by KSY
He also activated the camouflage ability of Death Sword to hide his real Cultivation Level again. Ryan’s Cultivation Level would again be perceived by others as Early Mortal Elite Realm.
Ryan reached Divine Martial Sect after three days.
Thorn left for his territory soon afterwards, as he didn’t like the Divine Martial Sect for some reason.
Ryan went to report to his Master about his return. Raymond was still sitting in the living room of his mansion, and still reading books and manuscripts. A smile appeared on his face as he sensed Ryan’s return. Ryan also had a smile on his face as he entered the living room, which put Raymond’s heart at ease as he looked forward to good news.
“How was your trip to Desolate Graveyard?” Raymond asked with great expectation.
“It was so profitable! I enslaved many Undead creatures,” Ryan said as he released a few Undead creatures from the Undead pouch hanging by his waist. They all stood silently, and all of them were covered in red aura.
Raymond was stunned upon seeing the Undead creatures behaving decently. Generally, he saw them going wild most of the times, but they were not showing any signs of revolting or going berserk, so a jubilant expression appeared on his face.
“Good! Good! Good!” Raymond said and he was unable to contain his excitement.
Raymond was on cloud nine because his disciple had the ability to form an Undead legion, as that was something very few Death Martial Artists could do. He didn’t ask Ryan about the red aura shrouding the Undead creatures under his control, as he assumed it was the after-effect of the Innate Ability that allowed Ryan to control them. Ryan recalled all the Undead creatures to his Undead pouch, once Raymond could confirm his control over Undead creatures.
Raymond took out a small box from his Spatial pouch.
“This box contains a pill, which is your reward for securing the First position in the Marathon. The Sect delivered it to me while you’d gone to Desolate Graveyard,” he said.
“Take it whenever you enter a Closed-door session. It is known as Nether pill and is capable of increasing a Death Martial Artist’s affinity with Death Attribute. It is made from an Immortal Plant Spirit named Nether lotus,” Raymond said with a smile as he gave the box to Ryan.
Ryan accepted the box with a big smile. It was a timely reward. If his affinity with Death Attribute increased further, his cultivation speed would further increase, and that would allow him to quickly gain the strength and powers required to finish off Rai in God’s Domain.
Ryan quickly opened the small box in excitement. It contained a pitch-black pill, that had Death aura surrounding it. A smile crept onto his face. He could sense a terrifying power of death sealed within the pill, so it could seriously increase his affinity with Death Attribute. After checking the pill Ryan closed the small box and stored it in his Spatial pouch.
Raymond and Ryan continued talking for some time before Ryan retired to his Cultivation chamber.
After returning to his Cultivation chamber, Ryan used his Mental-message transmission orb to call his mother and placed it on single mode.
“Mother, can you send me your coordinates? I need to send you something,” Ryan asked directly when his Mental-message transmission orb connected to his mother. Ryan was thinking of using a Teleportation scroll to send her a bead necklace. He would have to ask his master for help to open a Teleportation portal as he was still too weak to open one.
“Just ask Divine Martial Sect to send it over to the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. Put whatever you are sending inside a box and write my name and branch on it. That box will be delivered to me once it arrives in the Heaven Sundering Family Clan,” Emilia said.
“OK. I will do that immediately,” Ryan said as he disconnected the Mental-message transmission orb.
Ryan quickly placed one of Isa’s black bead necklaces into a box and placed some seals on it. He then wrote ‘Emilia, Fifth branch’ on the top of the box.
Ryan took the box to the Divine Martial Sect’s Administration department on the first level of Cloud-piercing Mountain.
“Hello! I need to send this box to the Heaven Sundering Family Clan,” Ryan said to the receptionist. She nodded her head as she took the box from Ryan’s hands. Ryan’s background was already well known in the Divine Martial Sect, because of which the receptionist readily agreed to his request.
“You will need to pay some fees for it,” the receptionist said.
“How much do I need to pay?” Ryan asked.
