Chapter 16: Secrets of Tifili Village

Raven and Blacky were standing on the mountain. Raven was currently looking up at the sky, as if he was waiting for something.

A moment later a black crow flew towards their direction.

The crow had a rolled up piece of paper tied around one of its feet. Raven pulled open the string and took out the note and began reading it.

After Raven read the letter he turned to look at Blacky. “Blacky, a great opportunity may be coming your way.”

“Oh, why’s that?” Blacky wondered what news Raven had received.

Raven’s hands lit up with dark energy, the letter crumbled apart in his hands, turning into ashes. “The master of the bounty hunters association will be at the tournament!”

Blacky was slightly surprised, yet confused. “What does it have to do with me?”

“The master is a mortal king! His status is incredibly high, even within the demonic cult crew. Think about it, if he’s coming, there must be a reason. If you can do well in the tournament, he will surely recognize you.” Raven rubbed his hands together as he spoke.

“He’s so strong, is he really going to come just to watch?” Blacky instinctively felt that wasn’t the reason.

Raven remained silent for a moment, appearing to be hesitant to explain things further. He thought of Blacky’s and Cool Breeze’s relationship.

“You know of the village head making a breakthrough recently, right?” Raven asked Blacky.

Blacky’s eyes lit up as he nodded. The Tifili Village’s head was extremely old. According to Raven’s previous statements, there was only one way to make a breakthrough. That was with heavenly objects.

“It seems you understand. The Village head is over a hundred years old. He reached the elemental warrior stage while he was young. Yet within the past few years, he has made a few breakthroughs using resources. He even reached the middle level of the elemental warrior stage.” Raven had a lot of insider knowledge.

Originally he wasn’t someone from Tifili Village. He was tasked to stay there and keep a close eye on the village. Over the years he knew nearly everything about the village.

“Around five years ago I discovered a huge secret. There seems to be an ancient ruin, or perhaps something else. What I do know is that place reeks of death. The elements surrounding that place are dark, and evil in nature. The demonic cult crew was quick to notice these things.. So I believe the bounty hunters association was tasked to research it.” Raven explained things calmly.

Blacky didn’t know what to say. What could he do about this situation with his strength?

“Six months ago I managed to sneak inside these ruins.. I didn’t find anything much of use. However, I found a scripture, it was something about a mysterious element. Unfortunately, since I was already an elemental warrior. I couldn’t study it, due to my element being darkness.” Raven sighed regretfully.

“In the end I took the scripture, and then I gave it to the master of the bounty hunter association. He was extremely delighted with it. He gave me two elemental grade pills. After consuming them, I levelled up twice. Thanks to that I’m a level three elemental warrior. The value of that scripture can be seen from that.” Raven looked at Blacky who had an amazed expression.

Blacky’s goal was to become an elemental warrior. He was deeply interested in what Raven was saying about elements. “Then one day I need to choose an element too right?”

Raven nodded slightly. “If you can reach the late stages of the spiritual warrior realm, you will be able to. However, only elemental warriors can truly grasp the powers of an element.”

“Then what elements are there? And which one would be good for me?” Blacky asked Raven hurriedly, he was absolutely excited.

Raven simply shrugged. “How many elements are there..? The answer is simply infinite. No one truly knows the answer. As for what would be good for you.. I can only make a few suggestions.”

Blacky found it too hard to believe. “How can that be? Fire.. Water.. Darkness.. Thunder.. Stuff like that are elements right?”

Raven shook his head. “Mhmm.. In a sense they can be considered elements. However they can be considered extremely basic elements. If one had a choice they would choose an element that suits them. After all once you choose an element, you’ll never be able to change it. Let me give you an example.. What element do you think Cool Breeze practices?”

“Well.. He calls himself Breezy, and he’s really fast and sharp.. So it should be the wind element, right?” Blacky spoke hesitantly. “..But I saw that his body was on fire.. So maybe it’s the fire element.. I got it! He trains both!”

Raven shook his head. “You can’t practice more than one element, remember?”

Blacky frowned, he simply gave up.

