(Author: Hello! Elgar receives his new spear, storage ring, and other items. I hope you all understand how the world of the story is currently divided. The empress and Crown Prince Edward are upset as the main branch is clearly visiting because of Sarah. All eight elders and the patriarch came, not just because a child of the current emperor and empress survived the attribute test; but because Sarah had the Star Spirit of the same species as the founder of the empire, a Sacred Bird magical beast that evolved into a human. What will happen during their visit? Enjoy.)
---------Chapter 5: Meeting the Patriarch-----------
"Very good Elgar," Caius said as he stared at his great grandson. "Let the qi flow through your meridians. Let the Star Lake bestow your body with nature energy. The Lion Turtle's Shell technique is the easiest to learn. Most people don't learn nature techniques that hide one's cultivation. This one is also a body technique as it obviously strengthens your body. You should be feeling your muscles expanding and your bones growing."
"I do, great grandfather," Elgar nodded as he felt the qi of the world bring power in his body. It was such a nostalgic feeling. However, his former body was much more powerful. Nearly had passed since the day he visited the vault, his mother saying he was not allowed to learn martial arts yet. Therefore, his great grandfather decided to teach Elgar how to cultivate the Lion Turtle's Shell technique. It was not a combative nature art or technique. The main reason Caius taught it was to also have Elgar hide his Dragon Mark. Now, Caius could not discern even a hint of energy from it.
"This is the easiest to master and there are no further effects or changes. Now, show The Great Roc Dance," Caius ordered. He watched as Elgar began to lean back and move fluidly in the wind. He wasn't fast yet, but his leg muscles had definitely improved and he was getting used to applying his nature energy in his movements.
"Good. You are improving. Remember, a roc is a legendary bird of the sky. Do not fight with the wind. Doing so will increase wind resistance and you will move slower. Your movement technique uses your qi to become one with the wind, time seemingly slow as you use the technique," Caius nodded. "Good. We should add a two mile run to your regiment. Being only seven years old, I can't give you more than that. You're still wearing the ten pound weights on your wrists and ankles, right? Usually it's only three pounds but you are a Cultivator with the Dragon's Mark. You're body has the potential to attain the tyrannical strength of a dragon."
"When can I practice the Lightning Serpent art?" Elgar asked.
"Elemental arts can only be used starting from the third stage, the Violent Qi stage. However, I will teach you the offensive nature art now," Caius nodded. "It uses a lot of nature energy, but you have a neidan. Thus, your body absorbs a lot of qi already and most of it is purified into nature energy. It is called the Qi Blast art."
"Qi Blast art?" Elgar asked.
"That's right. Your body uses the qi within to create an explosion on contact. It looks like white flames, but those flames are actually cold yin energy. The Qi Blast technique condenses your nature energy into your hands, or any body part and weapon, and explodes it in a chilling explosion of cold yin energy," Caius explained. "Qi comprises of two aspects: cold yin and hot yang energy. The cold yin energy is said to originate from the moon while the hot yang energy is said to come from the sun. Do you know why I told you to sleep with your window open? It is so the light of the moon can fall on your body."
"Does it have to do with the elements of the Cosmos?" Elgar asked.
"Yes and no. Yes, because your talent in using cold yin energy is why you don't have the fire element attribute. Most people are suited for hot yang energy while others are suited for cold yin energy. It is not something any being can guess when the baby is born. Hot yang energy does not necessarily mean fire. It just means you are better suited to absorb the world's qi while under the sunlight or in hot places. Heat does not mean fire but warmth. Cold also means chilling, not necessarily ice," Caius said. "People believe the moon is not a circle but actually a spherical holy rock. It is said the sun shines its light on the moon, during the night, so that the moon can reveal its splendor that can't be seen in the day. I don't know if its true, but the tides of the oceans are dictated by the moon's presence and cold yin energy is more abundant at night with the absence of the sun."
"But I am not cultivating when I am sleeping," Elgar frowned.
"Your neidan is absorbing the cold yin energy all the time. It is only apparent during the night when you have no warmth to negate the chill. Children always use blankets and wear warmer clothes at night. That is why you don't feel it," Caius laughed. The qi in your body is actually cold yin energy. Thus, you have two types of energy in your body: nature and cold yin. It is good for you to discover this early. It means your foundations will be deeper and greater than others."
"Can I learn how to use elemental essence now?" Elgar asked.