“One thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones,” she said.
“Please send it immediately,” Ryan said as he took out one thousand Primary attribute high-grade Elemental stones.
The receptionist took the box to an adjacent room and placed it on a Teleportation circle. Its runes started to shine and the box soon vanished.
“The box has reached the Heaven Sundering Family Clan,” the receptionist said as she received confirmation from the Heaven Sundering Family Clan via Mental-message transmission orb.
“Thanks,” Ryan said as he left the Administration building. After about fifteen minutes, his Mental-message transmission orb started to vibrate. Ryan activated it and placed it on single mode.
“I just received your package. What did you send me?” Emilia asked as she was still in the middle of unsealing the box Ryan had sent her.
“I sent you a powerful Life-saving artifact. Make sure you always wear it, as it will make me worry less about you,” Ryan said. On hearing this, Emilia felt a warmth surge through her heart. She quickly opened the box and found a black bead necklace in it, the most striking feature of which was its big black beads. However, Emilia was unable to find any of the special features that a Normal Life-saving artifact had like a powerful aura or runes etched on it.
“Mother, the necklace is capable of even dealing with Ancestor Realm Martial Artists. If your life is in danger it will activate automatically and annihilate your enemies. Don’t give it to anyone else, as it will stop working thereafter,” Ryan explained.
“OK. I’ve got it,” Emilia said. She was astonished at hearing this and started probing the necklace with her Soul-sense in order to unravel its mysteries.
Ryan and Emilia continued talking for some time before ending their conversation.
Ch.23
Emilia wore the necklace around her neck to see if it showed any kind of change, but it still showed none of the peculiarities of an artifact. She didn’t give up and continued to probe it with her Soul-sense, but she started feeling that Ryan had most likely been scammed by someone.
“Emilia, what are you doing? We need to leave for the wedding within half an hour,” Alexis asked as she and Blasius entered Emilia’s chamber. Emilia was still probing the necklace around her neck. Both Alexis and Blasius had smiles on their faces. They were always energetic and cheerful since Emilia’s return and knowing about Ryan.
“Mother, I just need a few minutes to get ready. I was waiting for Ryan’s package,” Emilia replied.
“Did he send you the black bead necklace around your neck? It’s a good choice, but it isn’t an artifact. As you are a Martial Artist, such jewelry is of little use to you,” Alexis said as she analyzed the necklace around Emilia’s neck.
“Yes, I know that,” Emilia said as she gave a slight nod, but she was still intently probing the necklace with her Soul-sense.
“Why are you probing it then?” Alexis couldn’t help but ask. She knew that Emilia had been probing it even before their arrival. She found it odd.
“He told me that it is a very powerful Life-saving artifact,” Emilia said in a serious manner, but she wanted to beat the hell out of the guy who’d tricked her son.
Blasius and Alexis’s expressions became awkward as they looked at Emilia.
“I also think that he was scammed by someone,” Emilia said as she understood what her parents were thinking.
“Since he sent me this necklace with such a good intention it is for the best
that I wear it,” Emilia said with a big grin. She’d decided to ask Ryan about it later.
Blasius and Alexis also nodded their heads. They themselves were parents so they could understand Emilia’s thought process.
“I will teach him about artifacts when he makes a trip to the Family Clan,” Blasius said with a smile. Alexis and Emilia nodded their heads in agreement.
Emilia along with her family had been invited to a wedding in the Third branch of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. The groom belonged to the Third branch while the bride was from Emilia’s branch, the Fifth branch. Emilia had not been interested initially but was unable to refuse after repeated requests from her parents, as her brothers were away on a mission.
Emilia got ready within a few minutes and following that she and her parents left for the main house of the Third branch of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan.
A happy atmosphere enveloped the Third branch, as that day was the wedding of their most talented youngster, Julius. He was a Dual Martial Spirits holder and his Martial Spirits resembled two powerful Ancient Elemental Beasts.
