The Path through the Heavens: A LitRPG Wuxia Series (The Heavenly Throne Book 6)

by Yuri Ajin

  “What do you think about these elections? Would you agree to participate?”

  “I would. It is worth a try,” Rune’Tan replied after a pause.

  “I think so too.”

  “All right, Sophie. Count me in,” he finally said.

  “It’ll only get more interesting from now on!” she exclaimed with a smile and jumped off the chair. Picking up the cup with her left hand and taking another sip of tea, she stretched out her right hand over the table. “Let’s shake hands.”

  Kai reached out and squeezed her frail little hand.

  Sophie’s eyes suddenly widened and her face contorted with pain. The cup fell out of her hand, and the tea spilled on the floor. She jumped back reflexively and fell, clinging to the edge of the chair.

  “No...” She trembled, looking at Kai with horror. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” she sobbed. “I... I was wrong... It’s cold... So very cold... So empty... So lonely...” She turned pale. “I thought your heart was on fire... Your Sword... I was wrong... Sorry...” She began to wipe away her tears. “I didn’t mean... To deceive you...”

  A moment later, she disappeared, leaving the bewildered Kai to ponder what the hell just happened.

  ***

  Kai was on his way to the Fourth Guardian’s Test Gate, through which he planned to go to the first floor. He wanted to visit Elea and Ranmaru, and then go to the Anarchists.

  I lost, but it’s not the end of the world. I still need the Flower if I want a high-quality breakthrough. Though I’m willing to bet that I won’t find it in a safe anomaly zone again... Kai pondered. The Anarchists are pretty much useless now. The only thing they can offer is contacts in the outside world. Ranmaru... Elea... Sator... They’re not even aristocrats. I doubt that they know influential people. Still, it’s worth asking. I could also contact the dwarfs. I’d probably have the best chance of finding the Flower through them. But how would I repay them? The Mask and the Memory Jade aren’t an option. I won’t even mention them. Pseudo-Divine artifacts are considered a myth in Nikrim. I haven’t found any mention of anything like the Jade in the Abode. Usually, cultivators create Spheres on their own. The local masters seem to be unable to manifest a Sphere so that a student can study it... I didn’t hear anything about those who reached a higher stage and could create more advanced Spheres in Nikrim... Wait a minute... What if…

  “Is it possible to cram the process that I used to raise my foundation into an alchemical concoction?”

  “That’s...” Rune’Tan was taken aback. “It wouldn’t be so difficult to simply set an algorithm for energy to follow. But how do you plan to put that artificial energy of yours into an elixir? It dissipates without your support.”

  “I think it’ll be manageable with Void Cold. If I use it together with Yang, perhaps I’ll even be able to create artificial storage for energy and Forces.”

  “I can’t argue with that. I also think it’s doable,” Rune’Tan agreed. “But you have to understand that research can take months, if not years. This won’t be easy even with your level of energy control, energy vision, and strength of concentration...”

  “Yes, I know.” Kai sighed. “But it’s worth a shot.”

  He planned to come up with his own unique recipe for a drug that could increase one’s foundation. Not up to ten points, of course, but at least zero point one or two points. He was certain that people would be willing to pay a large sum of Coins for such a drug. And even if it’d work only on mortals, many parents dreamed of increasing the quality of their offspring’s foundation by even a drop.

  Selling such unique services directly was too dangerous, which was why he immediately remembered alchemy. Selling it anonymously seemed a lot safer. The customers would also need another drug that relieved spiritual pain, but creating such potions was child’s play for him by now.

  I could offer this to the dwarfs for the Flower. What else...? The bones! If there are demon bones left after making the swords, I could give them those, too. I remember Kenji’s greedy look when he saw them...

  He almost made it to the gate when he suddenly had to stop. Passersby also froze. All of Abode’s students saw the same System message at the same time.

  Attention!

  Message received via [Cloud Abode Apprentice Mark].

