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

by Yuri Ajin

  Kai, Shacks, and Malvur also changed their appearances out of precaution. The spectators of the Fist Fight probably hadn’t forgotten their faces, and some of them lived in Sim.

  Before leaving for the desert, they made a deal to participate in the upcoming Games together. Ailenx would join them as well. Since Kai was on the fourth floor, he couldn’t team up with more than four people. Ranmaru had no right to team up with anyone at all, so he didn’t even bother asking.

  Still, having been through thick and thin together and saved each other’s lives more than once now, they decided to go on one (hopefully last) adventure before the Games began.

  “Kai! Look how beautiful these bracelets are!” An’na exclaimed, pointing in the direction of a stall with Gold-rank artifacts on its counter. “Please, please, pleeeeeaseeeee, I wanna go take a look!”

  “Heavens, you’re such a whiny brat sometimes,” Shacks mumbled.

  “You’re a whiny brat!” An’na retorted and looked at Kai for approval.

  “Go. We’ll... figure out which way to go while we wait,” he said, looking around for any sort of a landmark.

  “Thank you!” An’na smiled and ran over to the merchant.

  “Hehehehe...” Rune’Tan chuckled. “You lost, boy.”

  Kai tensed up.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The disguise didn’t seem to have helped. It looks like they found you first. You can’t hide from a Master of Souls...”

  At the same moment, a hawk landed on Malvur’s broad shoulder.

  “What the hell?!” Ailenx exclaimed and jumped away from him.

  Malvur didn’t even flinch. He calmly turned his head to the left, looking at the feathery creature sitting motionless on his shoulder.

  The hawk ignored everyone, its gaze fixed on Kai. There was something eerily human and intelligent in its eyes.

  “The Divine Waterfalls Inn,” the bird croaked in a creepy voice, after which it flew away.

  ***

  On the top floor of Sim’s fourth tallest building, a tall, blue-haired guy dressed in dark pants and silvery robes stood by a window overlooking the entire city.

  Guts slowly turned around and surveyed the group who had come to him with his pale blue eyes. Looking at his only acquaintance, he smiled.

  “Hello, Ranmaru. How are you? Have you changed your mind about my offer yet?”

  “Are you talking about joining one of your seeker teams?” Ranmaru frowned. “If so, then I’ll pass.”

  “You can take some more time to think about it. With your abilities, you’ll become rich in no time. Sooner or later, you’ll leave the Abode, and your sister will still need expensive elixirs. Plus, Ishar is probably the only place in Nikrim where you can find what she needs. As a last resort, you can make your coin here and go visit the neighboring worlds.”

  Ranmaru grinned in response, which bewildered Guts.

  “Thank you, but neither I nor Elea need any of that.”

  “Really? How interesting...” Guts stretched, and then, as if realizing something, shifted his gaze a little to the right, toward a dark-haired young man with violet eyes. “I see... So, you’re Kai?”

  “That’s right,” he replied, examining a network of a dozen bright points hidden inside Guts’ body with energy vision. Three of them stood out because of the amount of ki they held.

  “I see. Well then, let’s get straight to the point. Time is money, as you all probably know,” Guts said and headed for the exit. “We’re going to the basement. There’s a transfer array down there,” he opened the door and looked at his guests. “I don’t want to waste time on the trip.”

  “Wait,” Kai said, making Guts frown. “What makes you think that I trust you enough to enter a portal with you?”

  “Nomen should’ve vouched for me,” Guts replied, tilting his head.

  “He did. He even swore an oath,” Kai replied with a nod. “But that doesn’t mean that I trust you.”

  “Trust issues, huh?” Guts asked with a sigh. “Unfortunately, you won’t be getting an oath from me. I have a contract with Nomen. He hired me. If you don’t want to use my portal, you’re free to walk. I’ll wait for you there.”

  “Why did you meet us here? Why didn’t we meet up in the Abode?”