"Well, no. Not until you master the basic stances and martial arts techniques with a bare-handed style or spear style. As for poison essence, let your mother teach you that. She is more skilled in hidden weapons than I am. No doubt, she learned it through her many encounters with failed assassination attempts on her life," Caius chuckled. "Soon, the patriarch and eight elders of your father's clan will be here. I hate those old fools so I will be cultivating in the chamber within the vault. Remember to behave and not anger one of them. They are powerful people of your clan and many times more powerful than me. The eight elders are at the tenth stage, the Sky King stage. Otherwise, how could they fly over the abnormally high mountains that hide the valley where they live?"
"I've never been to the mainland," Elgar said, following his great grandfather to the throne room where he was expected to wait after Caius escorted him. "Are the clans there more powerful than ours?"
"Of course. It is the mainland. There are many times more ruins, lands, and hidden treasures. Some sects might have a leader at the Greater Saint stage or many people at the Lesser Saint stage. The mainland is sure to have more resources and areas with higher concentrations of qi. I went there once. Nearly lost my live many times," Caius said. "It is as dangerous as going to Koralga, save that not everyone wants to kill you at first glance. Fucking mages."
"Why do you hate them so much?" Elgar asked.
"They killed my wife, my son, and my daughter-in-law. Your mother also hates them. She just isn't as open as I am about her rage, anger and hatred. She is the quiet type when it comes to violence. Those types of women are scarier than others. You don't know how they think or retaliate," Caius laughed. "Fuck mages. Not really fuck them. You're too young for that adult lifestyle and raping the enemy...is frowned upon. Best to chain them and pay the homeless to do it in groups. Then you can behead the bastard when you see no emotions left in his eyes. Well, that's a bit too excessive to tell a kid. You know, your name actually comes, in part, from my son's name: Elwin. Your father wanted it to be Edgar, both of his sons with similar names. Thus, a compromise was made and you were named Elgar."
"Oh. Sorry," Elgar said as they reached the doors to the throne room.
"Don't worry about it. Your mom should be giving you your hidden knives soon. I will find some sheaths, for you to hide under your robe shirt, so that the daggers are easier to access if you need them. Remember, mind your manners and don't feel jealous if they mention Sarah more than you," Caius said, hugging his great grandson before disappearing before Elgar could even blink.
Elgar quickly put a storage bag on his hip so people wouldn't know he had a storage ring. The empress said people would assume the ring he wore would be one worn by the Draco Clan. He stared at the dark purple storage ring with a white silver dragon on it before entering the throne room.
"Ah, Elgar! Good. You're here," the emperor smiled. "Come, sit with your mother and the crown prince. The patriarch and the eight elders will be here soon. What cultivation stage are you in?"
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"I am at the Refining Qi stage," Elgar answered, sitting down beside his brother and in front of his mother.
"HAHAHAHA! Good. The second stage. Ian is almost there. However, Sarah is already at the Violent Qi stage. I would have believed it was because of her own efforts, but Clara obviously gave her spirit pills," the emperor said, glaring at her. "Do you even remember the kids can't use those until the third stage, not to reach it! It's one thing to impress the patriarch and another to see your daughter as a tool to gain my favor!"
"Sorry, Imperial Majesty," the second concubine said, not allowed to address him as husband due to her lower status.
"Imperial Majesty, I assure you that the Fifth Prince Jin will certainly be a Cultivator," the third concubine, Eunji, cried.
"Silence, whore. Who gave you the right to speak in this room?" the empress snarled. Of all the wives of the emperor, only the empress was a Cultivator while the concubines were just daughters of powerful clans.
"I know you're mad about the true reason the patriarch and eight elders are personally coming, but she is my...concubine," the emperor said, trying to calm his wife down. The emperor was at the fifth stage, but the empress was at the eighth stage! The emperor was a Cultivator with weak talent. He is even weaker than some inner sect disciples of a large martial sect.
"Fine," the empress said. The empress was in her late forties. However, she would return to her late twenties and have eternal youth upon reaching the Sky Profound Realm. She was too talented. She was the pride of her grandfather, Caius. Most of all, the concubines would continue to age as she would look young forever. She didn't care about them seducing her husband because her husband was a Cultivator as well. Let those ordinary whores wither. In the end, no one can deny her place.
"It seems my human father is quite weak," Elgar noted, never really spending time with him as he was not the crown prince and the emperor was always busy dealing with the empire's affairs and trying to stop the concubines and empress from killing each other.
"The patriarch, accompanied by elders and members of the main branch, has arrived!" a page shouted as several men and women in crimson robes entered the throne room.
"Greetings to the patriarch," the people of the throne room cried, the pages and knights in crimson magical armor also bowing with respect. Besides the emperor and Crown Prince Edward, no one had ever met the patriarch before.
