by KSY
Ryan’s ethereal figure appeared in the green side of his Soul World. He saw that Dargar had already coughed out the Soul of the Scorpion-tailed mouse and that it had already entered the pitch-black side of his Soul World, following which the Soul of the Scorpion-tailed mouse entered the mouth of his Asura Martial Spirit. His Asura Martial Spirit had a jubilant expression on his face after devouring the Soul of the Scorpion-tailed mouse.
“Yama! Can’t you control yourself? If Grandfather has noticed you, then I will be in deep shit. My mother will spank my butt until it is as red as tomatoes!” Ryan said angrily. A pair of red eyes appeared within the black side of Ryan’s Soul World. They would give anyone an eerie feeling and most people avoided looking directly into them for fear of feeling uneasy and scared.
“Ryan, you need not worry. I didn’t leak even a bit of Death Energy when the soul of that Scorpion-tailed mouse was absorbed while Dargar was under my control, so don’t fret over it,” Yama replied nonchalantly. Even now his voice contained excessive bloodlust and killing intent, but Ryan knew that Yama was not doing that intentionally.
“Are you sure? My grandfather is not some weakling,” Ryan asked again to make sure.
“Yes. One hundred percent guaranteed,” Yama replied, as he looked into Ryan’s eyes without blinking.
“Don’t you dare repeat that stunt ever again,” Ryan said as he left his Soul World.
“Thanks, Dargar,” Yama said, as he smiled at Dargar.
“No need. It is normal for us to help each other,” Dargar said in a masculine voice following which he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. Yama followed suit and started the process of converting the Soul of the dead Elemental Beast into Death Elemental Energy.
Ryan had been quite scared of Yama when he’d met him for the first time, but as time had passed he started to understand him more and more. Though Yama was a Taboo Martial Spirit, he was not how the books described Taboo Martial Spirits. He had a good personality. The best thing about Yama was his knowledge and intelligence – he had a solution to Ryan’s problems most of the times. It is very rare for Martial Spirits to possess knowledge that exceeds that of their hosts. Generally, all Martial Spirits have the same levels of knowledge as their hosts, as they have come into the existence at the same time as their host, but certain Martial Spirits possess sealed memories.
Technically, anyone who possesses a Taboo Martial Spirit has an unstable mind, due to which they go on a rampage whenever they are angry. The reason for this instability is the Baleful aura released by Taboo Martial Spirits, as it makes a Martial Artist aggressive and violent. That’s why, people prefer to keep their distance from Taboo Martial Artists.
Ryan was an exception. He was immune to the Baleful aura released by Yama, so he didn’t go berserk. Taboo Martial Artists like that are known as Stable Taboo Martial Artists. According to Yama, the reason Ryan was a Stable Taboo Martial Artist was due to Ryan’s soul being different from the souls of other Martial Artists. Ryan’s soul strength multiplied with each breakthrough made by him in his Martial Path. Ryan was just an Early Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist, but the strength and power of his soul were already comparable to those of Early Mortal King Realm Martial Artists. Ryan’s powerful soul suppressed the effects of Yama’s Baleful aura.
A Baleful aura is a type of corrupt aura. It is like a Murderous aura, but possesses a special ability. It corrupts the mind of the person possessing it by turning him or her into a bloodthirsty fiend, at the same time as it attacks the mind and soul of others. It attacks the minds of others by inducing fear in them and attacks their souls by slowly corroding them. If someone is in contact with Baleful aura for an extended period, then he or she might turn into a retard. They can even die if their soul receives a lot of damage.
A Martial Artist can possess a Baleful aura by killing a lot of living beings: the more he or she kills, the stronger the Baleful aura becomes. It can then be used to attack the minds and souls of their enemies. In the case of Taboo Martial Artists, their Baleful aura becomes stronger and stronger with each breakthrough, so they don’t have to go around killing living beings just to strengthen their Baleful aura.
This conversation between Ryan and his Marital Spirits took only a few seconds in the real world.
“Ryan, we should head back home before it gets dark,” Ryan’s grandfather said as he approached him. His grandfather wasn’t behaving oddly, so on seeing this, Ryan knew that his secret was safe.