  “Because this is my home,” he explained, already slightly annoyed, spreading his arms as if to indicate that this statement referred to the inn. “I’m one of the sixteen owners of Sim. So, sometimes I have to...” He suddenly stopped talking and narrowed his eyes, feeling as if something had touched his soul. A second later, he calmed down, deciding that he had just imagined it. “I have to visit Sim.”

  “I see... Can you confirm that your portal will take us to where we need to go and that there’ll be no traps waiting for us there?”

  Guts thought for a second, then suddenly smiled.

  “Seventy thousand.”

  “What?” Kai frowned.

  “I was expecting you, not an entire group,” Guts explained. “But since you brought this band of misfits with you, the travel costs will be higher. Why should I be the one to cover them? So, either your friends stay here, and we go to the tomb together, or we take everyone, but you pay seventy thousand Azure Crystals for it. As a bonus, I’ll sign a spirit contract. What do you say?”

  Kai pretended to ponder the offer while he discussed things with Rune’Tan.

  “Did you find something?”

  “Who do you take me for?” Rune’Tan chuckled. “As a young Master of Souls, this boy is very talented. But he’s no match for me. He did notice the residual traces of my influence. But it’s not really his merit, I’m just too weak without soul energy... What I can tell you is that Nomen and he definitely have a contract. Judging by what I was able to read, he can’t interfere or harm you while the contract is ongoing. He doesn’t seem like he’s lying. But this is my opinion, not a fact.”

  “Understood. Thank you.”

  “I don’t have that many Crystals. But if that works, I have a lot of Cloud Coins...”

  “No problem,” Guts said with a smile, interrupting him. “They are much more difficult to earn than Crystals.”

  “As far as I remember, one Coin is currently worth six hundred and twenty-three Crystals, right?”

  “That’s right.” Guts nodded. “Therefore, the price is one hundred and twelve Coins.”

  “Only under the condition that you’ll confirm that you named the correct price in the contract,” Kai said firmly.

  “Very well.” Guts grinned since he did state the correct price.

  Guts was a simple man. Obvious lies weren’t something he liked, but half-truths and manipulation of facts weren’t below him.

  ***

  The range of Guts’ portal was only two thousand miles. About four hundred spatial markers around the city were connected to it, as well as another two dozen throughout the desert and several outside of it.

  Moving with the use of acceleration techniques through the desert was dangerous as it threatened to attract the monsters that lived in the sand. That was why the distance that Exorcists could usually cover in minutes could take hours in Ishar. And since only Holy Lords could afford the luxury of fast travel, teleportation was the main means of getting around for many.

  Kai and his group were moved to a place that was several miles north of the tomb so they had to cover the rest of the way on foot. Soon, a small settlement appeared on the horizon. Oddly enough, it wasn’t protected by a wall.

  “Hide behind the dune,” Guts said.

  “I thought there should be a tomb here? This looks like someone’s home.” Shacks commented.

  “The tomb is underground, and what you see is the Black Hand’s base. They’re the largest criminal organization on the continent. However, they cooperate with desert cities. We allow their leaders to huddle with us, and in return, they don’t conduct their activities in the desert. At least that was the case until recently. A little less than a month ago
, something happened to them. Either the leadership has changed, or they stopped caring. Whatever the case, they’re no longer honoring the treaty. We noticed their drug dealers mingling with the people. Residents began to disappear from their homes. All the evidence pointed to these bastards. However, no one has yet taken any action. War wouldn’t be profitable,” Guts explained. “But Nomen paid me enough to take care of this on my own. Also, some rather wealthy merchants want this particular base destroyed since the caravans that pass between Sim and another nearby city suddenly began to lose their cargo near it. So I accepted these assignments as well, like a true businessman,” Guts smiled.

  “Someone’s robbing caravans? Shouldn’t they be well protected?” An’na was surprised. “How strong are these people?”

  “The Black Hand has about two hundred Exorcists and fifteen more Elementalists. Fourteen and the initial, and one at the peak level.”

  “What?!” Ailenx exclaimed. “Then why the hell are we here? We aren’t strong enough to fight against them! How did you think you’d deal with them on your own?!”

