by Daman
Chapter 33 – The Azure Lightning Emerges
“Your Lordship, a letter from your son just arrived a while ago.”
A servant dressed in a simple brown robe bowed as he addressed the stocky figure seated on the white throne.
“Hm, what did Chax write?”
The stocky man casually inquired.
The man had a trimmed goatee and a head full of pale blonde hair. A large crest of a growling black bear was imprinted on the chest plate of the armor he wore, and his eyes contained a spark of cunningness that was hard to detect to the naked eye.
The man was slightly overweight, however, it was clear to see that he still retained a lot of muscle and strength over the fat.
“He writes that there will be a tournament at his school within a few months and he wishes for you to be there to watch him participate.”
The servant spoke as he conveyed the contents of the letter.
“A tournament…interesting. Reply back to Chax saying that I will be there and look forward to seeing how much he’s grown. Haha, with Master Dane there to guide him, I’m sure Chax will have learnt a thing or two!”
The stocky man boisterously exclaimed as he gestured for the servant to leave.
Once the servant left, the expression on the stocky man’s face abruptly changed.
“What’s the status on our men stationed at the Mountain Range?”
The stocky man asked in a low voice as he turned his head towards the back of the room.
Out of the shadows, a tall and wiry man stepped forward. He had greasy thick dark hair, and his black murky eyes exuded a nauseating feeling to anyone standing close to him.
“We captured three beasts of the first rank safely, but we unfortunately encountered a fifth rank stone ape in the process of securing the previous beasts and lost several men to the stone ape before finally killing it.”
The nasal voice of the lanky man whispered into Regis’s ears.
“Damn it! Why are we losing men every month? Can’t you bunch of idiots capture a fifth rank beast without killing it! Where is Warrick?”
Under Regis’s roar, the greasy haired man calmly stood there.
“After we lost that lightning elementalist, things haven’t been so easy on the mountains. Lately, the magical beasts are getting are more and more aggressive by the day, and I sense that one of them is about to breakthrough into a new realm. Warrick still hasn’t returned from the last trip.”
The tall man answered in a soft voice. A hint of disdain flashed across his face as he gazed at the stocky man seated on the throne, but it was quickly disguised before anyone could see it.
“A beast is about to breakthrough? Send some scouts to keep an eye on the inner circle of the forest! I want to know at once if something suspicious occurs! And tell Warrick to report to me as soon as he returns! I need to put that lightning boy to work immediately! I don’t like it when I’m not making any profits!”
As Regis continued his tirade, the lanky man listened with patience.
He knew that he could not make this obnoxious Lord see any reason, so he just kept his mouth shut. As for the lightning kid, what help could a first rank cultivator provide in the first place? It was better to let the kid grow and then break his mind to make him follow their commands obediently.
As the lanky man was pondering within his own thoughts, Regis was clearly impatient with the current developments.
“Viktor.”
Regis calmly stated.
“Yes?”
As soon as the greasy haired man responded, Regis coldly commanded.
“I have a mission for you.”
……………………..
BOOOOOM!
A loud explosion echoed throughout the forest.
As the smoke dispersed, it revealed two figures in the middle. One was an old man standing with his arms folded across his chest, and long silvery hair fluttering behind him, while the other was a youth of eight years old, with midnight hair and eyes equally as dark.
Both figures calmly gazed at each other with no words being spoken.
“You’ve surprised me yet again, Calron”
Elias broke the silence, as he admiringly spoke those words to his disciple.
“It’s all thanks to you, Master. This disciple would not have perfected the Formless Fist without your guidance a while back.”
Calron humbly responded back to his Master.
Although Calron did have an unbelievable degree of perception in Martial Arts, if it was not for his Master giving him pointers at every exchange, he would have never been able to understand the secret of the Formless Fist. Calron estimated that it would have probably taken him a few weeks to comprehend the aspect of balance in power, if he were to continue training at his previous pace.
“Sigh… I never had a disciple with as much of a monstrous talent as you, Calron. It has not even been a few days since you started the First Layer, and you are already ready to break the seal for the Second Layer.”
As Elias’s voice reached Calron’s ears, he felt slightly confused by his Master’s words.
“Huh? Breaking a seal? What’s that Master?”
Hearing the confusion in Calron’s voice, Elias shook his head and continued.
“I forgot that it’s only been a while since you inherited the Legacy… the seals are located on the bridge that connects you with the source pool. After your first transformation, the first seal is automatically opened, but for every seal after that, you will need to forcefully break through them in order to access the next Layer of the Blood Arts.”
After Elias finished his explanation, he beckoned Fatty to come over as well.