"Please rise," a man with emerald hair laughed, his hair the same color as the feathers of the Sacred Phoenix. "I came here to personally see the three children of Durin Firetail, the current emperor of the nation founded by my father. Still at the first stage, Durin?"
"Apologies, patriarch. I am still at the fifth stage, but I am at the peak at last," the emperor bowed.
"There's still hope for that one," one of the eight elders said. "Whose descendant is he?"
"Mine," a black-haired man said. "Hey, boy, what is the cultivation rank of your children, including the whore children?"
The three concubines clench their fists as the emperor answered, "Jiyeon and Gerald are all at the fifth stage. Elena and Misa, my two eldest, are both at the sixth stage. However, Edward is at the seventh stage. He is truly worthy of your lineage."
"What? How old is he?" the black-haired elder asked.
"He is fifteen," the emperor bowed, the second concubine fuming because she knew her daughter was no longer the highlight of their visit.
"Fifteen!" the eight elders cried. "This......"
"It seems the blood of the Sacred Phoenix is very pure in this child," the patriarch said, looking at Edward. "He is worthy to be a descendant of the Sacred Phoenix. I had come here to see a good seed that had the Star Spirit of the same species as my father. However, this is a bigger surprise. Well done."
"Thank you, patriarch," Edward bowed, the ministers and generals of the empress's faction secretly joyful as the patriarch publicly showed favor to the crown prince.
The patriarch took one look at Ian and Sarah before turning to Elgar. His eyes narrowed as he assessed him. The throne room was eerily quiet and people's breaths could be heard. Some felt as if their heart beats were as loud as lightning. No one could see it, but the patriarch could see cold yin energy gathering into Elgar's body. The patriarch's eyes widened as he could feel the tribulation lightning within Elgar.
"This boy is a Loose Immortal?" he frowned, the other eight elders staring at Elgar with confusion.
"How could that be possible? He's just a boy?" one elder spouted.
"The patriarch said so. It has to be true," another snapped.
"Patriarch," the empress bowed, all eyes turning to her. "When Elgar was still in my womb, I was struck by a tribulation lightning when our army fought another as a black lava dragon failed its ascension. I was hit by the last and weakest tribulation lightning. Otherwise, I believe I would have died. It is my belief that Elgar was affect by it."
"Does he have the lightning attribute?" the patriarch asked.
"He does. I was supposed to come here, alone. Patriarch has not read the reports of the children as patriarch asked for the Star Spirits first," one of the elders bowed.
"Survived a tribulation lightning and has the lightning attribute," the patriarch noted as he read Elgar's report. "No doubt his lightning element arts will be the most powerful of his cultivation stage. Pity there is no flame element attribute. I would have thought he was the black lava dragon in a human evolution if he was not in the womb. Empress, did the black lava dragon die?"
"Yes, patriarch. Its body also sank into the lava," the empress nodded.
"You and the emperor did have sex before the boy was born?" the patriarch asked.
"Yes," the empress said, blushing. "It was after I was examined that I found I was pregnant and it was not a tiny embryo either."
"So creatures that don't lay eggs are like that huh?" Elgar thought. "I just took the form of what I thought was a human baby, as I knew they don't lay eggs."
"What a surprise. One true prince at the seventh stage at the age of fifteen and another with tribulation lightning in his body. Our clan has no lightning element arts though. He'll have to wait until he turns twelve and enters a sect. As for the other one, the eight elders will personally tutor him. Tell his academy that he will not be returning or whatever he did before. Your princesses and princes will join academies. They still have political value. Edward will be the next emperor," the patriarch ordered.
"Yes, patriarch," everyone shouted as the patriarch and the elders left, Edward hugging his parents before following them. The second and third concubines were silent, extremely distraught that their sons would not become the emperor. However, they could use the influence of their clans to have their sons become the head of their families' clans. Greed is a very hard trait to die. The concubines immediately left, with their children, to head back tot heir clans and begin their plans.
"I expected one surprise and got many others," the emperor sighed. "The patriarch has spoken so I cannot do anything. I'll send my children to different academies, if they are of age or already in one. Misa and Elena are twenty and nineteen. They can be married off....."
"Is that what happened?" Caius roared with laughter as Elgar returned to find him. "Those old scrooges. They obviously want to keep the talented Edward with them. The fact that they are sending you all to academies is also another political ploy to gain more power. Fuck them. You will enter a martial arts sect. How can they stop you if we sneak off to join a sect on the mainland? Let's just enjoy their hospitality until you're twelve."
"Yes, great grandfather," Elgar agreed. Martial arts sects will definitely help a human reach the required stage to ascend to the Heavens. He had already lived for over seventeen hundred years. His patience had dwindled after failing once.