“Yes, Grandfather,” Ryan smiled back.
Ryan’s grandfather started to hover in the air. He pointed his finger towards Ryan, who was instantaneously enveloped in black energy. This black energy was Darkness Attribute Spirit Power, which made Ryan hover in the air following which Oscar took off into the sky with Ryan closely behind him as he directly headed towards the exit of Eternal Forest.
Ch.2
The activity in Eternal Forest increased dramatically with the disappearance of the sun. The silence of the forest was lost with its setting too. The roars and growling of Elemental Beasts increased with each passing moment, as those that had been sleeping throughout the day were now awake. Each had a hungry stomach to fill.
Oscar increased his speed as he had no intention of getting into a fight with a powerful Elemental Beast while Ryan was by his side. Ryan, on the other hand, was less bothered about the growing activity in the forest. He was currently captivated by the beauty of Eternal Forest. If during the day Eternal Forest had looked like an Immortal Paradise, then currently, it looked like a Godly Paradise. All the plants and trees in it were shining brightly which lit it up perfectly. The scene was absolutely mesmerizing.
Despite that, Ryan was quickly brought to his senses by the terrifying roar of an Elemental Beast. The roar shook his very core, and his face turned slightly pale. He slowly turned his head to look at the owner of this terrifying roar. He saw an Elemental Beast that was as big as a small hill and looked like a saber-toothed tiger. He could see electricity crackling around its body. It was a Lightning Sabre-toothed tiger, an Ancient Elemental Beast of Thunder Attribute. The one in front of them had high-grade bloodline purity, and it was glaring at them, but didn’t attack. Ryan felt a shiver down his spine when he felt the eyes of the Lightning saber-toothed tiger fall on his body.
“Don’t worry. The Lightning Sabre-toothed tiger won’t attack us. It knows the danger associated with that, but it wants us to leave its territory as soon as possible,” Oscar said upon noticing Ryan’s terrified expression. Ryan nodded his head after hearing his grandfather’s words. He felt a little better when he saw that the Lightning sabre-toothed tiger truly had no intention of making a move against them, but still wanted them to leave its territory as soon as possible. Oscar increased his speed manyfold and they quickly left its territory, but Oscar maintained that speed until they were out of Eternal Forest.
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Ryan and his family lived in Hope City which was situated in the central region of Dragon Head Continent of Grandura. The continent got its name due to its shape, which had a striking resemblance to a dragon’s head.
Ryan’s family lived on the outskirts of Hope City on a large twenty-hectare sprawling estate, which had a hundred rooms and a big training field for practicing martial arts. The estate’s location ensured that the noisy atmosphere of the city didn’t affect the peaceful atmosphere of the estate. Such an atmosphere was good for cultivation and training in Martial arts.
Ryan and his grandfather had exited the Eternal Forest a few minutes ago and weren’t far from Hope City. Ryan was in a good mood – as opposed to when the Lightning sabre-toothed tiger had glared at him and his grandfather. His excitement increased with each passing second as he wished to tell his mother and brothers about his first hunt. He had hunted ten Elemental Beasts in total which was quite a feat for someone his age!
Ryan’s mother, Emilia, on the contrary, was very worried about the grandfather-gr
andson duo as they were running late. She was sitting in the living room waiting for their return. She was wearing a gown with a beautiful floral design. She looked like she was in her twenties, but she wasn’t that young: her youthful appearance was due to her being a Martial Artist. Oscar looked like a middle aged man for the same reason, even though he was quite old. When she sensed the return of Ryan and his grandfather a smile bloomed on her face. She quickly went out to greet them at the entrance to the estate.
Ryan and his grandfather descended at the entrance, and Emilia was already standing there with a big grin on her face. She had a loving expression when she looked at Ryan.
Seeing his mother, Ryan rushed to her and gave her bear hug and started talking about the things, he’d experienced that day. Emilia’s expression changed when he told her about the Lightning sabre-toothed tiger. Emilia knew how dangerous and ferocious Lightning sabre-toothed tigers were.
“What’s more important is that you and father-in-law have returned home without any injuries,” Ryan’s mother said once Ryan was done and she gently patted him.
