The Blood Legacy (The Divine Elements Book 1)
Page 12
“This style of punching is a technique of the First Layer of the Blood Arts! Training under this style will temper your body and muscles in better control the strength of your attacks. Take a rest for now, Calron, as I can see that you exhausted a lot of your energy in the previous attack. You have the whole day off tomorrow, so go try making some new friends. Power means nothing if you do not have someone to care for in this world.”
Elias gently addressed the boy, as he started to slowly walk back into his hut.
Calron really wanted to try executing the punches again, but he knew that his Master was right and he should let his body recover before training again. Too much strain on his body without proper rest might stunt his future growth.
“By the way, Master, what is the name of this technique?”
Calron suddenly asked, just as his Master was about to enter his hut.
Elias slowly tilted his head back while he softly stated.
“It is called the Formless Fist.”
…………………….
After exiting the Artifact’s dimension, Calron began trudging back to his hut.
“Huh, the symbols stopped moving.”
He noticed the strange symbols that were previously worming around his hand, now stood completely still as they formed a crimson print on the palm of his hand. Gingerly stroking the symbols with his other hand, Calron’s palm felt cool to the touch.
There were a total of three different symbols etched onto his palm. The first two were shaped like a sickle with varying sizes, while the third symbol was akin to that of an icicle or a needle. The bigger sickle’s ends were directed towards the tip of Calron’s fingers, while the smaller one faced the opposite direction.
The remaining needle-like symbol was in the dead center of the big sickle as it faced the same direction.
The three symbols did not touch each other, but at the same time Calron got the feeling as if they were a complete single entity. Within a few seconds, the symbols started to slowly fade away until only a faint outline of it remained on Calron’s palm.
Shaking off the thoughts of these mysterious symbols, Calron continued walking back to his hut.
“Hmm, maybe I should get some food…I’m starting to feel hungry… ”
Calron began muttering, as he swiftly changed his direction towards the gathering hall.
“I wonder what Gretha has cooked for today! Hehe, I bet she will give me an extra serving!”
While Calron drooled on the thought of the delicious food he would soon be eating, a commotion seemed to be forming in front him.
*SMACK*
Suddenly, a lump of a small figure flew towards Calron’s feet.
Chapter 19 – A Fateful Encounter
“Haha, that’s what you get for not paying your respects towards me, trash!”
A large boy arrogantly spoke down the crumpled figure on the ground, while a group of boys howled with laughter behind him. The large boy at the forefront was around ten years old and it was clear that he was the ringleader of the group.
The large boy stood at least a foot over Calron, and appeared to be more like a sixteen year old teenager than an actual twelve year old kid, which was due to the fact that he had an abnormal amount of muscles bulging through his robe!
From his attitude and the expensive-looking robes, Calron guessed that this boy must be the spoilt son of a rich household, as commoners like Calron did not have the luxury of nutritious food, and were usually weak and thin like him.
Calron abruptly stopped in his tracks and gazed at the sorry figure of the beaten-up boy below him.
It was a fat kid.
A trail of snot was dripping from his nose, and his chubby face was scrunched up as if he was desperately trying to force back his tears. Both of his eyelids were completely bruised black from the beating, and it was obvious that the fat boy was currently in a great deal of pain, but Calron could not help but contain his laughter as he continued to look at the chubby boy.
It was just that with his eye bruised black, the chubby boy greatly resembled a fat baby panda! Calron imagined that most of the older girls probably would not be able to keep their hands away from trying to pinch this cute chubby boy’s cheeks.
The fat kid was roughly around the same age as Calron, but was surprisingly even shorter than him. The most striking feature about the fat kid were his piercing arctic-blue eyes!
The chubby boy’s eyes faintly reminded Calron of someone he had met before, but he just could not recall it at that moment.
Seeing a stranger had appeared before him, the fat kid suddenly glanced up at Calron, while his eyes lit up with a trace of cunningness!
“Big brother!”
Calron was simply stunned when the chubby kid addressed him as his brother.
Big brother? I’ve never met this Fatty before, so why the hell is he calling me his big brother? We are both at the same damn age!
While Calron was still pondering this, the fat kid quickly pounced on him.
“Big brother, these goons are bullying me! Please teach them a lesson!”
After saying those words, the fat kid rushed behind Calron in a flash and stood there with his tiny chest puffed up like a plump peacock! Although the Fatty looked really chubby, he was surprisingly very nimble on his feet.
Calron was at a complete loss for words. He had never seen a fellow as shameless as this fat boy, and it was quite obvious that the boy did not even know who Calron was, but still wanted to make him into a scapegoat to escape the beating from the bullies!
