by Daman
“Excuse me, Madam, may I please have a meal?”
Calron politely asked the lady behind the counter. He recalled that this was the same woman who had previously handed out a cultivation pill to the Elder.
“Of course, young man. Today’s meal is a cut of pheasant, a loaf of bread and some sweet cider.”
The lady said while handing out Calron a tray full of the specified food.
“And here’s a little extra meat for cute polite boy like you!”
The lady said while pinching Calron’s cheek.
Calron thanked the lady for her generosity as he gingerly rubbed his reddened cheek. Giving a slight bow to the woman, Calron set out to find an empty table to eat his meal.
Calron might act indifferently to others or even lash out in anger, but to the ones who treat him kindly, he would always pay back that kindness ten times over!
Calron soon located an empty table and started slowly walking towards it. After sitting down, he immediately began wolfing down the food on the tray, while lightly listening to the gossip from the other disciples’ conversations.
Most of the chatter was about their training and boasting their progress, but some were about who the strongest Martial Masters were, and who was the most beautiful girl in the school.
Calron tuned out of their conversations, and thought about his own current predicament. He needed a Martial Arts teacher and as a Lightning elementalist, the majority of the Masters would not even bother with him!
Which Martial Master would want to pass down their fighting Arts to a weakling?
He could ask the Voice, but getting mental information about Martial Arts and physically learning it were vastly different!
Martial Arts required a cultivator to practice the same movements repeatedly in conjunction with the essence, as they adapted their body to remember those movements instinctively.
Although the Voice could teach him those movements, it would still be impossible for Calron to properly train without having a physical partner to spar, and to correct any small errors he might make in the stances.
While contemplating this predicament, Calron had nearly finished all the food on the tray when he heard a sudden *click clack* sound of a wooden stick tapping against the floor.
Glancing up from his tray, Calron saw an old man who was reaching out his hand to grab a chair on Calron’s table.
After the old man grasped the top of one of the chairs, he slowly sat down and groaned in relief. He had seated himself on the chair directly across Calron!
It was at that moment when Calron finally looked into the old man’s eyes, and realized that the elderly man was completely blind!
The old man’s pupils were a dull grey color, and looked faded as if there was an opaque layer of film covering his eyes.
The blind man also wore a grey robe, but it was much lighter than the ones the disciples wore. Calron curiously wondered who this old man was, as he clearly was not one of the Elders, who were easily recognized through their black robes.
The blind man’s robe also looked faded out with several torn patches, and it was clear that this elderly man had been wearing this same cloth for many years!
“Young man, will you please fetch a meal for this blind old fool? Gretha knows me, so don’t worry about her thinking you’re stealing an extra. I’m afraid these old bones just don’t have any spring in them anymore.”
The blind man gently requested Calron.
Being asked by a handicapped person, how could Calron deny fulfilling the request of this blind man?
However, what Calron had failed to notice was that this blind man who was supposed to be unable to see, clearly called him a young man! How did he even know how old Calron was, when Calron never even spoke a single word?
“Please wait here, sir, and I’ll go get you your meal.”
Calron politely responded, as he stood up and walked back towards the lady.
Gretha had already noticed the old man enter and chat with Calron, so she knew that the boy was coming for old man’s meal. She immediately started to prepare the tray as soon as Calron arrived in front of her.
Handing the tray to the boy, Gretha sincerely thanked him.
“Thank you, little one, as not many disciples bother to help old Elias. I usually have to give him his tray at the end of my work hours as I cannot leave my station here, so the poor man has to wait for hours until he can finally eat.”
Gretha was clearly sympathetic to Elias, and Calron could sense that it hurt the woman to watch the old man wait for hours in hunger. Although it would only take her two minutes to walk ahead and give the tray to the blind man, in a society that followed the strict hierarchy of power, she had to first feed the disciples and the Elders, before giving out the food to the weak and crippled.
“Why won’t the other disciples help him?”
Calron angrily inquired.
Not helping someone weak and disabled was absolutely despicable, according to Calron’s ideals.
“Well, Elias is an Element-Less.”
Chapter 7 – First Taste of Blood
With that one word, Calron immediately understood why no one would help the old man!
In this world, the only one other person that was said to be weaker than a Lightning elementalist was a person who did not even have an element, an Element-Less!
“Rumors are that he was injured and lost his essence in a war long ago. Only the school’s Head knows the real truth about Elias, as it was the Head who saved his life after the war and brought him back to the Red Boar School. However, the Head is rarely ever at the school, so everyone just mistreats Elias. Without an element, or his sight, how could the poor man even fight back?”
