Hearing Jack’s answer, the old man could not help but contain his joy. In his eyes, Jack was the perfect candidate to inherit the strongest and most mysterious body refining technique the Nura Clan possessed.

This technique was an [Art] left behind by an old friend of his that obtained it from some dangerous ruins. However, since the fellow had no descendants, he left the technique with him as he went to roam around the Realm. If he met his end, at least the technique wouldn’t be lost.

As the old man though about this, a feeling of sadness took over him as he remembered this sworn brother of his. He took a deep breath and hid the memories deep inside as he looked at Jack and asked, “Are you sure? The path of Body Tempering is several times more difficult than Qi Gathering. Besides that, the path will be several times longer and several times more painful.”

As he looked straight into Jack’s eyes with a solemn look, Jack nodded his head as he also seriously answered, “It isn’t my way to half ass things. If I do something, I pick the path with the best results, no matter how bloody or ardacious the path is.” A light passed the old man’s eyes as his smile grew bigger and he said, “Good. Good!”

He then walked in front of Jack and said, “This is the mindset needed for Body Tempering. Never afraid, never cower.” After saying so, he put his hand on Jack’s shoulder and with that, Jack suddenly felt his world blur and in the next moment, all of his surroundings had changed.

**

In the forbidden training ground of the Ancestor, two servants were talking, “Hey, have you heard about the Third Young Master?” The other young woman nodded heard head as she giggled, “Yes, I heard that he goes to the Forest of Beasts really often.”

The other nodded her head and giggled as well, “Maybe he will get himself killed when he wanders around there.” The other nodded her head as she said with a cold face, “He is always so distant, no matter who tries to make friends with him, he pushes them all away. I like his eldest brother more, he is always so charming and dashing.” As the girl said that, she blushed.

Seeing that, the other young servant girls face turned into a grin as she was about to say something a cold voice came from behind them, “Is that so?”

The two froze in terror as they turned around and saw the Ancestor staring at the two with ice cold eyes. The two immediately kneeled one of them said, “Ancestor...” But she couldn’t say more as the old man just coldly stated, “The two of you are from now on relived from your duties and are forbidden from living inside the Main Family Compound.” With those words, two tokens that they held flew out of their spacial rings and into the old Ancestors hand. Without another word, he turned around and left.

The two immediately raised their heads with ashen faces after hearing the words but every word of plea was stuck in their throat as they saw a young boy with silvery white hair walking behind the Ancestor. Seeing him walking behind the Ancestor, the two immediately knew what just had happened and why. It had to be said that this entire courtyard was a complete Forbidden Zone in the Clan. Unless the Ancestor gave the person an Authority Token, they were unable to even as much as enter one hundred meters of the courtyard.

Jack suddenly felt their gazes land on him and he turned around for a second. He gave them a cold look and then without bothering with the two of them any more, he turned to follow the old man again. The two young girls had sacrificed a lot to obtain this post but now all of their efforts had gone down the drain.

Although they wanted to hate Jack for it, deep in their heart, they knew that it was all their own fault. Speaking like that about the Main Family was a taboo in itself, much less in the Ancestors courtyard. If they hadn’t run off their mouths here, they would have been able to keep their positions and all the prestige that came with it.

But now, all they could do was sullenly leave the courtyard before the Ancestor decided to throw them out.

**

The old man didn’t say a word as he lead Jack to a little black pagoda. The pagoda was the size of a small cottage. The old man took a deep breath and threw a black command medallion with a blank mask on one side and the word Nura on the other side.

Jack caught the medallion and as he was inspecting it, the old man said, “From now on, this pagoda is yours. You may enter and exit as you see fit. Inside there are various rooms and a [Art] I wish you to use as your Cultivation Method. All the resources you need will be delivered here and if you have any questions or problems that the two golems inside can’t help you with, then seek me out.”

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He then took a deep breath and looked at Jack saying one last thing, “If you wish to go out to temper yourself, let me know before hand.” With that, he helped Jack bind the command medallion and he turned to leave.

Jack stared at the command medallion in his hand and then look at the house. He took a deep breath as he entered the little pagoda.

**

As soon as Jack stepped into the pagoda, the old man appeared in front of it. A look of nostalgia appeared on his face as he murmured, “Little Brother, I finally found a perfect successor for you.” He gave the pagoda one last deep look and turned around to head to his own cultivation chambers.

