Chapter 57 - Rewards

The upheaval, generated by Hei and Lian's results, was soon calmed, and the trials returned to their regular activity. In order to avoid further fueling the confusion, the two youths left the training ground.

Although it was almost sure that the first two places belonged to them, by formalities, they had to wait until everyone's trials had finished, before the ranking could be drawn up. Of course, this was something that would have taken time, and they preferred to go home to rest and receive their awards quietly later.

Hei, therefore, brought Lian to reunite with his mother and his little sisters, who were excited about knowing what they had faced.

'Then? How did it go? What was in it?’ (Xing)

‘I bet there was a super strong enemy, didn't it? Did you beat him?’ (Ye)

The two little spirit beasts bombarded them with questions as soon as they were reunited. In order to calm them, Hei tickled them while looking at his mother's condition. She looked fine, and Hei was able to relax because he had been worried about her health.

"I'm glad you're okay, mother. I hope you didn't tire yourself too much."

‘Don’t worry, I'm fine. As I told you, it wasn’t a particularly difficult illusion given the level of those present. Let's go home, so you can tell us what happened before a nice meal.’

Hearing about food, Xing and Ye forgot about the questions they were trying to ask and started climbing Hei's body to make him hurry. Since they had accompanied them early in the morning, even the two little spirit beasts had not eaten anything until now and were starting to feel hungry.

With a laugh, Hei started running with Lian despite their fatigue, and soon they arrived home. Then, in front of a nice warm meal and the warmth of his family, Hei told what he and Lian had faced.

Out of respect for them, despite being curious, Bao Bei didn’t ask Hei and Lian about the dream trial. She didn't precisely know what they had seen, but she could guess.

By analyzing the formation from outside, during its execution, she realized that the effect used on their group was the generation of nightmares based on their past. It was an intimate moment, and as their mother and teacher, she had to respect their personal space. Fortunately, even Ye and Xing, who despite their cheerful behavior, were very sharp, didn't ask questions about it.

Both youths were, in fact, still a little shaken within themselves by what had happened. Hei, in particular, didn't want to say anything about it - if he had spoken of his promise to himself, his mother, his little sisters, and even Lian, they would have been all angry with him for having sworn to take his own life if he couldn't protect them.

Therefore, the combat trial became the main topic. Hei and Lian narrated, in turn, what had happened to the smallest detail, including the words that the Artifact Spirit had addressed to them.

Sighing, Bao Bei answered.

‘I imagined there was an Artifact Spirit. I was ready to block all communication with the continent and destroy the Artifact Spirit itself if it were necessary, but fortunately, it wasn’t needed. Listen to me well. Even his words are true, it is still too early to enter the Continent. At least, not before reaching the rank of spirit soldier. For now, let's focus on what you have ahead, meaning reaching the sixth stage of spirit apprentice so that you can awaken your innate element.’

Hei and Lian both nodded to Bao Bei's words. They trusted her blindly, and if she said it wasn't the moment, then it was the absolute truth. So, they left the Artifact Spirit's words in the corner of their mind and began to rest together with Ye and Xing, all sleeping together embraced.

Bao Bei looked tenderly at the four sleeping without worries, side by side.

‘Imperial family ... the only ones who can have united humans are the relatives of the Hero, as well as the holders of the dragon bloodlines. The eight great families are probably families with bloodlines of other divine beasts. However, even though they have lost most of their exponents in the final battle, there is no way that there are only eight bloodlines left on the human side. If that were the case, something must have happened after the final battle, so severe that they had to abolish the sect system and create these war academies. I imagine that without going in person, it's difficult to do research here.’

Meditating to herself, Bao Bei soon fell into a heavy sleep and laid down close to her treasures. From the outside, Shui ordered the buffaloes in defense formation, and so did Mi with the group of bees she commanded. They wouldn’t allow anyone to disturb the sleep of the family who was sleeping peacefully in the spiderweb house.

*

The following morning, after a busy day yesterday, Hei and Lian returned to the inner sect, taking Ye and Xing with them. When they arrived at their destination, they could see various people pointing towards them and exchanging murmurs.

Their performance in yesterday's trials had spread throughout the inner sect and probably also in the outer one. Given the importance that the ranking of the younger generation inner members had, it was a self-evident result.

Although their score was practically insurmountable, as the five best candidates had done worse than them, they hadn’t yet received an official confirmation. Having left yesterday without waiting for the results, now they had to ask someone if they managed to take the first two places.

While he was thinking about who to ask, Hei noticed familiar faces coming at him from afar. In a short time, he discovered who it was.

"Hello there, congratulations on your victory Hei. You too, Lian, for your second place. "

She greeted them kindly and warmly. It was none other than Ying Yue, who came seventh in the ranking yesterday. Next to her was the seventh elder who was looking at them with a gentle glance. Apparently, he wasn’t bothered that the two of them had taken the first two places while his personal disciple was finished in the seventh place.

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"Thank you, Ying Yue. Seventh elder, good morning. "

Hei thanked Ying Yue and bowed slightly to the seventh elder. So did Lian. Even if they didn't feel admiration for him, it didn't cost anything to show education and conform to the label.

"Hei, Lian. As my niece said, I am pleased to inform you that you have won the first two places. In addition to your personal glory, this position allows you other privileges. From now on, between the younger generation, you have the greatest degree of seniority; that is, even the disciples who are older than you in age must show respect to you as if they were before an older inner member. You are also allowed to reserve a training ground for free, and you can use it for as long as you want. Concerning the trial prizes, the prize for the second place comes from the first elder, whereas the first place, leaving aside the reward chosen at the exchange point, comes from the sect leader. But I'd say it's better to move to a quieter place."

With this, the seventh elder signaled to Hei and Lian to follow him as Ying Yue walked with them, questioning Hei and Lian about how quickly they had defeated the waves.