Beth sorrowfully explained to Calron.
Although the technique was now forbidden, during the age of war, elementalists would sometimes sacrifice their entire cultivation for a single moment of tremendous power!
The technique was now forgotten, and only the past survivors of the war still remembered it. However, none of them would teach that technique to their disciples, as it would completely destroy their future.
The forbidden technique had the potential to raise one’s cultivation by an entire realm! If a Vajra stage expert used this technique, then he would be able to directly enter the Saint stage for a brief moment! However, it came at the price of never being able to cultivate again.
“You should take the tray to Elias now, and tell him that I’ll come visit him after I’m done with my shift.”
Beth softly stated, as she handed out the tray to Calron.
A few disciples in the waiting line were impatiently glaring at her for the delay in their food, so Calron quickly grabbed the tray and started walking back to his table.
The old man had hardly moved from his seat and simply sat there with his eyes closed. He was humming a tune when Calron returned to give him the tray of food. Gently placing the tray in front of Elias, Calron softly whispered to the old man.
“Sir, I placed your tray of food in front of you.”
The old man suddenly stopped humming, as his eyes slowly opened.
Dull grey eyes stared back at Calron, and he felt as if this blind man’s eyes could pierce straight through his very soul!
“Such a polite young man. What is your name, child?”
The old man asked Calron in a calm voice.
“Calron.”
“So Calron, judging from your polite tone, and that you were even willing to chat with me, I’m guessing that you are a new servant here?”
Elias inquired as he slowly started to chew his food.
Although the old man was blind and appeared shabby, there was a certain grace in the way that he cut his food and elegantly chewed. It reminded Calron of the elegant Noble families of the city!
“Actually, I’m a new disciple at the Red Boar School.”
Calron tentatively answered Elias.
Calron guessed why the old man would think that he was
a servant, as only people with a weak cultivation would be polite to an Element-Less like Elias.
“What? You’re a disciple of the school? They actually let in a Lightning elementalist enroll here? Boy, you’re not messing with this old man, are you?”
Elias asked in a disbelieving voice.
Calron was stunned when Elias mentioned his Lightning element, but after thinking for a while, the only explanation he could come up with was that the old man had probably the rumors around the school. Otherwise, how else could the blind man know about his element?
“I was sponsored by Lord Regis as a disciple here for two years. I will be under his command after that time is over.”
Calron stoically replied to Elias’s barrage of questions.
Hearing the emotionless tone in the young boy’s voice, Elias felt a tinge of pity in his heart. He knew exactly the type of lives Lightning elementalists lived, and there was nothing that could change their fates.
After that, the two stayed till midnight as they chatting about their lives. Calron talked about his family and life in the village, and Elias about his time serving in the Royal Army. Calron did not talk much besides mentioning the death of his family, to which Elias gave a sympathetic pat on his back.
What Calron enjoyed the most were the tales of combat from Elias’s war stories. Calron was still an eight year old boy, and stories of battles and war excited him to a great extent!
Although Elias’s stories were vague on what his actual position in the army was, Calron figured out that Elias was once a Fire elementalist and at least at the peak of the Vajra stage, or even at the Saint stage!
Calron stared in awe at this blind man without even a hint of doubt in his eyes.
When the other disciples in the room overheard Elias’s tales, they scoffed in ridicule at Elias’s claims of once being a mighty figure in the Royal Army. Calron paid no attention to the other disciples’ sneers or mockery, and instead continued to listen to Elias’s tales.
Elias never mentioned on how he got blinded, or the point when he became an Element-Less, but Calron did not truly care. It was the first time he felt such a close connection to someone else besides his family, and he simply wanted to talk to someone.
With the moon brightly glowing in the starry sky, a young boy and a blind old man exchanged their stories, as they just enjoyed each other’s company.
There were only a few disciples still remaining in the gathering hall, and they soon started to disperse as well, as some went off to cultivate in the night, or just go to sleep in their huts.
Seeing that it was getting late, Elias finally decided that it was time to go back home and brought the chatting between him and the boy to an end.
“Calron, it has been many years since this old man had someone to talk to, and I thank you for listening to these tales of mine.”
Elias sincerely conveyed to the young boy, as he gently grasped his shoulder.
After losing his ability to cultivate an element, Elias had been constantly ridiculed by others, and besides a few servants like Gretha who pitied him or the school Head, there was no one else who bothered to talk to him.
Giving a slight bow to the old man, Calron happily responded.