**

When Jack entered the doorway, he suddenly felt a nauseating feeling building up in his stomach but the feeling was gone as quickly as it came and when Jack took a look at his surroundings, he was dumbstruck. Inside the pagoda, it was a whole different world. The layout was a simple floating island type.

On each Island there was a different building for different purpose. An Art Hall that held useful [Arts] for cultivating or for battle. Artefact Hall which was specifically for forging and storing all types of weapons. Training Hall where there were all sorts of Killing and Training Arrays. Tempering Hall, a place where he could temper his body to the maximum. As Jack took a deep breath after glancing at his surroundings, two streaks of light landed in front of him.

There was a muscular man with red hair and a bare upper body and the other was a slender woman with pitch black hair. The two looked at Jack coldly and the muscular man asked, “Do you have the Token?” Jack gulped as he was frightened to the max by the man’s ferocious aura.

Involuntarily, he had started shaking as he showed the two the token the old man had given him. A glint passed the red haired man’s eyes as he took the token and said, “The Nura Clan was given only one token, one chance at obtaining my Master’s legacy. Are you sure you wish to undergo the Trial?” Jack was startled when he heard that and he thought to himself, “One chance? And that old man gave it to me?”

As he stared unblinkingly at the man, the slender woman continued, “If you pass the Trial, per Master’s orders, we will accept you as our new Master and you will become the sole owner and Successor of this place. Everything, including the two of us, will belong to you.” Jack gulped as he heard that but he quickly thought of something and asked, “What happens if I fail?” Before the slender woman could answer, the muscular man said coldly, “You die and we will take this estate to somewhere else to wait for another candidate.”

Jack sucked in a deep breath as he heard that. Although he wasn’t a coward by any means, he wasn’t suicidal person either. Succeed and obtain the Legacy of their Master, failure means death. Jack took a deep breath and asked, “Can I know the details of the Trial?” It wasn’t wrong to ask about it as knowing what he would be up against would help him prepare and those small preparations could mean all the difference between failure and success.

The muscular man grinned as he said, “I can’t tell you in detail but I can tell you that there will be three Trials: 1. The Trial of Pain, 2.The Trial of Will and 3.The Trial of Heart. That is all I can tell you...” Jack lowered his head in thought for a second before raising it and looking at the man in the eyes saying, “I wish to undertake the Trial.” The man nodded his head and waved his hand.

With that Jack disappeared as he was taken into the Trial Ground. After this had happened, the slender woman narrowed his eyes and asked, “Do you think that he will succeed?” The man looked at the spot Jack had disappeared from in thought as he answered with a grin, “He has 90% chance of being able to succeed.”

The slender woman’s eyes opened wide as she stared at the man in a dumbstruck manner. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe his words but rather, 90% chance…. What did that mean? As long as he tried, he was guaranteed to succeed.

She look over at the spot Jack disappeared from and also started waiting for him to exit the Trial Grounds.

**

When Jack became aware of his surroundings, he couldn’t help but gulp. He felt an intense sense of deja vu as he saw that his surroundings were just like when he was in the Netherworld. Only there wasn’t an endless line and the demons were gone as well. As he stared at the surroundings, an old man appeared in front of him.

He was dressed in all black and he had short silvery hair. Although he was muscular, he wasn’t overly muscular like the red haired man but rather, his muscles were just well defined, not bulging. He looked at Jack with cold eyes as he said in a monotone voice, “This is the First Trial, The Trial of Pain.” Jack focused on the man’s words not daring to miss one single letter.

The man then continued, “The goal of the Trial is to walk over to the other side of plains and arrive at the shrine. When you stand in the shrine, you will have successfully passed the first test and will be taken to the Trial Grounds of the Second Trial.” The old man took a small break before continuing with the explanation, “But be careful, every step will be as if you are stepping on knives and every breath you take will feel as though your lungs are on fire.”

When Jack heard that, he gulped as he felt his confidence shake a lot by what the old man said. Without even a change of face, the old man continued, “The closer you get to the shrine, the harder the pressure will push down on you, so be prepared.” Then the old man disappeared as he left behind his last words, “This old man wont accept any weakling as his Successor. You either show your worth or perish being incompetent.”

After hearing the last words, Jack sucked in a deep breath of air. He looked at the ground in front of him and mentally prepared himself for the Trial ahead. He knew from before that there was no way back once the Trial started.

You either pass them and soar to the skies or fail and be forgotten in the annals of history.