As the day neared its end, the bustling crowd slowly dispersed and returned to their own business for the time being. However, not everything seemed as quiet as is looked on the surface.
Deep in the Hunlua Clan, in a secret chamber under the temple where Dyetz normally cultivated, heated discussions could be heard.
Numerous loud voices thundered through the corridors. Until finally a powerful voice, accompanied by an imposing pressure stopped the discussion, “Fellow Daoists, we are all respected elders here, so stop this bickering.”
Old Man Dairo just had this intimidating aura to him, which made it impossible for the others to oppose him. Even though most of the present people were at the same cultivation level, or nearly at the same cultivation level, most of the normally arrogant elders were completely silenced.
Of course there were also some exceptions. One such example was the elder from the Nameless Sect. This man wore a black mask that covered his whole face. Only his deep, pitch-black eyes were visible. They emanated a serene calmness, which made them appear even more terrifying.
Since the start of the meeting, he just sat on his place and did not seem to care a bit about what was discussed. These tranquil eyes were further underlined by his dark red robe.
Countless thin, vein-like threads spread over the robe, granting the elder demonic beauty. The name of this scary person was Calamity Shadow.
Not much was known about the Nameless Sect, not even the real name of the sect, thus the name Nameless Sect, but it was common knowledge that members of the Nameless Sect never used their real names.
It is said that in the Nameless Sect, some ancient, vicious spell exists, which made it possible to control someone by simply knowing the name of a person. So it was only natural that in the Nameless Sect, nearly no one was foolish enough to use his real name.
Even Old Man Dairo looked like he took Calamity Shadow serious. Dairo glanced at Calamity Shadow for a brief moment, after which he continued his speech, “The reason I invited everyone was not to bark at each other. I believe everyone knows why I gathered you here. It is natural that I want to discuss the first day of the kingdoms tournament, because it started…well, kind of special to say the least.”
In response to Dairo’s words, a scholarly man with goods looks raised his voice and interrupted Dairo, “The only thing I want to know concerns the black clothed youth. Just who is he?”
The slightly arrogant man that interrupted Old Man Dairo was named Neverim. He was a member of the famous Darwa Family, which produced many of the best equipment forgers in the whole kingdom. Even the Azure Dragon Sect treated them with respect.
Even though it was rude to interrupt Old Man Dairo, everyone in the secret room was eager to find out the identity of the black clothed youth. Even the masked elder from the Nameless Sect turned to look at Dairo, who just sat on his place and did not seem to care about getting interrupted.
Every power had their own deep information network, but not one power could find out the identity of that youth. It was like he never existed before.
“I knew that someone would ask me that question. But sadly, even I am not sure who he is. However, somebody in this room knows who he is.” With that words Dairo looked meaningfully at everyone in the secret chamber.
As his gaze reached Dyetz, he stopped for a moment before he continued. Naturally, this did not escape Dyetz as he shuddered when Dairo’s gaze stayed on him. What is the meaning of this? Does he want to say that I know this mysterious youth? That’s impossible!
No, wait. I saw his face as he stood in the arena, but I did not pay further attention to it, because at the first glance, it seemed unfamiliar. But on second thought, it must be that kid Yasha.
I remember him, he was brought into the clan some years ago, but he was only trash back then. And his looks… He changed too much. Just what happened to him?
While Dyetz was struggling to believe that this mysterious, powerful youth was Yasha, Old Man Dairo turned back to the crowd, “Does anyone of you have information about that young man?”
Arslan, who was also in the secret chamber, thought for a moment, but decided that it was for the best to not reveal any information about Yasha. Besides, he did not even know that much about Yasha. So, how could he even present them with valuable information? Nobody would believe him anyways.
After struggling for some more, Dyetz decided to risk it and began to speak lightly, sweat dripping down his face, “I… I think I have some information about the mysterious person…However, I am not sure if these information are correct.”
After these words, every single person in the secret chamber turned to Dyetz and looked at him with a piercing hot gaze, which gradually turned into stupefied looks.
Neverim was the first to recover, “Come on, say it then! Don’t let us wait. Why did you not tell us before?!”
“Calm down Neverim. Let us hear what Clan Leader Dyetz has to say first.”
Dyetz only began to speak after Dairo’s reassuring words, “I think I know him, because he is a member of my Hunlua Clan…”
Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a huge uproar that spread through the meeting room. Everyone’s jaw dropped after they heard that this powerful youngster was a member of the Hunlua Clan. That was simply ridiculous!
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
For a middle of the pack clan like the Hunlua Clan to produce one genius like Lentz was already an enormous feat. But now, this measly clan leader of a mediocre power actually dared to claim that this black clothed youth was also a member of his clan? Just who does he think he is? The Azure Dragon Sect?
This time it was a middle aged man in an aquamarine robe with a thin black sword on his back who voiced his opinion in a cold tone. His voice was not pleasant to listen to at all, as it sounded like two stones rubbing against each other.
While he spoke, he emanated an intense and murderous killing intent. However, he did not do it on purpose. His killing intent was just too strong, so it leaked out of him continuously. Such a killing intent was the result of reaping too many lives, of humans, demons, and beasts alike.
That man was the representative of the Demon Slayer Sword Sect, Demon Sword Vaile. Demon Sword was an exclusive title, which was only used in the Demon Slayer Sword Sect. They had three titles for their elders.
