not take long for the screams to start. Half of the initiates in Duren''s group had run into the house without a group or a plan. Duren felt nothing as blood suddenly appeared on the windows. One initiate tried to escape from the window and some of the initiates cried in alarm as a spirit beast that looked like a lightning had its jaws open above the escaping initiate.


    Duren grinned  as he could relate to the lion''s next action. The lion spirit beast closed its jaws and a sickening crunch was heard. The right arm of the initiate hung against the bottom of the window and blood started flowing. The blood dripped just like water as crimson spread on the floor. Through the window next to the entrance door, Duren observed similar fates of other initiates. One had his face clawed from the upper left of his face to the lower right, skin tore off his face and Duren was pretty sure the right eye was gone too.


    Only a little over twenty of the one hundred who rushed in from their group managed to escape. The ones who entered last had little to no injury but the fates of the rest were severe. One woman was holding her arm with three inch wide claw marks extending from her shoulder to her elbow. A few others had claw marks on their arms and chest, a small stream of blood extended from their location to the door of the house. One unlucky initiate was the last to escape. His face was pale and sweat poured from his forehead and arms. He had to crawl from the door way as half of his shin of his right leg down was missing.


    None of the others managed to move to the poor guy as he gasped for help. Duren only moved forward as the initiate crawled ten feet away from the door and out of danger. He noticed two of the adept disciples in red sigh and close the door before heading back to the cent house. Glint and the others thought Duren was saving the initiate.


    "Thank you," the initiate gasped as Duren bent low toward him.


    "What did you see inside?" Duren as he held one of the boy''s arms but made no motion to lift him. "I need to know so I can help you."


    The initiate believed Duren and said, "It w, was horrible. The house was nothing as it seemed. In the first room only three spirit beasts were there with the rest of the room empty. We thought at first that we had to clear the room and than proceed to the next room. So we decided to kill the spirit beasts and we managed to kill them as we ganged up on the ones we saw. When we killed on or two, the door in front of us and the two on the left and right did not open. As soon as we killed the third spirit beasts, three spirit beasts from each door suddenly appeared and attacked us as we thought we could relax. Twelve of us died before we decided to fight back. We were wrong. Oh so wrong."


    "Why? There should have been over eighty of you left. A party of six could take on a rank two spirit beast no problem," Duren frowned.


    "That was it!" the initiate cried. "When we were attacked we were not organized and fought randomly. Blood started flying everywhere. Their teeth bit into the arms of some initiates and tore the arms from their bodies. I could see lines of tissue and skin connecting the arms together for a good three inches before it got dismembered. We panicked as started to head for the door, but the ones in the back pushed us forward to try to escape. We had to run over other initiates who got in our way. I felt bones crack and blood spurt as I ran on unfortunate initiates who got knocked down on the floor. But I kept running man. I KEPT RUNNING. Oh gods it was horrible. I thought it was over as I tried over an arm and lost my balance with my other foot because of the blood. The pain I felt when my right foot got eaten. You don''t know man! You don''t know! They looked like lions, horses, and wolves. We thought the deer were the weakest but they covered themselves with wind qi and ran over us like a battering ram. One guy got blasted and the only trace of him was a foot. A bloody foot! I never saw anything more horrifying in my life."


    Duren only smiled and it looked like he was lifting the initiate from the back. Duren leaned his head next to the initiate and said, "I do know what its like. My left arm blew up, but let me tell you another secret. I was once a spirit beast immortal. I was Malverok, the Seventh Thunder Beast. I ripped humans to shred. I fed on their backs until their spines were in my mouth and I relished it as I ripped it out. That was joy. That was fun. And you know something, I can''t enjoy that feeling as a human. I have to thanks you. I got the information I needed. Enjoy the next life. I''ll take the items from your storage bag as a souvenir of us crossing paths."


    The initiate''s eyes bulged as he looked abruptly at Duren. He felt fear as he looked closely into the azure eyes and saw flashes of lightning. He wanted to scream but felt his body grow cold. The numb feeling extended from the arm held by Duren to his heart and he died. Duren appeared to the initiate up to try to wake him but grabbed the storage bag and stored it in his own.


    "What happened?" Glint asked as Duren appeared to sigh and dropped the initiate''s arm gently on the floor. "What''d he say?"


    "He''s dead," Duren said as he and Glint walked away from the group to make plans. "He told me about the structure of the house and how the spirit beasts came in. It seems once a room of three spirit beasts is cleared, the doors in all directions opens and the spirit beasts from those rooms converge and attack you. This means clearing one room isn''t just killing three spirit beasts. It could be as many as nine if the three rooms ahead are not cleared."


    "Not good," Glint said silently. "What now?"


    "We join the second wave," Duren answered.


    "But we''ll die?" Glint snapped.


    "We won''t. Spirit beasts of different natures kill the weakest prey first before attacking the threat," Duren spoke from experience. "The guy told me there are wolf, lion, horse, and a deer spirit beast. That means at least half will die with others getting injured. That leaves about five or four of the nine alive. We just need to kill three with a few more people and run out before the remaining ones die. I have a paralysis potion. I can toss behind us as we leave."


    Glint was startled by Duren''s ruthlessness but they both wanted to pass the trial and knew it had to be done. Alchemists usually carried potions to offset their average capabilities. Glint nodded after taking in the information and he and Duren waited for a second round of initiates in their group to head forward.


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    The proctor said nothing of killing all three personally. So long as he helped kill one, Duren can than sneak back and salvage the storage bags and some spirit beast parts. Moreover, even more blood would no doubt spill in the house, making more chaos to take advantage of. Duren focused qi into his golem arm and made a claw of ice with his left. He didn''t want to use his wind and destruction element yet and decided to save Blightfang as a trump card. His plan was ready.