“Roran, you will need to know this as well, so pay attention!”
Just as Fatty came over, he excitedly grabbed Calron’s arm and wildly pumped it with his one hand. Fatty’s other hand was still injured from the exchange between him and Calron.
“Wah- big brother, you’re so awesome! Please teach me that move you did in the end!”
Seeing Fatty being himself again, Calron sighed and shook off Fatty’s hand from his arm.
“Alright, I’ll teach you, but remember that you can’t reveal the Blood Legacy to outsiders, including your sister!”
“Eh? But I really wanted to show off in front of big sister!”
Seeing the stern look on Calron’s face, Fatty immediately responded back.
“I will definitely not do that, big brother, I promise!”
Hearing the conversation between the two boys in front of him, Elias slowly smiled.
Although he could not see their appearances perfectly, he could see the essence outlining their bodies, and watching them bicker back and forth, Elias unknowingly felt content to see them together.
He could finally be at peace knowing that his Legacy will remain alive through these two boys.
“So, I’m guessing that you two don’t want to hear about the seals?”
Elias asked with an amusing look on his face.
Slapping Fatty on the back of his head, Calron stated quickly.
“Sorry Master, we are ready to listen.”
“Very well. The seals on the Blood Legacy can only be broken once you meet the criteria of the next Layer. Since Calron has already mastered the First Layer, he has achieved the level of control needed to break the second seal! The Formless Fist is a technique that requires the perfect balance of source energy within the body to activate, and now that Calron has mastered that balance, he will soon be able to break open the seal.”
Intently listening to their Master’s explanation, both boys nodded as they absorbed the words being spoken.
Within Calron’s mind, he sent his conscious inside the source pool and towards the azure bridge that represented his path. He was curious as to what these seals that his Master talked about appeared inside the source pool.
As he approached the ocean of blood, what he had not noticed before was that there were exactly eleven steps on a
ll three bridges, and with the last step connected to an endless abyss of darkness.
Focusing his gaze upon the first few steps of his own bridge, Calron noticed that only the first step emitted the same azure aura as the rest of his bridge, while all the other steps were dull and plain. There were various symbols etched onto them, but they all seemed to blur whenever Calron focused on them.
So this is where Master said the seals were placed. It looks fairly ordinary. What is so special about them?
Right after Calron inwardly made up his mind, he sent his conscious into the second step.
*Bzzt*
A burst of pain surged within Calron’s mind and he suddenly doubled up on the ground as he grabbed his head with both his hands!
Seeing Calron abruptly fall on the ground, both Fatty and Elias rushed towards the fallen boy and tried to shake him up.
Just as Elias’s hand touched Calron’s body, he felt a sudden jolt!
Looking down at the boy, torrents of Azure Lightning bolts crackled around his body.
Chapter 34 – Secret Unveiled
*Crackle*
An azure bolt of lightning pierced through Elias’s hand with almost no resistance, causing the elderly man to be greatly shocked!
Elias knew exactly how tough his body was, and for a third rank cultivator to pierce his skin so easily, he gawked at the Azure Lightning in wonder.
Meanwhile, Fatty felt similarly, but he seemed to be a lot more confused than shocked.
“Huh? What is this blue stuff? I thought big brother’s lightning was gold?”
Just as Fatty was curiously wondering, an agonizing groan was emitted from Calron’s mouth.
“Master! What is wrong with big brother?”
Fatty wanted to go near Calron, but each time he tried to, an azure bolt would violently attack him. Unknowingly, Fatty felt an instinctual fear whenever the azure lightning drew close to him.
Ever since he had met Calron, Fatty had the impression that his perception of the whole world seemed to turn completely upside down! Fatty had felt that mysterious aura around Calron from the very first day he gazed upon him, but it was only after seeing Calron reveal his Martial Arts, that Fatty realized the truth about his new big brother.
Watching that berserk azure lightning around Calron, Fatty did not know what to think anymore. Let alone the fact that he had never heard or seen an element like Calron’s, it was obvious that a normal lightning bolt of an elementalist was nothing compared to the aura of the vicious azure lightning crackling around Calron.
“Calm down, Roran. That thing is protecting him, so it shouldn’t be the one causing pain to Calron. Let’s wait for while, and if things get worse, I have a final last resort.”
Elias softly stated in a solemn voice.
Fatty did not know what his Master’s last resort was, but he could guess from his tone that it would not be pleasant.
Elias forced his racing heart to calm down and tried to keep the intense shock he felt from showing on his face.
Agatha was one of the weaker continents in the vast lands. Here, Heavenly stage experts were treated like Gods and exalted beings, while they were only the most common of cultivators in the other continents!
