Chapter 97 - Seventh Stage! Bloodline Activate!
Silence and lack of words
It was what the martial arts survivors were feeling by looking so close to the big spider. A creature that until recently had fought at an unimaginable level for them. But it wasn't just because of the facts of a while ago. No, inside, they felt that somehow they couldn’t break the scene in front of them.
Two human youths and two spirit beasts were in front of the spider and were moaning as if they were in the grip of an unstoppable and unprecedented pain. They could feel their suffering even without knowing the dynamics behind their relationships.
Meanwhile, Gaiya, who was becoming increasingly transparent, looked at Hei, Lian, Ye, and Xing.
‘Even though the pain in my chest is intense, the pain you are experiencing is even greater. I have lived for countless years with your mother while you haven’t been given this opportunity. Bao Bei, my love, if I could, I would gladly keep the treasures you left here. Unfortunately, my body is at the limit, and soon I will reach you. But first, there is one last thing I need to do. One last thing not to make your sacrifice vain.’
"Hei, Lian, Ye, Xing. Your mother was a being like no other. I know the suffering that is flooding your heart. So, I won’t tell you not to cry or repress your sadness. But regardless of the pain that is oppressing you or how uncertain the road ahead may appear, keep walking. Don't stop, even if you were to be blocked by the chains of sadness and uncertainty. Remember that your mother trusted you, and she will always do it. As long as you continue to love her, she will remain in your hearts and your memories. And to protect the Bao Bei inside you, I will protect you for the last time before disappearing."
At the words of Gaiya, Hei and the others looked up with their faces devastated by pain. It was true. Their mother would never have wanted them to stay there crying forever, but how could they not despair after losing the most important being to them?
"Law of Wood, Sou Attack, Heart Flower."
Gaiya's eyes landed on a precise spot on the lake shore. To be exact, where the tower where the Spirit Artifact resided was located.
"No, wait. Please, I won't say- "
The Spirit Artifact tried to speak but was blocked by the following words of the Divine Beast, Lotus of Love.
"Heartbreaking."
Crash!
Suddenly, the sound of something being broken resounded through the air, followed immediately by a piercing cry of pain from a metallic male voice. The next moment, however, everything was back to normal.
"Good. There aren’t any tracks left. Hei, I destroyed the Spirit Artifact so that it can't report anything that happened here. But I don’t have enough power left to eliminate the other witnesses. How to solve this problem, it's up to you. Although I am sure you will succeed without problems. Farewell, treasures of Bao Bei. Thank you for finding me and letting me meet your mother one last time. "
At that point, Gaiya’s figure completely disappeared, leaving not even a single trace of her existence.
Hei, hearing those words, seemed to understand what she meant and looked up at the other people present. He could see that the various sect leaders and elders still alive were slowly approaching the position of his family.
"It's over? Is it really over? "
"So it seems. But really, what the hell happened? And the Secret Dimension?"
"Was that the Snake of Darkness? How is it possible?"
"And that spider and that woman? Were they divine beasts? Weren’t they extinct?"
"And the man instead. He fought on an equal footing with the divine beast. Is it possible that a Spirit Emperor of the Continent has appeared?"
"What?! A Spirit Emperor?!"
"And who else do you think it could be?!"
"Speaking of the Continent, what happened to the Spirit Artifact?"
"He died; we can no longer feel his presence. I'm sending messages to the guards at the block. We have to check the situation in the trial formations in our sect. "
Various voices were overlapping with each other. Each of them was trying to process all that had happened up to now rationally. After all, with the enormous pressure exerted by Bao Bei, Gaiya, and the Shé Family head, it was impossible to expect them, spirit soldiers, to be able to reason while they were fighting.
As far as the term Spirit Emperor was concerned, it must be known that that was one of the ranks achievable by martial artists. To be exact, it was the sixth rank, the one under the god rank.
The ranks of martial artists were divided as follows: Spirit Apprentice, Spirit Soldier, Spirit Master, Spirit Grandmaster, Spirit King, Spirit Emperor, God.