  Guts looked closely at him.

  “You’re from my faction, right?”

  “I... Y-Yes...” Ailenx mumbled, taken aback. Remembering that as a junior member he should respect his senior, he added. “I beg your pardon, elder brother.”

  “Do you remember my nickname?” Guts grinned.

  “The Loner?”

  “The other one.”

  “Umm...” Ailenx thought. “I don’t, sorry.”

  The smile disappeared from Guts’ face.

  “And here I thought you were smarter than the rest of this group...” He sighed. “I’m also known as ‘The Strongest One Outside the Abode.’ And you’re about to see why.”

  A black flute appeared in Guts’ hand, after which one of the hidden spheres of ki burst out of his body, making sand fly in all directions. There was a strong gust of wind, followed by a deafening roar.

  A giant peak-level Tyrant Stage sandworm emerged from the ground, taking them all by surprise.

  The flute began to play, and Guts jumped onto the dune. The sandworm dived into the sand and disappeared from sight surprisingly quickly. Judging by its aura that was slowly fading, it was heading for the settlement.

  A second later, two more monsters appeared next to Guts, materializing from two more spheres of energy that shot out of his body. One was a golden tiger with fiery paws, tail, and eyes, slightly weaker than the sandworm, and the other — a giant eagle with feathers of steel.

  The melody continued to play. Led by it, the monsters rushed forward.

  But Guts wasn’t done. Another burst of energy came out of his body, instantly taking shape. A giant hive hovered in the air, from which a swarm of acid-green bees flew out. A buzzing cloud headed toward the settlement, leaving its queen in the safety of the hive.

  Guts wasn’t only a Master of Souls but also a Master of Beasts. Cultivators who studied the Path of Beasts could tame monsters and store them in their bodies, thus receiving their powers. However, in order to tame a beast, it was necessary to defeat it first, so that it would recognize them as its owner. The victory had to be honest, for the beast could easily spot artifacts and traps. The cultivator needed to win the monster’s trust to create the necessary bond with it.

  Guts, however, found a way around this. He possessed a predisposition for two rather rare elements. During Highest Enlightenment, he figured out how to combine the Paths of Soul and Beast.

  He created a taming technique.

  With it and a group of hunters, he had defeated powerful monsters and then forcibly made them his pets. To make sure that he could use the beasts’ full power even without a properly formed bond, he created the Taming Melody Technique. Since then, the flute had become his faithful companion.

  His plan wasn’t without flaws, however. Capturing any beast wasn’t an easy task. Those monsters that began to cultivate often valued freedom more than life, which was why they would rather die than let themselves be captured. And the stronger the beast, the more disobedient it was.

  Furthermore, each taming seal cost a huge amount of rare resources and money and had to undergo maintenance once every one and a half years for each of the beasts. Otherwise, they could break free and kill their owner.

  With this approach, Guts couldn’t use one of the most important Forces of the Path of the Beast — that of merging. Monsters that were forcibly made pets obeyed his flute in the real world, but not in the spirit one.

  At some point, Guts would hit a dead end. As an end-level Exorcist, he could control even Tyrants, but he couldn’t tame Holy Beasts. Not now nor ever. And all because from that stage on, beasts gained sentience and could even learn to assume human form.

  Once Guts finally became a Holy Lord, he’d have to forget about using these tricks and properly follow the Path, just like everyone else. He’d have to gain their trust if he wanted to form a genuine connection with them. Unfortunately for him, this meant that he’d never be as strong as he was now.

  Fifteen minutes later, the beasts returned and Guts stopped playing. The melody died down.

  “The path is clear,” he said, turning to his dumbfounded companions. On everyone’s faces, except for Kai’s and, perhaps, Malvur’s, there was a genuine shock. “It’s a pity I can’t do the same in the Abode.” He grinned. “In duels, the Abode weakens my pets...”