  “The Abode Games are Coming!

  Based on the voting results, members of the Cloud Ten made a unanimous decision to start the Abode Games. This decision was supported by the Guardian of the Cloud Abode, the great master Airus.

  The event will begin exactly one month after this message. The Games will take place at the Aive Hidden Valley, the portal to which will be opened in the Portal Hall on the first floor on the day of the event. The number of participants is not limited. All students are allowed to participate. However, all students should be warned that even though participation is not obligatory, those who do not join will suffer the following consequences:

  If the student refuses to participate in the Games, their stay at the Cloud Abode will be reduced fifty times.

  If the student agrees to participate but fails to show up, they will be exiled from the Cloud Abode.

  Global redistribution of ranks will take place within the Games. The student can either lose their place or gain a higher one, including the positions of the first hundred students on the List of Ten Thousand.

  There will also be additional rewards in the form of Rare Resources or Cloud Coins.

  Students are allowed to form teams of up to one hundred members. Within the teams, they will be able to exchange the ranks received in the Games and become untouchable to each other. However, students are not allowed to leave the team before the end of the Games. All teams must have a leader who will be constantly present in the Aive Hidden Valley. The defeat of the leader means the defeat of the entire team, which consequently leads to its elimination. Pick your teammates carefully, or fend for yourself.

  The first hundred on the List of Ten Thousand are prohibited from forming teams. Students from the fourth floor are allowed to team up with a maximum of four other students from their floor.

  The Games will be held in the Capture the Flag format, but with different rules. Teams and individual members will be randomly assigned as attackers or defenders. The first hundred on the List of Ten Thousand are predetermined to a particular side. At the start of the Games, all official Cloud Abode factions will be disbanded.

  At the end of the Games, the non-eliminated members of the winning side will each receive one million Cloud Coins.

  You can read the rules in detail the day before the Games begin.

  Best regards, Mia Eswix, the third on the List of Ten Thousand.

  A wave of surprised and frightened whispers passed through the crowd. The possibility of being kicked out of the Abode so easily frightened many, while the promise of a million Coins attracted the rest.

  Through the Games, Lightus would achieve his goal by killing two birds with one stone. He’d finally solve the Abode’s overpopulation problem and meet all the requirements for the elections.

  Meanwhile, Kai was thinking about something different. The Games ruined all his plans.

  “See you at the Games...” So that’s what he meant by that. Can I wiggle out of his somehow? Kai involuntarily clenched his fists. If I refuse to participate, I’ll spend less than a year in the Abode. And if I agree, I’ll be easy prey for Lightus. I remember the look on his face... That’s how you look at someone who poses a threat and who needs to be eliminated as soon as possible. Is this all about the Key? If I weren’t a candidate, would he have already killed me? As things are, can I even hope to win against him? I doubt it... I’d have had time to reach the next stage before these Games. But without the Flower... Even if I choose Higher Enlightenment or Manifestation of Space, I’ll need to change a lot in the Flask pattern. It’ll take at least a couple of months. Why did this have to happen now?

  Sighing, he turned around and headed home.
<
br />   What an interesting turn of events. Did Nomen know about this? I’m sure he did... I knew that my meeting with Lightus couldn’t have been a coincidence... Gotta hand it to Nomen, he knew what he was doing, setting me up like that...

  ***

  There was a knock on the door.

  Kai was sitting in a chair, prepared for company.

  “It’s open. Come in.”

  The shrill creek of the door opening was followed by soft and barely audible steps, and Nomen settled in the chair across from Kai’s.

  “I’m glad you decided to accept my offer,” Nomen said with a nod.

  “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Kai replied coldly, noticing that there were no strange impurities in Nomen’s body anymore. His “bought” potions seemed to have done their job. “I used the amulet you left me, but that doesn’t mean that I’m accepting your offer. I am, however, willing to hear you out. What exactly do you want from me?”