Each of these ranks was then divided into seven stages, except for the Spirit Emperor rank and the God Rank. Regarding the God Rank, the reason was simple; no one except the Beast Emperor knew the answer since he was the only one to have reached that rank. As far as the Spirit Emperor rank was concerned, there were no precise, differentiated stages. Instead, the power difference was given by another factor.
Meanwhile, while the various martial artists were discussing with each other, one of them suddenly said something that made others forget everything that had happened so far.
"Hey ... if that spider was a divine beast and now it's dead ... doesn't that mean we can take its spirit core?"
Gulp!
At those words, everyone swallowed just by hearing the words ‘spirit core’ and ‘divine beast.’ Even if they were the hegemony of the Rainbow Island, at most, they could find spirit cores of second-level spirit beasts, and that was when luck was on their side. Yet now, they had before them the spirit core of a divine beast. That was something that belonged to legends of the past. Not even on the Continent, they could find something similar.
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Instantly, everyone's eyes moved to where Hei and the others were. No, to be exact, where Bao Bei's lifeless body was. Slowly, they began to approach that point.
But if they had all heard that martial artist's suggestion, the same was valid for Hei and his family.
With tears still wetting his face, Hei stood up while his left hand held the spear his mother had given him. All of a sudden, all the memories from his childhood about his mother started pouring into his mind.
The warmth and feeling of security he felt at her side and that he thought he could never feel again. He suddenly realized that Gaiya's words were right. As long as he kept her memory in his heart, Bao Bei would never really die inside him. And the spear that was made with his mother’s body was the legacy that testified to the existence of Bao Bei.
"Mother, you will always be with me. I know, thanks for all you've done and for giving me a family. I will make you proud of me, just watch."
Hei's words rang in all directions. The martial artists who were approaching the body of Bao Bei all stopped. Because the sixth stage spirit apprentice boy was emanating his spirit power, no, it wasn't exact. He was no longer a sixth stage spirit apprentice. His mother's loss and his pain had driven Hei straight to the seventh stage.
But it wasn't just because he had reached the seventh stage that they had stopped. Behind him, the transparent outline of a purple spider had appeared — the same purple spider whose body now laid lifeless.
"If any of you dare to touch MY MOTHER, come forward. I will kill all those who try to get close. It doesn't matter if you are sect leaders or elders. It doesn't matter if you're spirit soldiers, and I'm a spirit apprentice. Regardless of how things are, if you try to take a step forward, all of you will die."
Hei's words appeared cold and sharp like the blade of a sword. No, more than a sword, it was like a spear blade. The only ones who weren't hit by the edge of that spear were Lian, Ye, and Xing.
The two small spirit beasts began to grow again and surprisingly reached two meters in length. Their spirit power was now comparable to a seventh stage spirit apprentice.
Lian also stood up, and, like Hei, she let her emotions guide her to the seventh stage. Behind her, the silhouette of Gaiya could be faintly perceived. The presence of the lotus of love’s bloodline.
The two human youths had inadvertently used the active effect of their bloodlines, bringing some changes to their physical appearance. Hei's pupils went from dark brown to dark purple. The tips of Lian's hair took on a mixed color of green and pink.
As far as Ye and Xing were concerned, they were divine beasts. So, even though they had activated their bloodlines, those caused no change in them. However, their momentum wasn’t at all inferior to the two young humans. Their blood of divine beast was boiling more than ever.
"Boy, do you realize the situation you are in? What do you hope to do? Do you think you can block so many spirit soldiers with only the four of you?"
"Right! Do us all a favor, fuck off. Do you believe just because you are part of the Flower Sect, you can impose such stupid orders?"
"I agree. And then, the sect leader and the seniors of the Flower Sect agree with us, right? What do you think two youths of the younger generation and two spirit beasts are when compared to the spirit core of a sixth-level divine beast? If we succeed in acquiring it, advancing to Spirit Master will no longer be a dream. Perhaps even more."
