Chapter 70 - Revealed Secret (2)
With only four seats, we must necessarily send the best of the younger generation for more possibilities. That's why I'm insisting that you and Lian get stronger as soon as possible."
At this point, the sect leader interrupted her speech. There were still other things she wanted to say, but she decided it was better to stop for now to let Hei digest what she had said so far.
Hei had been stunned at every word the sect leader had said. But it wasn't just him. Bao Bei was shaking with every inch of her body.
‘Secret Dimensions ... if the battlefield of that time didn’t disappear, then it is possible... Hei An. I know there is no chance that you are still alive, but at least your body and your bloodline. I have to take them back. I won't let anyone have them. They have to go back to the family.’
The heart of Bao Bei was in chaos. The discovery of the secret dimensions’ existence had turned the tables on her plans for her children. If there were even a small chance of recovering the remains of her companion, she would do everything possible to succeed.
"Sect leader, you said that in the Secret Dimension you could find various kinds of treasure but, since all sects’ sect leaders and elders can't go, you have decided to send the younger generation. So does it mean that the treasures found must be returned to the sect? What if we find an incredible treasure that we need and don't want to get rid of? Will you leave it, or will you try to take it by force?"
Hei's words led Bao Bei to reality. When she resumed her clarity, she realized that what her son had said was true. The various powers would inevitably ask what those disciples of the younger generation found in the Secret Dimension. However, if any of them found a treasure beyond all imagination, would they leave it to the disciple of the younger generation who had found it?
It was even more true for Hei and Lian. Although belonging to the Flower Sect, the sect leader and the elders knew that the two of them didn’t have much attachment to the sect like the rest of the personal disciples, and they had no blood connection that could bind them to the sect.
If they found Hei An's bloodline, would they try to take it away from Hei's hands?
At that point, the aura of Bao Bei suddenly burst and enveloped the entire room. Her eight eyes were glaring at the sect leader who had fallen to the ground due to the pressure. The woman was currently having difficulty breathing.
This outbreak of aura hadn’t been felt only by the sect leader; all the elders perceived this fluctuation of spirit power and immediately ran to the residence of the sect leader. However, they froze in their place when they looked at the scene inside the room - Hei and Lian stood up while on the ground, the sect leader was struggling gasping for breath.
"Damn you, what the fuck are you trying to do?" The sixth elder, the one in charge of the regulation division, immediately took action and tried to hit Hei to stop him. But he couldn’t even take one step that he too fell to the ground while he was breathing hard. The other elders looked at the scene with terror and stood in their place, trying to figure out what had happened.
From what they could see, Hei had no intention of killing the sect leader, but something had happened that had infuriated him. Or rather, not him but the thing that protected him.
"Lian and I are not the puppets of the sect. You can perhaps freely command the other younger generation inner members but not us. I'm not an ungrateful person. The Flower Sect helped us a lot. It is why I am willing to give most of the things we will find. However, if I find something that for Lian and me is necessary, I won’t let anyone take it away from me. I've been clear?"
At that point, Bao Bei dispersed the spirit power she had circulated in the room while Hei sat down again.
When the pressure of Bao Bei’s spirit power disappeared, the sect leader and the sixth elder finally managed to breathe as before even though it took several moments before they could get up.
"Cough, as I imagined... the creature that protects you ... is far superior to the second rank, isn't it?"
At her words, the faces of the elders became ugly because they had seen the different level of strength between them and that creature. It was crazy that there was such a thing on Rainbow Island.
"Yes, even if I certainly won't tell you how far its strength comes."
"To what extent does its strength come? Cough... I understand. Don’t worry, even without the presence of such a creature we didn’t intend to remove from you what you would find there. The same applies to our disciples. Even if we find treasures that allow us to advance, we aren’t stupid. Our potential is over by now, but the group we are raising is promising. Our future lies in them. We would have only demanded a part of the loot, that's all.
Believe me, it isn’t our intention to make you our enemy. Not just for that creature, but your value as a beast tamer. If we were able to grab the most precious treasures, depending on the content, we could suffer the attack of the other sects. It is why the king requested the use of your spirit beasts. In exchange for a part of the treasures, the kingdom will fight with us against any invaders. The same goes for us if they find something precious. So we need all the possible war potential." The sect leader paused a moment to rub her throat, which still hurt.