  To say that he trusted Nomen would be a lie. However, without the Three-Bladed Flower, he wouldn’t be able to reach the next stage in the near future. He had no choice now. Between leaving the Abode and making a deal with Nomen, the latter was the lesser of the two evils.

  “I understand,” Nomen said. “In the Ishar Desert lies an ancient and almost forgotten tomb that can only be entered by a mortal. In it live Spirits that have grown weak over time. I want you to get to the tomb’s main hall. You won’t find any valuables or artifacts there as masters close to divine power have visited it more than once. Everything that held any value is long gone. They even took the corpse of the soldier buried there. I need you to put this seal in his empty coffin.” Nomen showed Kai a small worn round plate with an unusual symbol engraved on it. No power emanated from the object. There was nothing remarkable about it even when viewed through the energy spectrum. “That’s all.”

  “Everything was stolen, but the coffin remained? And how do you know what’s inside, if you’ve never been there?”

  “I have my sources,” Nomen replied evasively. “The coffin has no value. The wood is of such poor quality that it can’t even burn properly.”

  Has no value to anyone but you, it seems, Kai thought.

  “Besides, it’s difficult to move,” Nomen added with a chuckle.

  “Tell me, did you arrange my meeting with Lightus in the anomaly zone?” Kai suddenly asked.

  “Beg your pardon? No. I don’t know anything about that,” Nomen answered calmly.

  “Then there’s the question of my payment... I need a peak-quality Royal-rank Three-Bladed Flower.”

  Nomen pondered for a second, and then nodded, placing a cheap Spatial Ring on the table. It bore no mark.

  “Take a look inside.”

  Taking the Ring, Kai got out the only item in it — a Three-Bladed Flower. It was similar to the one he had before, except that it was a whole level higher in quality.

  Looking up at Nomen, he returned the Flower to its vessel, and then put the Ring back on the table. Nomen drew a symbol made of energy, will, and several types of Forces around it. Kai felt his brain ache as he strained to memorize every stroke Nomen made with his finger. The pattern was way too complicated.

  “I see that you’re distrustful of me, and I understand this. You think I’ll deceive you, and you don’t want to have to steal it from me. The Flower is still inside. You can easily confirm that by using your aura. I haven’t blocked all energy from touching it. However, I wouldn’t advise trying to destroy it,” Nomen explained. “If you agree to my proposal, I’ll give you the Ring. Once you’ve completed the task, it’ll open, and the Flower will be yours.”

  “I accept,” he said. “Let’s take an oath.”

  “You don’t trust spirit contracts?” Nomen chuckled.

  “No.”

  “Me neither. Truth be told, I don’t trust oaths either. But if that’ll put your mind at ease...”

  Nomen vowed that the Spatial Ring that he gave Kai contained a Three-Bladed Flower and that Kai would receive it as soon as he put the seal in the coffin. In addition, he confirmed that there were no traps in the tomb and that Kai was strong enough to survive this mission.

  Despite having said that he didn’t trust oaths and contracts Nomen seemed to have previous experience with them as this particular oath turned out to be so long, comprehensive, and detailed that even Rune’Tan was left scratching his head as he read it along with Kai.

  After that, Nomen gave Kai the Ring and the seal.

  “I have something else for you,” he said and held out a map. “I marked the location of the tomb on it. Be warned that a group of True Masters has set camp next to it. You’ll need help to get past them, so go to the nearest town first. There, you’ll meet my subordinate. He’ll help you get to the tomb.”

  “How will I find him?”

  “He’ll find you, don’t worry.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” Kai raised an eyebrow.

  “Then you’ll easily recognize him by his Abode mark. It’ll have the number six on it.”

  Chapter 29

  THE STRONGEST ONE OUTSIDE THE ABODE

  The Ishar Desert, which occupied almost one-fifth of the continent, had forever been considered the most dangerous place on Nikrim. This was no surprise, considering that this was the place of the final battle between humankind and the rest of Nikrim’s inhabitants.