The wedding had already started by the time Emilia and her parents reached the Third branch’s Ceremony Hall with her parents. The moment Emilia and her parents entered the Ceremony Hall, they attracted everyone’s attention. To be precise, it was Emilia who attracted their attention.
Since her return to Heaven Sundering Family Clan, Emilia had only met people belonging to her own branch, so this was her first-time meeting people from other branches. Most people were interested in knowing Emilia’s current actual strength and powers, as she had been touted as the most talented Martial Artist of her generation while she was in her teens. Emilia knew the reasons for their curiosity towards her, so she just kept a confident smile on her face as she faced them.
Emilia and her parents started greeting other guests at the wedding as they made their way towards the groom and the bride to congratulate them. The bride and the groom smiled upon seeing Emilia and her parents. Emilia and her family smiled back at them. The younger generations of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan held Emilia in high esteem –they all wanted to become like her.
Emilia and her family congratulated the young couple. Alexis gave the groom a sword, while Emilia gave a pearl necklace to the bride. The sword had a violent aura surrounding it while the pearl necklace shone with brilliant radiance, unlike the bead necklace sent by Ryan. Anyone could tell that these two artifacts weren’t Normal and both groom and bride were charmed to receiving them.
After congratulating the couple, Emilia and her parents went to greet the remaining guests, who were all admirably courteous towards Emilia and her parents. They knew that with her talent and potential Emilia was bound to have a meteoric rise in her status sooner or later, so it was wise for them to form relations with her while her status was still low.
“Emilia, I heard you have become a mother. Where is your son?” a middle-aged man asked as he approached Emilia and her parents. He had a mysterious aura surrounding his body, which made the younger generation want to venerate him. The expressions of Emilia and her parents changed strikingly, as they’d had no intention of seeing this man, but Emilia quickly calmed herself down. She knew that he was deliberately asking a question whose answer he already knew, as the Family Clan knew that Ryan had become Raymond’s disciple. Clearly, he had some vile intention towards Ryan.
“Ancestor Ragnar, he is currently training under Ancestor Raymond of the Divine Martial Sect,” Emilia said respectfully, even though she had no genuine respect for the man in front of her.
“Why did you send Ryan to the Divine Martial Sect instead of bringing him along with you to the Family Clan?” Ragnar asked with a displeased expression. Many people wanted an answer to that question, as generally, a faction personally nurtured talented disciples itself instead of sending them to other factions. They already knew that Ryan had a terrifying talent, otherwise Raymond wouldn’t have taken him as a disciple.
“He is a Poison Death Dual Attribute Martial Artist and since our Family Clan lacks a Poison Death Dual Attribute Ancestor Level Martial Artist, I decided to send him to the Divine Martial Sect,” Emilia said in a calm voice. In reality, she had done so to keep Ryan away from her family clan until Oscar settled his matters as it was still not known to anyone that she was Oscar’s daughter in law and Ryan his grandson. Oscar had told her that he intends to settle his matters soon. This was also the reason why she was able to make up her mind to return back to her family clan. She had no intention to drag Ryan into this complicated situation at all. Alexis and Blasius had asked Ryan about his Father a number of times and question’s related to it. Ryan would always tactfully deflect them on Emilia’s instructions. Ryan had readily agreed to it without questioning his mother’s intention though he had vague idea behind such a dictate of his mother.
Her calm words caused an earthquake in the hearts of many. Their facial expressions quickly changed, but just as quickly, they regained their composures. Emilia sensed these changes in expression even though they were only visible for a few moments, as most people didn’t know that Ryan also had a Death Attribute Martial Spirit. That was only known to the members of the Fifth branch and a few higher-ups.
“No wonder you took such a decision,” Ragnar said with a smile, but he himself was shaken up, as he knew how fearsome Raymond was. He himself would have no chance of survival against Raymond if they fought seriously. Since Ryan was also a Poison Death Dual Attribute Martial Artist, there was a very high chance he would become as fearsome as Raymond in the future.
