On the next morning, Yasha arrived at the familiar clan gate and wanted to enter immediately, only to be stopped right in front of it. The guards at the entrance held out their spears and blocked Yasha’s path, ready to strike him down should he attempt to do something foolish.
„Stop right there, you demon. This is the territory of the Hunlua Clan, only open to humans and other allies of the human race. Demons are not permitted to enter!“ One of the guards spoke with ice cold words, which left no room for discussion, ready to attack at any moment.
Fights between humans and demons were common and there were many battlefields with ongoing wars at the borders between human and demon territories. One such frontier was far to the north of the Azure Dragon Kingdom, close to Autumn Leaf City, attracting countless mercenaries and other battle maniacs.
This enmity dated back to antiquity and was thus hard to end. In the eyes of humans, demons were a bloodthirsty, savage and uncivilized lot, whereas demons hated the schemes and arrogance of humans. However, the real reason for this endless enmity was lost over time.
Nowadays, it could be said that they only fought against each other because new generations grew up with this hatred etched into their bones and knowing full well that the other party was their enemy.
That was why the guards were directly pointing their spears at Yasha, as they confused him with a demon.
As the guard spoke, he rotated his cultivation base to enhance his words and revealed his cultivation. The guard was actually at the first grade of Energy Tempering, the second major cultivation stage, clearly showing the strength of the Hunlua Clan.
Energy Tempering cultivators were already a lot rarer than Energy Gathering cultivators, so it was impressive for a clan to have Energy Tempering cultivators as guards. It was the first real challenge on the cultivation path, requiring both resilience and a lot of resources, as a cultivator had to use spiritual energy to temper their body.
Yasha was astonished and confused. Why did they stop me and why did they call me a demon? They should know me, I grew up in the clan. I already went in and out of this gate countless times!
However, Yasha did not have to brood over this for long, after which he immediately felt stupid. How could I be this careless again? It’s my transformation.
He lost his former looks and when he thought about it carefully, he really looked like demon right now—or at least not human. Snow-white hair, pale skin and blood red eyes. It was no wonder he was stopped by the guards.
Yasha sighed. I cannot just run around like this. It does not matter where I go. With my looks I am bound to be noticed. In human territories I will always stick out like an outsider. In the future, I need to cover my face to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Otherwise, I will run into this problem frequently.
While thinking, Yasha fetched a silver token out of his pocket and passed it to the guard, trying to appear as normal as he could.
The silver token was an identity token of the Hunlua Clan that every member possessed. It was made out of a material named Fleeting Soul Stone. This kind of stone remembered the soul aura of the first person who touched it, thus giving it its name.
It was used by larger and stronger clans to confirm the identity of its members. While it was possible to alter your appearance, it was impossible to change your soul. So, this was one of the safest options to identify clan members and was also the reason why it was commonly used.
The guard was skeptical, but accepted the token nonetheless. He inserted a bit of his spiritual energy into the token, which flowed into silver token, heating it up in response.
A short moment later, the guard’s expression changed abruptly and got ugly. Formidable energy erupted out of his body and shook the surroundings. The gate vibrated heavily and an enormous wave of energy came crushing onto Yasha.
Experiencing another kind of pressure during his trial in the Asura inheritance grounds, Yasha only felt a slight breeze, not impressed at all by the pressure the guard exerted. He survived the torture on the mountain path without the least bit of spiritual energy. Now, that he reached the first stage of Energy Gathering this pressure felt like a slight gust.
Reacting purely on instinct, he still backed off and rotated the minuscule amount of spiritual energy inside his body, swiftly vanishing and reappearing some meters away. To his surprise, he nearly crashed into a nearby tree as he exerted too much power, still unfamiliar with his newfound strength.
His quick reaction and uncontrolled power surprised the guard, whose expression had already changed into uncertainty. Shortly after, he retracted his pressure.
The guard now looked at Yasha hesitantly. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a time. Yasha did not say anything in this situation, as his words had no meaning anyways. And he also knew that his transformation changed his entire being, maybe even his soul. He did not know, but he hoped that the guards would still recognize him. Maybe a remnant aura of his previous soul still remained.
If that would not be the case, he would just run and think of a new plan. He also thought about just leaving directly, but he had to fight in the kingdoms tournament, knowing full well that this was childish.