“Where are Blake and Cris by the way?” Ryan asked as he noticed their absence. It had already been a while, and his brothers had yet to show up to greet him.
“Well since you broke through to the Early Mortal Elite Realm, they have been cultivating and training like maniacs. I think they want to catch up to you,” Ryan’s mother said as she giggled.
“They shouldn’t overexert themselves. It’s not good for them,” Ryan said urgently. Anyone could tell that he was seriously worried about his brothers.
“Don’t worry. Blake is already at the Late Condensation Realm while Cris is at Mid Condensation Realm. They can easily handle this much training,” Oscar said. He knew that Ryan was a worrywart. If he wasn’t given a good reason, he would make an unnecessary fuss. After hearing his grandfather, Ryan’s mind eased a little bit, though he was still worried about his brothers.
“Divine Martial Sect is recruiting disciples. Since you are already in the Mortal Elite Realm, you are qualified to take their test. Joining a sect will increase your understanding of the world, and you might even be able to become a powerful Poison Martial Artist’s personal disciple,” Ryan’s mother said with a serious face.
“Divine Martial Sect has five powerful Poison Martial Artists in their ranks, who can even make a powerful faction cower in fear!” she continued. Her face was enough to tell Ryan that she seriously wanted him to join the Divine Martial Sect. Joining a sect had its advantages, like better and large numbers of Martial Skills to choose from, and most importantly a strong backing.
“I will think about it,” Ryan said with a reluctant expression. He had never considered joining a sect as he’d wished to stay with his family, but he knew this was wishful thinking. Once his brothers broke into the Mortal Elite Realm, they would have to leave with their grandfather to cultivate in a Darkness Attribute Treasure Land as that was beneficial for their cultivation.
Treasure Lands are pieces of land with excessive amounts of Elemental Energy with particular attributes in their air. Darkness Treasure Land has an excessive amount of Darkness Elemental Energy in its air. Treasure Lands are graded as high, mid and low on the basis of the purity of the Elemental Energy they release into their air. The purity of Elemental Energy in high-grade Treasure Lands, in particular, is highly beneficial for the cultivation of Martial Artists and other beings alike.
As a result, Treasure Lands are coveted by both Humanoid factions and other beings, as cultivating in them is beneficial for cultivation. Most of the Treasure Lands of Grandura are in the control of powerful factions and other terrifying beings.
Another reason that Treasure Lands are coveted so much is because they are capable of producing large quantities of Elemental stones. Elemental stones are formed by the crystallization of Elemental Energy. Elemental stones can be used by a Martial Artist as a source of Elemental Energy for cultivation purposes.
Treasure Lands also have the ability to birth Heavenly Treasures, which are coveted by all living beings as a Heavenly Treasure can effectively change a Martial Artist’s talent and life.
For these reasons, all factions actively compete for ownership of high-grade Treasure Lands and use their Heavenly Treasures to nurture their disciples.
So, for all these reasons, Emilia and Oscar wanted Ryan to join a faction.
His brothers and grandfather possessed Darkness Attribute Martial Spirits, so his grandfather could easily guide them and help them in cultivating Darkness Elemental Laws. Ryan knew that his grandfather and mother could not help him a lot as the attributes of his Martial Spirits were comprehensively different from theirs. He would have to join some faction to find himself a strong Master to gain access to some strong Martial Skills.
“Now go and clean yourself,” Ryan’s mother said as she lovingly patted him. Ryan nodded his head and started heading towards the bath. He took a long hot water bath. The bath helped him to relax quickly and also relive him of the fatigue that he had accumulated that day.
Before returning to his room, Ryan had already decided to cultivate Poison Elemental Laws. He’d had a realization that day after seeing the Lightning sabre-tooth tiger: he was too weak. After returning to his room, he approached a mirror that was placed on the table. He gently tapped the surface of the mirror and the next moment he was sucked in by the mirror. Ryan appeared in a big room. This room contained only a mattress that was placed in its middle. The room had complete peace and tranquility except for any noise made by Ryan. The mirror was a Spatial artifact with a large space in it, and the Cultivation chamber was placed within that. This mirror is called a Spatial Cultivation chamber.