“So is he engaged to some girl?” Ragnar asked but his question made Emilia frown and Alexis and Blasius were no different, as they could also tell what Ragnar’s intentions were.
Ragnar was one of the few members from the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family who still wanted to punish Emilia for disregarding their decision two decades previously. At that time, the members of the Upper echelon of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan had wanted Emilia to marry a person of their choice, but she had refused and left the Family Clan in anger.
She could see that Ragnar was now trying to enforce similar conditions on Ryan to make his life hell, so how could she tolerate it? She almost lost her temper but a timely warning from Alexis and Blasius calmed her down. Emilia knew that she couldn’t be disrespectful to Ragnar as he was of the Senior generation.
“He isn’t engaged yet,” Emilia said in a cautious tone.
“So can the Senior generation pick a wife for him?” Ragnar asked with a smile but anyone could see that it was a treacherous smile lacking even an inkling of good will.
“Ryan will decide about such matters himself,” Emilia said in a firm voice.
“Do you think that we can’t make a good decision on his behalf?!” Ragnar said as the smile on his face vanished. A powerful pressure erupted out of his body which substantially suppressed Emilia. Her expression changed, as she hadn’t expected Ragnar to be this brazen and make a move on her in front of so many people.
“Ancestor Ragnar, you can’t do this,” both Blasius and Alexis pleaded.
“Who are you to order me around?” Ragnar roared with anger. With a flick of his hand, Blasius and Alexis were sent flying. Both Blasius and Alexis were in Early Immortal Elite Realm, so how could they withstand the might of Ragnar? They smashed into a wall. Emilia wanted to go and help them, but she was completely suppressed by Ragnar.
Ragnar himself knew that he could not injure Emilia, but he could make her undergo immense agony as a punishment. He increased the pressure on Emilia manyfold, until she was unable to remain standing and her body slumped on the floor. Her face twisted as she gritted her teeth. It was unnervingly painful.
The other people in the Ceremony Hall were unable to stop Ragnar, as they were weaker than him in terms of both strength and status, so they sent an SOS to the Family Clan’s higher-ups.
All the Ancestor Level Martial Artists of the Heaven Sundering Fa
mily Clan lived in the Ancestral land, which was quite far away from their current location, so it would take some time for them to come and save Emilia.
Emilia knew that Ragnar wouldn’t kill her, as it was forbidden to execute anyone without a trial in the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. She just needed to hold on for some time, as there was no doubt that someone would come to save her.
The bead necklace around her neck started to shine at that moment. All the pressure on Emilia vanished. She looked around with an astonished expression and saw that she was surrounded by ten powerful wraiths, that were shrouded in a vicious red aura which made the Mortal Realm Martial Artist shudder in fear. She noticed too that the bead necklace around her neck missing and she immediately understood everything: these wraiths were related to her bead necklace. She found this unduly bewildering, as she had never seen or heard of such a weird Life-saving charm.
The facial expressions of everyone present in the Ceremony Hall changed considerably too, including Ragnar’s. They had seen the beads of the necklace around Emilia’s neck turn into wraiths. Just like Emilia, they had never seen or heard of such an artifact either, that could turn into Undead creatures.
The Innate Ability used by Isa to create the necklace is one of the core Innate Abilities of Demon ghosts. This Innate Ability is generally not inherited by Demon ghosts with Lower bloodline purity, but Demon ghosts with high-grade and original-grade bloodline purity are generally not found in worlds lower than Divine Worlds, because of which such a bead necklace had never been seen on Grandura before.
The next moment five of the ten wraiths charged at Ragnar but they turned invisible before doing so. A fearful expression appeared on Ragnar’s face as he was unable to see or sense the wraiths that were coming for him. He knew he would be at a disadvantage against them and he could also tell that they weren’t Normal. He quickly formed a barrier around his body as he flew out of the Ceremony Hall at his top speed to save his life. He was certain that he would be killed if he was caught by them.