Unlike Fatty, Elias had travelled to other continents besides Agatha and had a lot more experience of the world outside, so how could he not know about the special elements that existed under the heavens!
These were children blessed by the laws of the world, and each one would grow up to become an emperor among humans! Only the most sacred and exalted families gave birth to these children, as the blessing of the heavens was an inheritance of blood, and not luck!
Elias recalled the stories of people with special bloodlines who awakened to a supreme element, and he could not help but tremble in fear as he realized what trouble it will bring to Calron if this was revealed to the outside world.
The other heaven’s blessed children were born in large powerful clans or sects, but what about Calron? He would have none to protect him, and Elias’s own power was pitiful compared to the might of the large clans and sects!
However, in all his travels, Elias had never heard of a special bloodline existing under the lightning element! Even in the Royal Xurian library, only four types of special bloodlines existed!
Elias finally came to understand some of the mysteries surrounding this eight year old boy, as his godly talent in cultivation and Martial Arts did not befit the limitations of the lightning element. This also explained why the boy was always so hesitant to talk about his rapid breakthrough to the third rank!
Knowing that the boy had been bearing this burden on his small shoulders the entire time, Elias felt a deep sorrowness within his heart. After losing everything and everyone he had, the boy had to force himself to keep more secrets without having anyone to share his burden. As his Master, Elias regretted that he was not able to help his disciple sooner.
Giving a sad smile to the pain-stricken boy on the ground, Elias patiently waited with Fatty for Calron to wake up.
……………………
Within Calron’s mind, a wave of raging azure bolts crackled around the bridge as it tried to contain the backlash from the Blood Legacy!
After Calron had touched the second seal, a tsunami of source energy attacked his mind and tried to forcefully extinguish his conscious; however, at the exact moment before the collision, the Azure Lightning burst forth and repelled the violent energy!
Calron cursed in agony at his stupid mistake, as he realized that if he had willed his own source energy to approach the seal, things might have gone differently. The seal on the second step had thought Calron was an intruder and maliciously attacked him.
To break the second seal, his Master had stated that one must balance the source energy completely within the body and then slowly peel away the seal, but Calron had foolishly rushed into it without thinking.
If not for the Azure Lightning stepping in at the correct moment, Calron’s mind would probably have disintegrated!
Gazing at the surge of lightning crackling around the bridge, Calron felt intense gratitude for the Azure Lightning. He did not know why it chose him or even what it was, but each time he was in a life-threatening situation, the Azure Lightning would always protect him.
After gathering his will and focusing his thoughts, Calron slowly drew the source energy to his body and circulated it with a perfect balance of power! Within the realm of the Blood Legacy, this control seemed to come easier to Calron than outside.
Calming his breath, Calron then directed his source energy to strike the second seal!
As he barraged the seal with his source energy, Calron felt the symbols on the second step slowly erode away as a glimmer of mist rose from it.
That mist appeared oddly familiar to him, and after Calron scrutinized it in more detail, he was stunned!
It was the same exact crimson mist that exuded from his palms when he attacked Fatty today!
Intently focusing on breaking the seal, Calron once again increased the intensity of his source energy and rushed into the seal.
However, after a while, Calron started to feel tired and mentally drained. Calron’s mind was already exhausted from the seal’s initial onslaught against him, and with the second seal increasing its pressure on him, a trace of despair started to grow within Calron’s heart.
Just as he felt that all hope was lost, a torrent of azure lightning crackled around him and suddenly merged with his source energy!
The lightning appeared to be almost absorbing the source energy, as its body got thicker and thicker by the second. The core of the lightning bolt was still an azure color, but the entire outside was now a thick blood colored lightning.
It was clear that the lightning had not completely merged with the source energy, but even the small amount of their fusion radiated an immense surge of brutal power!
Right then, the new Azure-Crimson Lightning fiercely crashed into the second seal and pie
rced straight through the symbols!
It was as if the seal had not resisted in the slightest, and willingly surrendered itself to the savage lightning in front of it.
After a moment, the second step faintly emitted an azure glow similar to the rest of the bridge, and after the glow brightly flashed for a brief second, it returned back to normal. The bridge now had two steps under its control as the rest of the steps remained dull and lackluster.
As soon as the seal was broken, Calron felt the second step quiver for a moment and suddenly it released a dense blood colored mist!
The mist slowly floated around the step for a while before finally swarming into Calron’s body.
Calron did not resist in the slightest, as he knew that this was part of the Second Layer of the Blood Arts. As the final wisp of the mist entered Calron’s body, he felt a sense of familiarity with it and slowly he absorbed flashes of information on what the mist truly was!