"My spirit beasts aren’t objects, as I have already told you. I won’t send them to fight for the power games of others. "
"But if they don’t take sides with us and we lose, they will still be involved. If the Flowers Sect perishes, do you think they will leave your spirit beasts alone?"
The words of the sect leader were a nasty shock to Hei. When he thought about it, he knew it was true. There was no way that they wouldn’t leave the spirit beasts alone. After all, they were still creatures affiliated with the Flower Sect. They would kill them to take their spirit cores.
Seeing that he was hesitant, the sect leader continued.
"The reason I called you is to ask you to leave us the right to ask the king for the reward. If all goes well, I'm sure I can have another one of those tokens, and so we Flower Sect would have five tokens and, therefore, more chances to win."
"Those tokens, you said they have a trace of the Artifact Spirit’s spirit power. How do they actually work?” Hei asked as he frowned.
"The formation allows us to create a passage towards the Secret Dimension, but the passage is unstable. Therefore the Artifact Spirit needs something that it can perceive to send and return the martial artists of the younger generation from here to the Secret Dimension and vice versa."
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"So, do you just need something that has a trace of its spirit power?"
At that point, Hei passed his hand near his head and took from his mother's dimensional pocket, the tokens he and Lian had received at the end of the continent trial.
By looking at those tokens, the sect leader and the other elders were left speechless. Their mouth was dry, and they couldn’t utter a word. In the end, with enormous difficulty, the sect leader spoke.
"Hei, where did you get those?"
There was no way she could be wrong. It was a different token than the one they had received, but it still contained the trace of the Artifact Spirit’s spirit power.
"Lian and I received them when we passed the continent trial," Hei answered briefly.
To this, the sect leader and the elders paled even more.
Had Hei and Lian received them at the end of the continent trial? Had they succeeded in overcoming it? How was it possible? Yet they had clearly seen that they had stopped shortly after the fifth wave...
"The reason you didn't notice this is because you were under the influence of an illusion."
"An illusion? What the hell are you saying? And none of us would have noticed this?” Listening to his words, the first elder could no longer remain silent and said the words that everyone was thinking at that moment.
The sect leader raised her hand to tell them to remain silent and let her discuss with Hei.
"Is the truth what you are saying?"
"If not, how could we have these two tokens? Furthermore, if you notice, even if they have a trace of the Artifact Spirit, these tokens are different from the ones you have."
Recovering from the astonishment of this discovery, the sect leader and other elders could do nothing but accept the reality. They had been deceived since the beginning, and without today's episode, they would never have known for who knows how long.
"Regarding the use of my spirit beasts, all right. As you said, if the fate of the kingdom and the sect are linked, then they will fight to protect their home. However, I want guarantees. Considering the point at which things arrived, your word, or that of the other elders, or even that of the king have no value. I will grant you the right to claim the token as a reward, and Lian and I will fight for the Flower Sect, giving you most of the treasures we will find. If, as you said, only a trace of the Spirit Artifact’s spirit power is enough, then our tokens should be able to do the same task. That is to say; the Flower Sect will have seven tokens, so all your personal disciples will be able to enter the Secret Dimension."
At Hei's words, all those present fell silent. What he was saying was true, if just the trace of the Spirit Artifact’s spirit power was enough, didn't it mean that Hei and Lian could use their tokens? And with the extra that they would require from the king, they would raise to seven tokens. Not even the sect number one among the big five sects was able to send so many disciples.
"However, as I said, I need guarantees. So if you want all this, you have to sign a blood pact with me."
Again, listening to Hei's words, the sect leader and the elders became silent. If before it was due to the amazement and excitement for the possibility of having an advantage over the other sects, this time, it was due to nervousness and fear.
Blood pact. It was no more than a kind of particular formations similar to a contract. By imposing clauses, if one of the two parties failed to comply with their part of the agreement, they would suffer severe consequences. Usually, you would pay with your own death.
And it was precisely due to the risks involved that it was almost never used. Besides, no one would willingly agree to sign a contract with the risk of dying if they failed to maintain what they had promised.
"Not just you sect leader, but the rest of the elders too. This is my price.” Hei reiterated the concept. Either they all got on the same boat, or they could forget the incredible opportunity to grab the treasures of the Secret Dimension.
"And what are the conditions you want to impose?" The sect leader asked with difficulty.
