119 Onwards to a New Life

Inside an office, Teacher Nadan and Khor is having a serious conversation.

“The first time you’ve killed, you promised me not to do it again so I covered for you. I covered you hoping that you will mature and change like how your father did to me.

I’m tired of constantly reminding you of what’s right and wrong and to control yourself.”

*Sigh

“If you still wish to kill that boy, let me remind you that while the boy’s family seems to have had thrown him out, he is still a direct descendant of Endremilas.”

Nadan paused then continued, “I am tasked in guiding a batch of class and after this, I will retire and return to my hometown. I did all I can to help you out secure that spot and with that I’ve fulfilled my promise to your father. Don’t call me master moving forward and don’t call me uncle until you’ve overcome that childishness of yours.”

“I understand, teacher.”

Teacher Nadan walked out of the room. Seven days ago when someone took over Khor’s spot, Khor was driven mad he asked him to arrange a mission where Clay would be involved. It never occurred to him that the son of his sworn brother has taken the path of a vicious murderer who would kill someone on impulse. He blames himself for not exposing Khor the first time and now that Khor no longer listens to him, he decided to retire.

Meanwhile, Clay had just finished eating and he could feel someone approaching the house. Yesterday after integrating with the Essence Flame, he broke through to the 3RD layer of Qi Condensation Realm. However when he attempted to breakthrough to Mid-Qi Condensation, he felt the tearing of his meridians so he stopped. He felt the same pain six days ago when he was trying to overcome the second layer. Only after eating the nutritious meal dedicated to core disciples that he successfully broke through which supports his original theory that body as a container needs to improve as well with each step he takes on the path of cultivation.

After a minute, a muscular Late Qi Condensation Stage student stepped inside the house and Clay stood to greet him.

“My name is Troru and I’ve come to pick you up. This will be your identity starting today.” said Troru as he handed a necklace.

At the same, Clay did not wait for Troru to ask and immediately handed the “spot” token.

Troru grabbed the token and threw it at the center of the house where Clay would usually meditate then said, “Follow me. We are going on mission.”

Clay looked at the “spot” token floating in the middle of the house like it was some kind of treasure then inwardly smiled and obediently followed Troru. If this was the past, he would probably still be ignorant about schemes. For the past seven days, not even one came to check on him. Not a single person came to assist him and teach him the basics.

And all of sudden a mission?

He was glad he was able to discover the underground Essence Flames. Last night after breaking through to the 3RD layer of Qi Condensation, he did a few tests to resonate with his newly acquired Dao Powers and he was awestruck with its sheer destructiveness.

After fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at building close to the campus Clay was supposed to originally register. Upon entering the room, a group of four is already waiting for them and the leader is none other than Khor himself.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s start.” Khor said as he laid a map on the table and pointed at an area on the map.

“So yesterday we have received a report about signs of a Kulfagar Demon hiding within the aqueducts of Irzal City. Evidence suggests that we will be fighting a Dream Eating Demon.”

Khor pressed a button on the table to project a humanoid demon with a head that looks like a jelly fish.

“This demons only strength is the paralyzing gas it emits and once the prey cannot move, it will inject something into its prey’s head to place it on extreme hallucination so the trick is to not breath or fully guard yourself with you aura and pierce its head.”

“You mean the same demon used to torture and collect information at Annex III?”

“Yes, but this time we will not capture it. It’s a kill order. The severity was categorized as normal so they are sending us instead and while on route, we are tasked to investigate a village in Larzuk. A few scouts have intercepted rumors about Grublins.”

“And what if it is not a Dream Eating Demon?” asked one of the member.

“The clues indicate we’ll be fighting a low level demon and we are not the main fighting force. We’ll be the backup forces and we’ll be accompanied by Mages in the city when we get there so we may not even get the chance to fight at all.

Alright, from my estimate, we will arrive on our first mission in two days. You have an hour to prepare and we will all meet at the gate.”

The group dispersed and Clay followed Troru who is walking straight to the gate.

Clay was silent the entire time and hid his cultivation. If only possible to kill Khor now he would burn him to crisp. It amazes him how Khor can do his briefing while thinking of murdering someone that Khor could not restrain his killing intent.

Clay was not at all concerned as he is confident that kill everyone is like stomping on anthill now that he has obtained Dao Powers. What he is worried about though is his destination after this mission. It is true he has the power to kill his teammates but hiding evidence is not his forte let alone influence the thinking of the friends and relatives of his teammates. He knew that the moment his teammates are dead, it will be he who will take the blame no matter or regardless of his excuse.

Unless he would show off his strength or take over the entire academy but to him, it smells like endless troubles especially that his Qi and Mana Affinity is zero. Just the thought of convincing people that he has powers is off putting he would rather cultivate alone in peace. But the biggest problem of them all are Mages.

The secret of cultivator’s unimaginable powers is their Dao Comprehension which essentially is Blue Qi and Mages are natural Blue Qi users. The only difference is the form or state of Blue Qi being utilized. One using Blue Qi on a Soul Space Dimension level while the other is Blue Qi form on a reality dimension level.

While Clay’s mind is running wild thinking which practitioner is stronger, he noticed Troru approached Khor which prompted him to enhance his hearing.

(Are you really going to that kid?)

(I made a promise to take care of him and gain experience. You can be assured he won’t slow us down during fights.)

Clay is standing at least twenty meters from the carriage the group will be using during the trip and thanks to his cultivation that he could overhear Khor’s conversation with Troru. Just hearing Khor make a lie is already an indication he will be force to kill if he joins them on the mission.

“Is there a way to back off at this moment or should I just escape along the way?” Clay murmured to himself.

He has already achieved his objective in coming here by confirming there is no Soul Seal inside him. But the problem now is he has nowhere to go back to. He can go back technically but his family may not welcome him anymore now that he there is no longer a use for him. On top of it, the city he grew up with is devoid of Spiritual Qi which may have long term impact on his body.

He did have plans on staying on this school whilst remaining low key but now that someone from the academy wants him dead, he is left with the inevitable. Between his family who wants to cut ties with him, and some random teenage boy wanting him dead, his only option now is to disappear quietly. And for that to happen, news of him perishing is a must during this mission.

Although he may not have a great start with this life, he wants to live a life without soaking his hands with blood.

Clay walked towards their ride upon noticing the arrival of the other group members. He just hopes that Khor will not kill him personally and would choose abandon him to die somewhere along this trip then later he will pretend he is dead and once everyone thinks he had met an untimely death, he would ran off somewhere faraway and start over.

If Khor would choose the later though, then he will make it look like everyone has met with a tragic accident.

Based on the positions of each defensive fortress he saw earlier on the map, they are on the border where Spiritual Qi and Mana meet and since he has nowhere to go, the most optimal place to go would be westward. Since their mission is heading northwest, then he is hitting two birds with one stone by tagging along.

The carriage started moving and Clay relaxed himself and prepared for any sudden attack.