Since they had expected such questions, last night Hei and his family had worked to give a version that was enough to calm the curiosity of others without going into details. Fortunately, since Lian would only talk to Hei when they were out, it wasn’t necessary to do the same for her.

In a short time, they arrived at the exchange point. The people inside were impressed to see the seventh elder. But what struck them most was the presence of the first two inner members who came from nothing and the personal disciple of the seventh elder.

Commonly, people thought that the five geniuses didn’t willingly accept these two newcomers, but it didn’t seem the case for Ying Yue.

The seventh elder briefly replied to the greetings received and, without delay, took those were following him to climb the stairs to the second floor.

Hei had only seen the first floor, which could be visited without restrictions. From what he knew, the upper floor couldn’t be accessed unless at least the meridian stage had been reached. But obviously, they didn’t have to respect that rule if they were brought directly by the seventh elder, who was in charge of the supply division and, therefore, the one who managed this exchange point.

The upper floor was the same as the one below but contained far fewer items. However, just by taking a quick look, you could see how rarer and more precious they were compared to the one exposed down.

But the seventh elder hadn’t brought them here for an exploratory tour but led them to an adjacent room. It was his office where he used to conduct various negotiations when visitors came to the sect.

After making Hei and Lian sit down, the seventh elder sat down in front of them. Dividing them, there was a long polished wooden desk. Ying Yue, on the other hand, unlike her talkative self, remained silent and started making tea.

At this point, after tea was served, the seventh elder raised his right hand. On the fingers of his raised hand, there was a purple ring that flickered faintly. Suddenly, two boxes emerged from the inside of the ring, resting slowly on the desk.

"These are the rewards you earned with your performance yesterday," noticing Hei's look on his ring he hastened to explain, "this? It's a space ring. They are objects with particular formations that allow you to compress the space so that you can insert objects inside. Although they may seem incredible, they actually have many limitations. The space inside is small and can only contain inanimate things. But despite this, its usefulness is indisputable. Unfortunately, they are difficult to create and need lots of resources. Only formation masters like the second elder can create such objects, and it isn’t certain that they will succeed on the first attempt. "

Finishing his explanation on the spatial ring, the seventh elder hurried to open one of the boxes. Inside there were seven metal ingots, each of a different color.

"These are the specialty of our Rainbow Island, as well as the reason for its name - the Seven Color Rainbow Metals. It is the rarest and most precious metal you can find here on the island. When used together as an alloy to make a weapon, the weapon produced will have a higher resistance than any other metal. Furthermore, because they weigh little, they are also quite flexible and easy to maneuver. But the most important characteristic is that they facilitate the transmission of the user's spirit power."

The seven metals had the seven colors of the rainbow - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. They had a bright hue that shone when exposed to sunlight.

"This is the prize for second place. The second elder will create the weapon according to the characteristics that Lian will indicate. You can indicate a color between these seven so that it becomes the primary one, and the created weapon will take on that color."

That said, he took the box and held it towards Lian's hands. She looked at the metals inside with a slightly indecisive look. The reason was simple - the lotus style did not require a metal weapon, and she already had the ribbon provided by Bao Bei.

Seeing her reaction, the seventh elder hastened to add.

"Of course, because you've earned them, you can also decide to use these metals to make another person's weapon. You don't have to make the second elder create a weapon for yourself. "

Hearing this, Lian smiled and nodded her head. Her indecision was due to whether she could give the metals to Hei so as to create a spear for him. Understanding what she was thinking, Hei tried to reply.

"Lian, no. I can't accept it. It's your prize. You have to use it for you. "

"As you said, my prize is mine. So I can choose what to do with it. Furthermore, you know that my fighting style doesn’t require a metal weapon. Lastly, we are a family. Creating a weapon for you is like creating a weapon for me, don't you think?” Replied Lian.

Her voice was calm but, at the same time, resolute and didn’t allow further replies. She had already decided and wouldn’t have turned back. Seeing no other solution, Hei gave a wry smile and patted her head.

"Thanks, Lian."

As the two youths concluded that small debate on who the weapon would go, the seventh elder resumed.

"Now let's get the first prize," and after opening the second box that contained three different pills, "these inside are pills produced directly by the sect leader. Originally, the prize for the first place was only one, but the sect leader allowed herself to add these two other pills since you have a second prize available. You can decide to take only the original pill and choose yourself something else downstairs."

Hearing this, Hei was taken aback for a moment. He didn’t expect such a gesture from the sect leader, but from how she had behaved so far, he had no reason to doubt her actions. But it was still too early to decide whether to accept the other two pills or choose something himself. Having kept his mother at home, it was up to him to pick on his own.

Noticing his hesitancy, the seventh elder smiled and proceeded to explain the three pills.

"Before choosing, I will briefly explain how the pills’ effect. The pill for the first-place prize is called Fortifying Metal Pill; it contains some amounts of metal inside and is used to strengthen bones. It is ideal for martial artists that are in the fifth stage and are trying to move to the sixth because it provides a large amount of energy as well. It is possible to split it in half, but the effects are halved.

The other two are instead Explosive Blood Pills. They serve to make the blood of those who ingest them circulate faster but have a powerful effect, as the name suggests. They are generally used by those who are at the peak fourth stage, approaching the bottleneck to the fifth stage. It is possible to use them before, during the fourth stage, but the explosive effect will be devastating, and there is the risk of internal injuries. But with the risks come the advantages too - if you manage their energy, you can have a big jump in cultivation and the adjustment period will be short in turn.

Now that I have shown you their characteristics, what have you decided? Will you accept the prize prepared by the sect leader, or do you want to choose something else yourself? "

The seventh elder concluded his explanation, waiting for Hei's answer.