There was no way she and the other elders were willing to agree to sign a blood pact. But it was also true that their future and that of their sect was at stake. If they had missed this opportunity, they could regret it forever. They had no way to force Hei, so listening to him was the only thing they could do. At least it was better first to understand what kind of conditions he required.
"The only thing I ask of you is to treat the spirit beasts who reside in the sect as members of the sect themselves, and not as mere instruments. You have to protect them if they are in danger and not send them to die like cannon fodder in case a war breaks out. That's all. It is the price I ask you."
When they heard the price that Hei demanded, the sect leader and the elders breathed a sigh of relief. Considering the stakes, it could be said that it wasn’t at a high price to pay.
The reason he asked for this was that in the future, he would leave the Rainbow Island. But not everyone could follow him, so it was necessary to create a safe territory for them on the island. The Flower Sect was the ideal place, and with the blood pact, he would have a certainty about their future.
And it was for the same reason that he didn’t require the protection of himself and his family. After all, it was unreasonable to ask them to be responsible for their lives even when they left Rainbow Island. Therefore, he merely asked for one thing.
After a few moments of consultation, the sect leader replied.
"Okay. If that's just what you ask, it’s fine. Usually, we will request that the other party also have clauses, but I imagine that this isn’t possible in this case. Therefore, we will trust your word."
Indeed, even though Bao Bei herself had suggested to her son about the Blood Pact, she wouldn’t allow Hei to be imposed with clauses.
"Don't worry; I'm not a person who takes back what he says. Lian and I will give you most of what we find, but according to our discretion."
Having finished planning the details, the fifth and second elders went on to design the blood pact contract. Taking the blood of everyone present, they ended the formation shortly. Soon, the sect leader and the seven elders' bodies, a kind of symbol was engraved in their chest at the height of the heart. A sign that testified to the presence of a blood pact.
Bao Bai, always hidden in Hei's hair, observed their every move, in case they tried to screw her over. But in the end, nothing happened, and they engraved authentic blood pacts in their bodies. As long as the other party, Hei, wasn’t dead, they would have to respect their part of the deal.
At that point, Hei asked another question that had been tormenting him for a while.
"First you said that even on the Continent the Secret Dimensions are few and very precious. So why didn't the Artifact Spirit warn the Continent? Why did it decide to agree with you, even helping you build the formation?"
"There are various reasons. What the Artifact Spirit said to us is because it wants to accomplish its task, which means sending talented martial artists to the Continent. However, although this may be true, it isn’t the only reason. From what little we know, the greatest danger is to encounter divine beasts still alive. Furthermore, it isn’t sure that there are treasures inside the dimension. Perhaps for us, they might seem like precious objects, but in the eyes of the Continent, they might appear as trash.
Therefore, the Artifact Spirit wants to make sure that there are no dangers and that in case there isn't something precious, not to make a fool of itself with the Sun Empire. In other words, we are nothing but explorers similar to cannon fodder in case things go wrong. But it is a price that we are all willing to pay. "
Hearing the words of the sect leader, Hei thought that there was something wrong.
"Sect leader. If, by any chance, did we find something that is considered a priceless treasure even for the continent? Wouldn't the Artifact Spirit warn those on the continent? "
The sect leader remained silent for a few moments before sighing and answering.
"As always, you are very witty. Yes, we also thought about that eventuality. It is why the formation masters of the various powers involved have joined together to create a formation to seal the Artifact Spirit. We cannot kill him, but if we seal him, we will still prevent him from communicating with the Continent."
"I see. All right."
At that point, the lengthy discussion on the Secret Dimension came to an end. The sect leader sent Hei and Lian home while began to discuss with the other elders about how to change their plans given what had happened today.
Meanwhile, in the spider house, Hei sat in meditation and thought back to everything he had been told.
"Mother, if we find the remains of Father, do you believe that the Artifact Spirit can warn the Continent?"
‘Yes, it's a certainty. Your father was the lord of us divine beasts. There is no way they don’t want his bloodline. But I won't let them take it. Don't worry, if the Artifact Spirit tries to communicate with the outside, I will kill him personally. I won’t let my family be endangered.’
Reassured by his mother's words, Hei smiled. It was true. There was no being stronger than her, so he had nothing to fear. With his worry finally gone, Hei could then concentrate on officially welcoming the new arrivals and enjoying the rest of the day in peace with his family.