“Hey trash, who is this brother of yours?”
The large boy asked while he intimidatingly stared at Calron.
There was an evil glint in his eyes, as if he had just found a new prey and looking at Calron’s simple robes, it was obvious that he was just a commoner, so even if the large boy bullied him, no one would bat an eye.
“Mister, I don-”
Calron began explaining when the fat kid behind him rudely interrupted him.
“Hmph, you are not even worthy of knowing my big brother’s name, piss off!”
The fat kid boasted with his chest still puffed up.
At this moment, Calron wanted to grab the fat kid and slap his face until it was swollen, as he was just digging a deeper and deeper grave for Calron.
Being insulted by the fat kid in front of his lackeys, the large boy immediately fumed in anger as he turned a smoldering look towards Calron, while he loudly cracked his knuckles.
The large boy began slowly walking towards Calron, as wisps of orange-red essence started to gather around him and coalesced into a bright flame around both his fists!
“Hey, is Chax really going to fight that skinny kid? He already reached the fifth rank a while ago, so that kid has no hope of surviving… pity that the kid met Chax today.”
While various whispers floated up between the disciples, Calron simply focused on the threat at hand.
Calron was furious at the fat kid at this moment. He only came to the gathering hall to eat some delicious food, but he was now being forced into a fight.
The only way he could contend against the brute in front of him was to either use the Azure Lightning or the Blood Legacy, both of which were forbidden! Calron could not take such a large risk in front of so many disciples! He would have to find another way to escape.
*crackle*
Tendrils of yellow essence started to coalesce around Calron, while bolts of golden lightning crackled around his body.
Silence.
Finally, a disciple at the back spoke.
“A lightning elementalist! The rumors were true! The school had really accepted one of them as a student! Isn’t this just making us lose face in front of the other schools?”
After that, a bunch of new whispers began to circulate around the surrounding disciples.
Chax currently had a huge grin etched on his face. He had been a bit hesitant before when he noticed the complete confidence on the fat kid
’s face, as there were several geniuses in the school that liked to shroud themselves in mystery and dress in common attire.
These geniuses did not care about their appearance and were completely immersed in their training. Seeing the lightning gather around Calron, Chax no longer hesitated and with a sinister smile on his face, he immediately charged towards Calron!
However, the person who had the biggest shock was the fat kid!
“Wah? This boy was a lightning cultivator? I thought I sensed a powerful aura around him…tch, if only big sister were here, then Chax would not dare to make trouble for me.”
While the fat kid continued to mumble, his once puffed up chest had now completely deflated, as he miserably sat down on the ground and began mindlessly plucking the grass near him. He knew that he would get an extra beating from Chax after he was finished with the lightning boy, as he was the one who had caused all this drama.
………..
“His movements are slow and sloppy. He’s also breathing too heavily while focusing purely on strength and not technique. I think he will most likely punch with his left arm, a straight jab, no, it will be a side swing.”
Calron unknowingly began muttering under his breaths as he analyzed Chax’s movements. His normal golden lightning might be weak, but in matters of Martial Arts perception, Calron was in a completely different realm from Chax!
There were only a few more seconds left until Chax would reach him.
Taking in a deep breath, Calron suddenly released his essence as well! The previous thin bolts of golden lightning started to slowly grow thicker and thicker, as they wildly crackled around his body.
Calron had learned this trick of increasing the power of the golden lightning after practicing the second stage of the Thunder-bird technique, as it allowed him a complete control over his essence!
In a flash, Chax’s fist had almost reached Calron’s chest! It was a side swing, just as Calron had predicted. Crossing his arms just before Chax’s fist was about to impact against his chest, Calron hardened the muscles on his arms. Suddenly, a vicious gust of wind and flame erupted from their brief contact!
*Crack*
A small figure violently flew back and painfully collided against the tree. Sounds of bones being broken could be clearly heard in the background.
“Urgh!”
Calron spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground, as he gingerly clutched his broken arm.
Even with his cultivation of the third rank, it was still impossible to contend against Chax! Blood slowly dripped from the corner of his lips, but the murderous gaze within Calron’s eyes remained undiminished. Wild killing intent started to emanate from his body that even caused the nearby Chax to shiver slightly.
What is with this brat? He’s still conscious after taking a direct hit from me!? That attack contained more than half of my strength! If others knew about this, then I would be mocked for the rest of my life!
Chax inwardly thought as he glared at the injured boy in front of him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the gathered disciples eagerly waited for Chax’s next move. They thought that Chax was just playing around with the lightning kid, otherwise how could Calron still be standing after taking a direct hit from him?
The fat kid’s mind was in complete shambles!