The lowest was Beast Sword, then Monster Sword and lastly Demon Sword. Above that existed two more titles. However, these were reserved for the Grand Elder, the Sect Master and the Patriarch. The Grand Elder’s title was Demon King Sword and the Sect Master and patriarch had the noble title of Demon Slayer, which represented the highest prestige.
“Why do you say that? I watched this boy and he did not seem like he cultivated your clan’s fire arts or other techniques. He does not look like one of you at all.”
Even though his intention was not to sound unfriendly or scary, he overflowed with a murderous aura which made it impossible for him to look friendly.
Dyetz who was already pressured enough, nearly collapsed under this heavy killing intent. In this room full of old monsters, Dyetz was only mediocre. Many of those attending could easily defeat in him battle.
That was why he was constantly under pressure, as one false move could end his life and in the worst case could even implicate the whole Hunlua clan.
“I think that his name is Yasha. He was brought into our clan by an insignificant woman with basically no cultivation. However, if I remember correctly he was just trash at that time and even his looks changed completely…” Dyetz hesitated as he tried to remember how Yasha looked in the past.
“In the past he had the same long hair, but the person I know had black hair and black eyes. He looked completely ordinary. Because of his non-existent talent, I did not pay further attention to him.”
“But after seeing him again on the stage, I recognized his facial features and his stature. However, I still find it difficult to believe that this youth with snow-white hair and blood red eyes is same Yasha I used to know. Not only his looks, his bearing changed completely.”
After he finished speaking, dead silence spread through the room. It was a suffocating silence, which was only lifted with Dairo’s words. He looked calm as he responded, “If that is true, then I have to congratulate you, Clan Leader Dyetz, for acquiring another genius. However, I still have to warn you about something.”
The previously calm man now turned solemn, “This Yasha boy belongs to your clan, so it’s your responsibility to handle him. I can overlook today’s outrage and incident, but should it happen again, then I can tell you that I will use everything I have to bring down this boy. Understood?”
Dyetz felt the burning gaze of Dairo and trembled immensely. He could barely stand straight and he could not understand why Dairo would suddenly turn hostile and say something like that.
Not only Dyetz, nobody present understood the intentions of Old Man Dairo. If there was a problem with this boy, then why did Dairo not do something immediately? Why was he giving him a chance?
It was obvious that Dairo knew more about the youth, but was unwilling to inform the others. There seemed to be something about Yasha which only Dairo recognized. And this was the reason why Dairo previously helped Yasha, even though there was clear evidence of bedevilment on Yasha for a short moment.
And this small detail what nobody besides Dairo recognized, was the bloodline pressure which Yasha emanated after he lost control. This natural bloodline suppression could normally only affect other beings with a special bloodline. Only if you wanted to suppress others and actively used this bloodline suppression could it be felt by others, even without a special bloodline.
Of course, there were also other people without a special bloodline that could identify bloodline bearers, but those were also rare.
Dairo himself did not know why he decided to not pursue the matter with Yasha. It was an instinctual decision. He felt immense reverence and pressure at the same time as the bloodline pressure of Yasha descended upon him.
The overbearing Azure Dragon Blood in hi veins usually was abnormally arrogant, but in that moment where Yasha exploded with spiritual energy and bloodline energy, it suddenly acted like an intimidated little dragon, as if it met one of its ancestors. That was completely unheard of in the Azure Dragon Sect!
Even the bloodline pressure of the other Divine Beasts did not produce such an effect. The Azure Dragon would never surrender by just feeling the pressure of the other Divine Beasts or bloodlines.
This unusual reaction incited a sliver of fear in Dairo and he was immediately ashamed that he feared a junior in the Energy Gathering Stage. His first thought was to destroy this little bug, because he could not stand the shame of being afraid of a junior in the Energy Gathering Stage.
However, his instinct warned him of doing something rash. His instinct was sharpened over the years during his arduous and deadly cultivation journey. For the time being, he decided to follow his instincts. To avoid negative consequences, he decided to hand over the burden to the Hunlua Clan, just in case his instinct was right and that boy really was a threat—no matter how unrealistic such a situation was.
Dairo ignored the faces of everyone which were filled with questions and just continued to speak like nothing happened, “After finally solving the question of who this black clothed youth is, we can now talk about the rest of the tournament. This year, the tournament is really filled with rare geniuses, overshadowing the past years. Who do you think has the best chances of winning?”
With these words the discussion about Yasha was finished, even though the others clearly wanted to get more information. The other powerful experts, who were on the same level as Dairo, respected him and the sect who stood behind him. That’s why they accepted being in an inferior role before Dairo and they followed the conversation which was led by him. Shadow Calamity and Demon Sword Vaile included.
The discussion between the top experts continued with various names of the six prodigies being named. The ones who were mentioned the most were Levi, Areth and Jiule. Those three persons had the highest chance of winning the whole tournament.
Of course the other names of the six prodigies were also mentioned, but no one thought that they had high chances of winning the tournament. Yasha’s name was also not included in the talk of the first place, as everyone thought that he already showed his complete power. And they knew that Yasha could not use his “rampage” mode again, as he would be personally executed by Dyetz or Dairo. That’s why nobody looked at him favorably.
The meeting continued until deep in the night, after which it finally concluded. One after another, the different experts left the secret chamber, leaving only Dyetz in the chamber.
He simply stood in the room and stared at the floor with a void gaze. His whole countenance and bearing changed into something less powerful, as he now looked a lot older…