A moment passed until the guard finally opened his mouth, “You... what happened to you, Yasha? Why do you look that… well… changed.” He did not want to accuse Yasha of being a demon again, so he carefully chose his last words.
The guard knew this young boy that entered the clan the same year he had his first day as a guard. Yasha’s story was known to most clan members, as it was very unusual. It was said that he was found by a member of the clan in the Fallen Snow Mountain Range, while being completely alone and without cultivation — nothing short of a miracle in the dangerous wilderness.
This member was Yasha’s adoptive mother who picked Yasha up and was moved that such small child survived in the Fallen Snow Mountain Range and brought him into the clan.
The guard examined Yasha once again, “You even entered the 1st grade of Energy Gathering. What happened to you?“
He was so surprised, because after Yasha was brought in the clan, his constitution and talent were tested. But the result was disappointing. Yasha was not suitable to cultivate. In other words, he was completely worthless. In most cases this was a final decision. Some people simply were unfit to cultivate, but those were as rare as those extremely talented people. Nearly every human could reach the first stage of Energy Gathering, those with absolute no talent were very uncommon. Yasha's adoptive mother still wanted to keep Yasha by her side, despite him being labeled as trash.
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Yasha observed the multiple changes in the expression of the guard. Not sure what to say, he tried to come up with a story, knowing that he should not talk about everything that happened to him, “I am not sure myself what happened. I got struck by lightning and then I changed. I don't really know what happened either. After I woke up, I noticed that I reached the first Energy Gathering stage.”
Nearly immediately after he said that, he scolded himself. How can I be so dumb? I was struck by lightning? Who would even believe that?
The guard looked skeptically at Yasha. Struck by lightning? Haha who are you trying to fool. He nearly broke out into laughter.
But then a thought crossed his mind. Wasn’t there a huge storm recently above the Fallen Snow Mountain Range? So, it is not completely out of question for him to be struck by lightning. But to survive. That is a completely different thing. The chance for a normal person to survive a lightning strike is close to zero percent. But it could really explain the change in his aura and I also recognized a shred of his previous aura. So, there should be no problem.
After thinking it through, he came to a decision, “You are really lucky. You should pay more attention in the future. Even though everyone looks at you with scorn, living is better than being dead. Oh, and before I forget it, you should cover yourself. You attract too much attention. You may now enter the clan.“
After those words entered his ears, Yasha let out a relieved breath and was also moved by the words of the guard. There were not many people in this clan that treated him with respect. His reputation of being a jinx always preceded him, making it difficult to find others that had no prejudices.
He then bowed and thanked the guard and finally entered the clan. Before going to the Weapon Pavilion though, Yasha sneakily went back to his home and changed to a black robe with a hood. The black robe covered his face slightly, making it nigh impossible to see Yasha’s face or other special features. Feeling better and more confident, he made his way to the Weapon Pavilion.
The Weapon Pavilion was one the most important places in the whole clan and was only open for members of the clan, contrary to the market plaza for example. But even for members it was difficult to enter. You either had to make great distributions to the clan or reach the first Energy Gathering stage — being extremely rich was also an option. Every member who was tested and reached first Energy Gathering stage was permitted entry and could choose a weapon for free to start their cultivation journey.
But you only had one chance. And the selection of the weapon was an important affair. If you chose wrongly, then you could destroy your whole path, as weapons were an essential path of cultivation for many. Few cultivated completely without weapons.
The Weapon Pavilion was situated in the central area of the clan, where all the important buildings and places were located, such as the Hall of Scriptures, the Medical School, the forgery and the Rune Master Association. Only the upper echelons of the clan had unlimited access to those places. The ordinary folks had no chance to witness those forbidden grounds.
The first thing Yasha spotted was an old man sitting near the entrance of the Weapon Pavilion. He had his eyes closed and seemed like an ordinary man, seemingly without cultivation. He was like Yasha before his transformation.
Nobody knew the real identity of this man. Most only knew that he was always there, sitting peacefully around the Weapon Pavilion.
Thus, most would simply ignore him. Others on the other hand treated him with respect, due to him being an elder and thinking that he might be some sort of mysterious expert, as he had to have the strength and a reason to stay close the Weapon Pavilion. Otherwise, someone of the core family would have long kicked him out.