  ***

  “Well... I’ve completed my mission,” Guts said. “My contract with Nomen will be concluded as soon as you get inside.” He nodded at the tunnel leading to the tomb. “If you manage to finish your mission in time, we’ll go back to Sim together. You can even use my Abode portal because I’ll be going there anyway. Not for free, of course. But if you don’t make it back in time...” Guts shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll go loot the camp while you guys are in there. Good luck. Have fun. And try not to die.”

  Turning around, he took out a searching artifact from his Ring, and soon disappeared from sight.

  Kai glanced at his friends.

  “Good luck... Or whatever,” An’na told him.

  The others just nodded.

  “Thanks,” Kai answered, also nodded, and began his descent.

  It didn’t take him long to get to the tomb’s entrance. The first obstacle in his path was a slightly dark but translucent wall. Putting his hand on it, he easily pushed his palm through the unusual barrier. It felt like he was trying to reach the bottom of a bowl full of jelly.

  It was only when he had passed through it that he finally realized why its power seemed so familiar.

  The impurities in Nomen’s body were just like it. He tried to get through here at some point. This must be the barrier he told me about — the one that only lets mortals into the tomb.

  “It seems to me,” Rune’Tan commented, “that this barrier should kill anyone who is at the Exorcist Stage or higher. I wonder how he managed to get away...”

  His question remained unanswered as Kai soon met the first opponents — Senior Spirits of Space, clad in armor, with a seven-point foundation.

  The Field that Kai unfolded in an instant only slowed them down, failing to knock them out for good. They were very strong, forcing Kai to immediately use all of his strongest techniques.

  ***

  “I think Nomen was being disingenuous when he said that you could handle everything in here,” Rune’Tan said, slightly angry. “You barely survived that seemingly endless stream of Spirits! If you were even a little weaker you wouldn’t escape... Fucking bastard...”

  There was no spot on Kai’s body that wasn’t scratched, bruised, or covered in blood. In the past three hours, he had been on the verge of dying nearly seventeen times. He even had to spend all the available soul energy he had, which amounted to fifty years — one-fifth of his entire reserve. But even so, if not for the last month of training, he would’ve probably died in this tomb as many before him.

  What angered Rune’Tan even more was the inabil
ity to use artifacts in the tomb. Nomen didn’t warn Kai about this (however, he himself probably didn’t know). Kai realized this only when he unsuccessfully tried to retrieve Azure Crystals from the Ring. Fortunately, he took out his spare swords before he entered the tomb because the ones that he could create from the Cold Void clearly wouldn’t be enough.

  Even after killing the last Spirit, it was difficult to reach the main hall. Kai’s regeneration was actively working, but his spiritual stamina was already at zero. It was a miracle that he was conscious at all.

  Entering the hall, he froze. He stood still for a long time, trying to sense something, thoroughly observing every inch around him with energy vision.

  “I don’t feel anything.”

  “Neither do I,” Rune’Tan said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a trap somewhere here...”

  Kai spent almost half an hour standing there, regaining his strength. Once he recovered enough, he entered the main hall. He carefully took a few steps... but nothing happened.

  Twelve steps later, he fell near the coffin. Even after thirty minutes of restorative meditation, his body still refused to obey him. His head was buzzing, so it wasn’t at all strange that he failed to notice the lid of the coffin, which he tripped over.

  What did they bury in it, a mammoth?! he thought, looking at the enormous casket lying on the floor.

  Having finally gotten up, he tried to push the lid off with his foot, but nothing came of it. He invested more strength in his second attempt, but again nothing happened.

  For his third attempt, he sat down, leaned on the lid, opened the Gate of Power, and then pushed with all his might. The lid didn’t move an inch.

  Nomen wasn’t joking when he said that the coffin would give Kai trouble. Both it and the lid were made of such dense material that they’d be heavy even for peak Holy Lords. However, at the same time, it didn’t distort the surrounding space in any way, nor did it affect the force of gravity, as it didn’t contain either energy or Forces.

  Glancing at it one last time, Kai pulled out the seal Nomen had given him. Oddly enough, the Ring worked without any problems this time.