When the words "Spirit Master" were named, the hearts of all those martial artists began to beat faster. Ever since they were born on Rainbow Island, they were destined to remain bound to the rank of spirit soldier, no matter how desperately they tried to advance. Now, however, this possibility had appeared. It seemed like fate itself was trying to help them. So how could they not catch this occasion?
But, unexpectedly for all of them, and even for Hei and his family, the figure of a charming woman floated in the air. She then stood between Hei and the other martial artists. She was none other than the sect leader of the Flower Sect.
"If you want to take possession of that divine beast’s body, then you will have to face me first."
At that point, the sect leader drew her sword and turned it against the sect leaders and elders of the other sects.
"Sect leader of the Flower Sect. What the hell are you doing?"
"Have you lost your mind, or what? Do you realize the consequences of your actions and words? "
"Exactly. Just for this time, because of your status, we will let this go. But if you persist in continuing being out of your mind, then don't blame us for being rude."
The representatives of the various families and sects tried to reason with the sect leader. They knew about her power and didn’t want to clash with her if they could avoid it. At the same time, they weren't so afraid, though. Even if she had joined with the two youths of the younger generation and the two spirit beasts, in the end, she was just a spirit soldier. So they still had the knife on the side of the handle.
"Sect leader?" Hei tried to ask, incredulous, at the figure of the woman who had exposed herself like that for them.
The sect leader took a quick look back before returning to talk to the rest of the crowd.
"I won’t blame you for that, but I won’t take off. If you want to step forward, then do it. In any case, my actions must not be considered as the will of the Flower Sect, but just my own will."
Own Will. With those words, she was taking away any involvement of the Flower Sect with this business. Indeed, if things went wrong, this would mean making the entire Flower Sect the enemy of all the other sects, leading to a war that would only see the destruction of the sect that she loved so much. For that reason, she decided to clarify that it was only her personal decision and not of the entire sect.
But seeing how their sect leader had come forward in that way, how could the other elders remain silent?
In front of the general amazement of the people present there, 12 other figures flashed. Nex to the sect leader, not only the remaining seven elders had appeared, but also the remaining five members of the younger generation who had participated in the Secret Dimension. Although they were injured, they forced themselves to stand next to their sect leader.
"You ... what?" The sect leader was speechless. She said all those things just to avoid any involvement of their sect. Yet the other elders and even the young martial artists of the younger generation had come forward.
"Sect Leader, you are the sect leader of our sect. It is only more than normal for us sect members to protect our representative.” The second elder said.
"Exact. Besides, what will we look like if we let them kill our sect leader and two of our disciples as if nothing happened? I have no intention of losing face in this way in front of the whole Rainbow Island," the first elder proclaimed with an angry tone.
The other elders also spoke in words of approval while all of them extracted their weapons. As the first elder had said, their pride as martial artists and as members of the Flower Sect prevented them from turning their backs to the sect leader and two of their youths. Yes, even if that meant bringing the Flower Sect on the road to destruction.
"Do you see it, master? Despite the discussions we can have between us, in the end, we are all part of one big family. I won’t let anything happen to you. I still have many things to learn from you."
Beside the sect leader, Mei spoke in a gentle tone as she expressed herself in a smile containing the emotions of affection and joy she felt towards her master.
Seeing Mei, who was usually so cold and severe, smiling in that carefree and warm way despite the situation they were in, the sect leader nearly burst out crying.
"Good girl, I'm fortunate to have you as a disciple. No, that's not right. Not only you. I am fortunate to have all of you by my side, and I am more than honored to be the sect leader of martial artists and people of your caliber." Then, turning to the representatives of the other sects and families, the sect leader said, "If for you others, there are no other words you want to say, then I say we can start. Get ready to taste my sword, because today it is sharper than ever."
With her sword shining with her spirit power, the sect leader positioned herself to prepare for what might have been her last fight.