He was the one standing the closest to Calron, and he clearly saw that Chax’s punch was extremely powerful, but even more surprising was the fact that the lightning boy had actually withstood it with just his bare arms!
Suddenly, the fat kid sensed a foreign killing intent around him, and it was coming from the lightning kid! Fatty had never been so terrified before, and that fear was not born from logic, but it was a fear that came instinctively whenever a prey met its predator.
However, within that fear, a seed of admiration started to grow within fat kid.
He had always been treated like trash ever since he was born, as his mother was a servant in a rich household and was impregnated by the Lord there. Ostracized by his own father, the only one who truly cared about him in this world was his big sister.
Even though they were not born of the same mother, she had never mistreated him and always brought him all kinds of delicious food and sweets. It was only because of her insistence that he was even allowed to join the school, and the fat kid had promised himself that once he grew up, he definitely repay the kindness and protect his big sister.
Looking at the back of the boy in front him, the fat kid felt his heart ignite in flames of hope. He had always cowered from bullies and took a beating everyday, but this boy in front of him had actually dared to fight back with such tenacity!
…….
Meanwhile, Calron was completely unaware of the thoughts going through the fat kid’s mind, and his focus was solely on the large brute in front him.
Calron felt a cold rage burning through his veins, and he sensed the Azure Lightning trying to force itself out from his body in order to seek vengeance. This was Calron’s first real fight, and although he wanted to act rashly, he still remembered his Master’s teachings: Control your body and control your mind.
Seeing the apathetic expression flash across Calron’s face, Chax felt his face heating up. This kid was looking down on him!
No one had ever dared to look down upon him before, as he was the son of the city Lord and he had the right to be arrogant! Everyone had told him what a genius he was since an early age and his father even collected rare magical beast cores for him to cultivate with.
He was the pride of the city Lord’s family, and now a commoner like Calron, and furthermore, a lightning cultivator trash, had the audacity to look at him with contempt? Unacceptable!
Abruptly, a violent red wave of essence rolled out from Chax, and his flames gushed out in a wild inferno around him. This time, he was going to put his entire strength of a fifth rank cultivator into this final attack!
The surrounding disciples suddenly gasped at the sudden change. They could clearly sense the dangerous aura surging around Chax at the moment.
Calron forced back the struggling Azure Lightning, and instead began to draw large amounts of source energy from the Blood Legacy’s pool. Even when consumed with rage, Calron knew that the Azure Lightning would spell an even greater disaster if revealed, so he chose to risk the Blood Legacy instead. At least it was not as easily detected as compared to the Azure Lightning.
With the source energy flooding through his veins, Calron prepared to unleash the punch from the First Layer! Although his technique was not as powerful as his Master, it was still enough to deal with the large brute in front of him.
Chax’s fist was almost upon him, when Calron forced all the source energy towards his right arm.
Calron suddenly felt a faint tingle from the symbols on his palm.
However, just as the two fists were about to collide against each other, a furious shout abruptly resonated in the air.
“STOP!”
Chapter 20 – Big Sister?
“STOP!”
A powerful voice suddenly roared throughout the entire area, as it caused some of the disciples to clamp their ears shut with their hands.
Calron’s body was completely paralyzed, as an invisible force constricted his limbs from moving.
Chax was in a similar situation as him, but the larger boy’s face still remained distorted in anger. Being so close to landing his killing blow on his enemy, and then abruptly being forced to stop only made Chax even more infuriated!
On the other hand, Calron had calmed down quite considerably, and this was the result of Elias’s continuous mental training. Even Calron had not realized until now that his mental fortitude had been slowly getting stronger day by day.
The crowd slowly began to part away from the center, while the two figures slowly walked towards the front.
One of the two figures was a middle-aged man wearing an ordinary dark red robe. He had an angular face with slight stubble, and pale hazel-green eyes that we
re as sharp as the edge of a blade. The man walked with the stride of a warrior, which were a series of coordinated and precise steps.
Scowling with irritation as he walked towards Calron and Chax, it became clear that the previous explosive voice had belonged to him. With a sword buckled to his side, the man continued walking towards the two boys.
The other figure walking next to the middle-aged man was much smaller in height, but the proud lofty aura around her was in no way inferior to the man beside her. The girl appeared to be around nine or ten years old, but she had face that was blessed by the heavens! There was still a childish charm to her, but it was obvious that once she grew up, she would be a beauty that men would fight wars for!
Her gaze was sharp as a broken glass, and her arctic-blue eyes chilled the soul of any being that met her glare.
The surrounding male disciples all found themselves blushing without control and even their eyes lit up as they greatly admired the beauty of this mysterious girl.