To enter the pavilion the clan member’s token had to be scanned. The light at the entrance checked if you fulfilled the requirements to enter. If you had all permissions, the screen of light would vanish.
As Yasha approached the Weapon Pavilion, he was getting nervous. I hope that my token and identity is still working. I nearly could not enter the clan because my soul aura changed. If that is the case again, what should I do? Just thinking about his bitter fate should he not be able to enter, caused his frame to tremble lightly.
In no time he was only one step away. But before Yasha entered, he stopped. He looked at the old man once again and examined him more closely. While doing that, Yasha also tried to see, if the old man possessed cultivation or not.
The man had his eyes closed was just sitting there, not moving at all. His breath was slow, but steady. It looked like he was meditating, but at the same time, one could feel, that nothing escaped his perception. Or maybe only Yasha had that strange feeling. Not forgetting his manners, he bowed to the old man. Even though he may not have a high cultivation, he still was his elder.
Before Yasha could enter the Pavilion, the blood in his body accelerated and he could feel his body heating up considerably.
Yasha did not know why, but all of a sudden, his Asura blood began moving on its own, as if it was out of control.
Accompanying the chaos, negative emotions emerged and attacked Yasha’s mind. Caught by surprise, Yasha panicked. Why is the Asura blood out of control all of a sudden and what should I do?
But suddenly, everything turned calm again before any more bad things happened. Holy shit, what the hell was that just know? Still shocked about this sudden accident, Yasha was reminded that there were many aspects that he did not understand, especially when it came to the Asura blood.
On his way to the Hunlua Clan he tried to peer into some more secrets and abilities of the Asura blood, but he made no progress, as the Asura blood seemed like it entered some sort of slumber again. Aside of cultivating, Yasha had no idea how to move or stimulate the Asura blood.
I cannot afford to lose control over the Asura blood again... For a moment, Yasha even felt like he would lose himself in those negative emotions. Being a bit scared, Yasha then finally entered the Weapon Pavilion.
However, what he did not notice was that the old man abruptly opened his eyes after he left. The eyes of the man revealed a pair of deep blue eyes, which seemed to contain vast oceans.
At the moment the Asura blood broke out of control, the old man was extremely surprised, an emotion the old man had not shown in a long time. His eyes were glued on Yasha and he watched him enter the Weapon Pavilion, as if he just found something extremely precious.
Contrary to Yasha’s expectations, he was not in the spacious hall of the Pavilion yet. Currently, he was in a small tunnel, which lead to the interior of the Weapon Pavilion. As he continued to move forward, he was suddenly enveloped by a pale light.
Yasha only felt a kind of force entering and sweeping through his body. First, it did not harm him, but then it suddenly turned hostile.
The light should be checking my identity and soul aura and judging by the reaction of it, it looks like I cannot enter it. Yasha smiled bitterly and waited to be kicked out by the light. With his first grade Energy Gathering cultivation base, there was no way he could fight against the defensive mechanism of the Weapon Pavilion, not even the Asura blood could change this.
Instead of the expected murderous light, a commanding, hoarse voice echoed through the tunnel, “You may enter the Weapon Pavilion and choose a weapon.“
After those words, the light immediately dispersed and the pressure on Yasha loosened, until it vanished entirely.
Fate, why do you play with my feelings again and again? Yasha sighed bitterly again. Being powerless in front of obstactles made him feel bitter, but it also fanned the flame inside of him that burned stronger than ever after he started cultivating. In the end, he could not help but turn around for a second. It must have been the old man at the entrance that granted me permission, but why would he help me?
Yasha felt slightly uncomfortable, being given such an opportunity for basically nothing. In this world, nothing came without a price, so there had to be more to it, but if the old man really was some kind of hidden expert of the Hunlua Clan, Yasha had no chance to get to the bottom of it. He could only hope that the old man simply wanted to help him out of goodwill.
While all that happened, the old man had returned to his usual, calm and collected countenance. But inside his mind the scene in which Yasha lost the control over his Aura Blood played over again and again. Interesting. Since when does the Hunlua Clan possess such a talent? Yasha... Hm, the name is unfamiliar. I should investigate him. A young lad with a special bloodline. It has been a long time since I was last surprised by someone of the younger generation. Looks like the kingdom’s tournament will be interesting this year, haha.