  Since the war, countless deadly anomalies had appeared in the desert, formed by the still very active techniques of powerful masters. Corpses of millions of cultivators lay strewn across the desert, forgotten. As they decomposed, they shaped the energy of this territory, spawning violent emanations of Sand and Fire. The two elements continue to form natural massifs to this day, killing more and more treasure hunters that dare set their foot in Ishar.

  The desert’s increased and exuberant energy had become a paradise for unique types of monsters, rarest Spirit Plants, and Spirits. But what lay beneath Ishar’s golden sands was far more interesting — piles and piles of treasure, still held tightly in the hands of cultivators who lost their lives beneath the scorching sun, and those who came to look for these treasures, only to ingloriously vanish in the desert’s endless sands.

  Regardless of all the dangers, the desert was inhabited. Nearly two dozen independent cities were located along the periphery — a haven for treasure hunters, criminals, masters of the forbidden arts, and what little remained of humankind.

  And it was in one such city that a portal activated.

  “Where to now?” An’na asked as she exited the portal, looking at the city and the passersby.

  The city of Sim was surprisingly densely populated, which spoke of its safety. But even more surprising was the fact that most of the adults here were only at the Soul Stage.

  On one hand, such a level of power was too low to survive in Ishar. But on the other, it was much higher than that of the common citizens of Nikrim. Living on lands with a high density of prana made cultivating much easier. However, the death rate was much higher than anywhere else.

  As a city, Sim didn’t stand out with its paved streets, bland, sand-colored buildings, rarely more than two stories high, and conventional architecture. There was nothing unique or stunning about it, only simplicity and practicality.

  Well, that wasn’t completely true. There were two things that kind of stood out. The first one was a hundred-and-sixty-foot tall wall that surrounded the entire city. In addition to its height and thickness, it was enchanted to hold against heavy attacks and was the source of the defensive dome that covered Sim, protecting the city from the heat and sandstorms that occasionally arose. As a gigantic array, it required a huge amount of Azure Crystals to work. But anyone who had ever been inside Sim’s walls for more than a couple of days knew that the dome was worth that much if not more.

  The second notable object, or rather, objects, were three tall towers, so high that they were almost touching the dome. The citizens of Sim considered these three buildings to be the most impor
tant in the entire city as they offered everything from simple meditation rooms to well-stocked libraries, and areas for contemplating Forces. These things were necessary as everyone in the city was a cultivator. There was no surviving outside or inside the city otherwise.

  Deeper in the Sim were the inside quarters, where those who considered Ishar their home lived. They occupied almost eighty percent of Sim’s area, but at the same time, they were hidden from the eyes of visitors and temporary residents by their own walls. They were further divided into the Dark and Gray Quarters.

  The former was the home of fugitives and masters of the dark arts who decided to settle in the desert mostly because they didn’t have any other choice, and the latter housed a small number of people. Refugees or cultivators who had moved to Ishar for one reason or another. For the most part, these people could be referred to as one big family.

  Sim’s security was one of the best. Being a guard was considered an honor, and only Exorcists could become one. In addition, most of the past guards were seekers who had gone on more than one treasure hunt and lived to tell the tale, which meant that they had a lot of combat experience.

  Elementalists lived in the desert, too, as well as whole groups of Holy Lords, mainly of the first three levels. So, although the contingent in Sim and other settlements of Ishar was far from sophisticated, there was no chaos and anarchy.

  “For starters, let’s go to the center,” Kai replied, glancing at An’na, whose appearance and stage had been altered. The only thing that she couldn’t change on her own was her aura. Fortunately, she had a special artifact that did the trick.

  All these precautions were required so that An’na could hide from the servants of Linus Gard, the twin brother of Sylph ruler who had forced her to participate in the Fist Fight in Udin. Even after all this time, only a limited circle of people knew about his death.