“It was my pleasure, and thank you as well for listening to my story. I wish you a good night!”
Hearing the politeness of the boy, Elias let out a low chuckle as he turned around and started walking away.
Hearing the click-clack of the wooden stick, Calron also turned around and slowly walked back to his hut. After his very first cultivation training, and the strain of using the Azure Lightning, it had completely exhausted Calron’s small body.
Just as Calron had left the gathering hall, three shadows separated themselves from the surroundings, and stealthily followed the boy in the darkness.
……………….
Elias’s eyebrows suddenly flickered as he stopped in his tracks, and tilted his head back towards the direction of the gathering hall. Throwing away his wooden stick to the side, Elias abruptly vanished from his spot!
……………….
Calron was feeling slightly drowsy from all the apple cider that he had a while back, and he was ready to crash into his bed for a good night’s sleep. Just as he entered the corridor of the disciples’ huts, the Azure Lightning within his body suddenly sent a shock to his brain!
“You really should not have insulted Lady Felice, you little brat!”
A cold voice abruptly whispered in the darkness, as mysterious person sent a thick killing intent towards Calron!
Two more shadows coalesced next to the mysterious person, and their features slowly became clearer as they stepped into the moonlight.
A veil of dark fabric obscured their faces, as only their cruel eyes gazed at Calron. The three people all wore the same stygian colored uniform, and under the pale moonlight, Calron suddenly noticed the glimmer of metal in their hands!
For the first time in his life, Calron felt afraid.
Calron slowly stepped back towards, as if that small distance would be able to protect him from these assassins. With his heart and mind in turmoil, Calron completely forgot to use his essence, but even if he did, he was pretty sure these assassins would be able to still thoroughly suppress him!
The assassin in the middle suddenly moved!
All Calron saw, was the shine of the metal coming closer and closer to his face. He shut his eyes tight, as tears started to flow down his cheeks.
At this moment, Calron was not really afraid of death or pain. It was the thought of not being to avenge the deaths of his family that brought these tears of anger and helplessness!
Regret.
Anger.
Vengeance.
“I’m sorry father, I’m sorry mother…I’m sorry…”
Just at that moment, another shadow flickered across the scene, and a trail of blood sprayed into the darkness of the night.
Drops of blood splattered onto Calron’s face, as the boy slowly opened his eyes.
Without stopping his rhythm, the new shadow suddenly flashed behind the second assassin, as another stream of blood sprayed under the moonlight!
A severed head silently thudded onto the ground.
The last remaining assassin’s face was contorted in anger and fear, as he gazed at the killer of his brothers.
The two assassins had been killed within the span of seconds, and neither the last assassin nor Calron even had the time to see who the new mysterious shadow was.
Meanwhile, the last assassin’s mind was full of shock! Both of his companions were in the eighth rank of the Spiritual stage, and they had been slaughtered like chickens, without even getting the chance to release their essence!
This man was a supreme expert!
What both Calron and the last assassin had failed to notice, was that this mysterious shadow had not even released a tiny speck of essence from the very beginning!
“You shouldn’t have tried to hurt the boy.”
A cold and deadly voice resonated in the air.
Shock.
Calron recognized that voice!
It was same the voice of the person with whom he had just shared his life stories a while ago!
*swish*
Another lifeless corpse fell to the ground, as it stained the grass with a dark crimson blood. All three assassins had been killed within seconds!
What kind of power was this?
From start to finish, Calron could not even see the movements of the old man. How could the old man even see where his opponents were?
Wasn’t Elias blind? Or was it just a pretense?
“Hahaha, that was fantastic! Don’t worry kid, he’s truly blind, but he’s only blind in his vision, as he sees the world through his Divine Perception! Hahaha, to think there was someone like him here! This is truly fascinating!”
The Voice excitedly exclaimed within Calron’s mind.
Drops of blood slowly dripped onto to the floor,
as Calron realized that he was covered in blood as well! It was the blood of the first assassin.
Before Calron could wipe away the blood, Elias slowly turned around with his grey eyes mysteriously glowing under the moonlight, and solemnly addressed Calron with a slight smile on his face.
“Boy, do you want to inherit my Legacy?”
Chapter 8 – The Twin Demons
“Commander Elias, the army is ready!”
A lone silhouette stood at the edge of the cliff, as he stared down at the multitude of masses stationed below the cliff. With his dark red hair fluttering in the wind, the expression on the man’s face was one of calm and absolute authority.
Wearing a dark blood-red armor, the man was an imposing figure as he stood on that cliff.