Raven wasn’t surprised with Blacky’s answer. “The element Cool Breeze practices is.. The cool breeze element. An element which is unique to Cool Breeze.”

Blacky once again found Raven’s words hard to believe. “That can’t be right? He simply made his own element out of nowhere? What, is he a god or something?”

Raven sighed. “While it’s impressive, that doesn’t’ mean it impossible. Cool Breeze’s background is far greater than ours. On top of that his talent is terrifying. The demonic cult crew has been around for hundreds of years. Countless geniuses have come and gone. Before they passed away, they will leave behind some of their comprehensions.”

“They also have the ability to test ones affinity with an element. Disciples would first reach the late spiritual warrior stage. Then they would slow down their training, until they find an element they have some affinity with.” Raven’s tone was grim as he spoke. “I for instance didn’t get this chance. When I became an elemental warrior, I couldn’t make any progress. I spent three years doing all that I could…” Raven finally shook his head, unwilling to say more.

Blacky smiled awkwardly, trying to cheer up the mood. “Sir Raven, don’t be sad, you’re very strong!”

Raven chuckled in reply. “It’s fine. I’m already sixty years old, and have forgotten of those things.”

Blacky felt bad for Raven. In other words Raven was stuck at his level for thirty five years!

Raven decided to change the subject. “Blacky, my time has more or less passed. However you’re still young. I will try to teach you the basics, but when it comes to elements…”

“While I can’t help you much.. A mortal king, like the master of the bounty hunters association..” Raven grinned as he spoke.

“Listen, I can put in a good word for you. All you need to do is win the tournament.” Raven revealed his future intentions for Blacky.

Blacky eyed Raven strangely. He didn’t exactly know why Raven would do this for him.

Raven seemed to understand what Blacky was thinking. “Don’t look at me like that.. If you can become a disciple of a mortal king, I and Old Man Black will benefit greatly!”

Raven began to chuckle.

Blacky seemed to understand, he nodded his head weakly. No matter what the reason, they were both willing to teach him. Raven was already strong and mighty. Blacky was more than happy to be taught by him.

Raven was satisfied with Blacky’s answer. “Mhmm. It’s good you understand. However this tournament will be quite grand. You will be facing the top geniuses of the villages of Denus Empire.”

“Sir Raven, won’t it just be for people from Tifili Village?” Blacky asked Raven with a frown.

Raven shook his head. “Not at all. The bounty hunter association is not the only one interested in Tifili village. With the Village Chiefs breakthrough, many factions will be arriving. The best of these factions will be clans from cities. Keep in mind all cities are governed by a mortal king. While Tifili Village might be far stronger compared to stone village.. It’s lacking compared to any of the clans whom run a city.”

“Then.. How strong will the participants be?” Blacky didn’t know what to expect. However with his current strength he wasn’t too confident.

Raven rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. “Well.. They shouldn’t be too strong.. I’ve been informed most will be around the middle stages of the spiritual warrior stage.. Perhaps even the late stage.”

Blacky couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter. However he wasn’t disheartened. “Well.. I’ll try my best.”

Raven smiled slightly. “You still have three pills left to use. In these two months, you will train. Your goal is to reach the sixth level of the spiritual warrior stage. Although it will be hard, it shouldn’t be impossible. I’ll also be there to guide you, Old Man Black too.”

“The only wild card is the Extera clan.. They are almost equal to the Denus clan, the rulers of the empire. I’m not certain on this.. But they may be in cahoots with the Grand Tree Sect.”

Blacky didn’t really care where the people came from. Reaching the sixth level of the spiritual warrior stage would be great in itself. However the Grand Tree Sect was a name Blacky knew well.

This was the sect Old Man Black got kicked out from.

Raven didn’t want to scare Blacky, but wanted to motivate him. “Well, we’ll worry about those things when the time comes. For now we should return to Tifili Village. There are a lot of things I need to take care of. Old Man Black finished his contract a few days ago as well.”

Blacky had no belongings. Meaning he was ready to return to Tifili Village. Raven led the way down the mountain. Raven stated that there were guards of the Denus Empire around the area. This made him take a different route to Tifili Village.