Artifacts are of various attributes like fire, water and so on. They can either be in the form of a weapon or armour and so on, or in any other form like Ryan’s Spatial Cultivation chamber. On Grandura only two types artifacts are available: Mortal and Immortal. Both the types are graded as low, mid and high. The Spatial chamber was a low-grade Mortal artifact of Spatial Attribute.
Ryan sat on the mattress and took out ten or so green stones from his pouch. It wasn’t an ordinary cloth pouch but a low-grade Mortal artifact of the Spatial attribute. It had a small space inside, which could be used by warriors for keeping their essential stuff in. The weight of the stuff kept inside the Spatial pouch was reduced to one tenth of its original.
The stones had a green aura around them, which started to turn the air surrounding them toxic. They were high-grade Poison Elemental stones, as the Poison Elemental Energy contained within them was quite pure.
Martial Artists require large quantities of Elemental Energy from the Mortal Elite Realm onwards so they can cultivate to higher sub-realms or realms. The quantity of Elemental Energy required is not readily available in their surroundings everywhere, so they need to use things that contain it in large quantities. Elemental stones are one such source of Elemental Energy.
Elemental stones are also of various grades, based on the purity and concentration of Elemental Energy contained within them. They are graded as low, mid and high.
Ryan held a Poison Elemental stone in each of his hands and then started to absorb the Poison Elemental Energy from each of them. The moment the Elemental stones were drained of Elemental Energy, they turned into dust, and all the Elemental Energy drained from them was sent to the green side of his Soul World. Ryan continued draining the Poison Elemental stones until the green side of his Soul World couldn’t contain any more Poison Elemental Energy.
Once the green side of his Soul World was filled to the brim with Poison Elemental Energy, Ryan closed his eyes and began cultivating Poison Elemental Laws. Dargar followed suit.
The Poison Elemental Energy in the green side of Ryan’s Soul World was absorbed by his Poison Attribute Soul Core, which then converted the Poison Elemental Energy into Poison Attribute Spirit Power. Whenever the Soul Core converts Elemental Energy into Spirit Power, a Martial Artist can connect
with the universe and gain insights into Elemental Laws.
In Ryan’s case, he was trying to gain insights into Poison Elemental Laws. Ryan was quite talented in cultivating Poison Elemental Laws, and Dargar being an Emerald viper was even more talented than Ryan.
When a Martial Artist is in the Mortal Elite Realm, his or her Soul Core contains Spirit Power in the gaseous state. Once a Martial Artist can fill his or her Soul Core with Liquid Spirit Power by converting Gaseous Spirit Power into Liquid Spirit Power, the Soul Core attains a breakthrough and advances to Mortal Lord Realm. Currently, Ryan’s Poison Attribute Soul Core had a Cultivation Level of Early Mortal Elite Realm and for his Soul Core to break through to Mid Mortal Elite Realm, he had to fill one-third of his Soul Core with Liquid Spirit Power.
Liquid Spirit Power is quite different from Gaseous Spirit Power in terms of both the quality and explosive power it provides to the Martial Artist. Liquid Spirit Power is many times denser and purer than Gaseous Spirit Power, which makes it last longer than the same quantity of Gaseous Spirit Power. As a result, a Martial Artist can fight for long durations when using Liquid Spirit Power. The power displayed by both Innate Abilities and Martial Skills increases manyfold too.
A Martial Artist forms Liquid Spirit Power by compressing Gaseous Spirit Power inside his or her Soul Core. This is done by filling the Soul Core with an excess amount of the Spirit Power, so the Gaseous Spirit Power inside the Soul Core comes under massive pressure and slowly starts liquefying into Liquid Spirit Power. If the insight and understanding of the Martial Artist into Elemental Laws is at the threshold required to attain a breakthrough into next the stage of the Elite Realm or Mortal Lord Realm, then the Gaseous Spirit Power easily converts into Liquid Spirit Power. If the insight and understanding of the Martial Artist in Elemental Laws is lacking, though, then he or she has a tough time converting the Gaseous Spirit Power into Liquid Spirit Power.