    Duren frowned a little as a young man with blonde hair and an arrogant stride walked in front of the group. He rolled his eyes as he saw enough nobles in his life to knew what kind of guy this initiate was.


    "My friends," the blonde started. "My name is Maximus Glazer. I am a rank five Spirit Knight. I know this may seem like a bad situation, but fear not and follow me. Together, we can kill the damned spirit beasts and head to the next trial together!"


    Duren rolled his eyes as the forty others cheered and were mystified by Maximus''s charisma. Glint noticed Duren''s reaction and came to the same conclusion after a moment.


    "We''re gonna let him go in first right?" Glint asked.


    "No," Duren said as he started walking to the door. "We need to move first before the mob to get credit. He and his new posse can help finish off the spirit beast that attacks us and we can hang back while they kill two more. He''s probably the type that wants to be in charge. Seeing us go in first will lead him to try to take the first kill to gain the support of his followers."


    "Haha," Glint laughed as he and Duren broke into a run. "This trial got a lot easier thanks to that idiot! I wonder what his face looks like right now?"


    Maximus looked back and was startled as he saw a strange boy with a golem gauntlet and a commoner looking guy race to the house. There were stealing HIS moment. He was supposed to charge first as a hero. He looked back at the group and noticed them look in admiration at the two''s bravery.


    "Follow me to victory!" Maximus cried and the second wave of the remaining forty rushed inside. The other sixty or so were too afraid or too cautious to join and would sit back to see how this wave survived. The first wave of one hundred failed so how could forty prevail?


    "As expected of a hero," Duren mocked silently as he heard Maximus shout. "Human chivalry really was the greatest tool. A spirit beast would not fall for hollow words like those. So long as he proves his worth."


    Duren and Glint barged through the door and entered the house. The floors were made of black wood and blood littered the floor. Limbs, and bodies were spread apart with looks of terror frozen on the faces of the dead. As Duren expected, a dead deer spirit beast and three horse spirit beasts were dead.


    The lion spirit beast he saw eat the head of the disciple was fighting against four spirit beast wolves.  The lion was missing patches of its mane, the tail was gone, and various bite and claw marks littered its body. Killing the lion would unite the wolves against the initiates so he decided to kill a wolf spirit beast. With the lion still alive, the wolf spirit beasts would ignore it and attempt to kill the initiates. This would ensure that not all the spirit beast would die as the lion spirit beast would avoid the fighting for a time.


    "We''ll kill one of the wolves," Duren said and Glint nodded as Duren was the one with the plan. Duren concentrated his qi into his throat. He could feel his Golden Wolf tattoo grow warm as his ice Yin qi turned to thunder qi.


    "Lightning Dragon''s Roar!" Duren shouted and a shockwave blasted forward toward the spirit beasts. Only one of the wolf spirit beasts seemed to feel any pain and it turned to see what hit it. Duren laughed as he slammed his left arm, augmented by his qi, and it smashed against the wolf''s head. As it was a rank two spirit beast, the wolf was only dazed and it snarled at him.


    Duren licked his lips as he raked the face of the wolf with his claw of ice and Glint thought for a second that Duren would try to drink the wolf''s blood. Glint used wind qi to send a storm of daggers of wind at the wolves. Glint shook his head as none of the wolves felt any pain and encased his fist with fire and performed a right hook, burning the left eye of the wolf spirit beast that Duren attacked. Glint''s skin seemed to peel upon contact as the wolf''s body was too strong. He saw blood appear on his knuckles and thought it was over as the wolf centered its attention on him.


    "Your end is here knave!" Maximus shouted as he brushed past Duren and leapt into the air. "Fear the power of Maximus Glazer!"


    Duren laughed as Maximus and his group arrived as he anticipated and let himself be pushed aside by the mob. Quickly he brought out Blightfang from his dimensional storage bag and willed it into the size of a knife. Knowing that the combines forces of three spirit beast wolfs was not enough against a mob of forty lead by a rank five Spirit Knight, Duren hastily cut antlers from the deer spirit beasts as they were the most precious.


    Duren looked around and saw Glint trying to wade his way to the back of the mob toward the entrance. Duren looked around and saw three spirit beast bodies that he assumed were the first three that started the massacre. Two of the spirit beasts were snakes and he put the entire bodies into his bag. Snake spirit beast contained venom that he could use to make poisons and antidotes. The last of the spirit beasts was a lowly raccoon and had no parts he needed.


    "Only the lion remains! Kill the foul beast and the room is clear!" Maximus shouted as Glint finally pushed his way out of the mob. Glint''s face turned gaunt and he and Duren quickly ran outside the house. They had attacked the four spirit beast wolves and would receive credit for their deaths.


    "What in the Nine Realms?" Maximus cried as the injured lion was finally killed. and he proceeded to the next room. "More of them have shown up. Everyone retreat!"


    Similar reactions were heard from the initiates who entered the other two doors and only Maximus and two others managed to escape the house while the others died under the onslaught.


    "Congratulations," one of the adept disciples snickered as he closed the door behind the trio. "Five of you have passed the trial. This group seems to have done poorly. The other group was more organized and only a few dozen were killed. Two of the ten rank three spirit beasts were even killed.


    Maximus could only stare at them in shock and wondered who the other two were. Duren and Glint laughed as Maximus stared at them and realized he played into their hands.


    "I believe that was the face you wanted to see," Duren laughed as he and Glint followed the other adept disciple to the center house.


    "It was even better than I hoped," Glint agreed. "Still. That other group was able to kill the rank two spirit beasts and enter the second floor to kill three higher ranked spirit beasts. That''s insane."


    Duren nodded and stared back for a moment. Upon hearing the news, the remaining initiates tried entered the house, but only screams were heard and none came out.