5 Chapter 5 Choice and Gamble
"Alright then, if you four won't take him, then I will".
Everyone froze up and turned towards the new voice. The Elders in particular revealed expressions of shock before they all floated back up to greet the new voice.
"Huang Di. Haven't you left already? The contract between Tamagahara and the Nirvana Auction House has already been settled. What business do you have here?", Elder Long stood in the forefront of the four Elders, each of the exerting an aura that was capable of suppressing the sun and the moon.
Shen Tian watched as a crack appeared in the sky and a bald headed old man stepped through. His aura was golden and was no lesser than the combined auras of the four Elders.
He was a powerhouse!
"Lady Long, Lady Feng, Lady Xue, Lady Chu. I apologize for the interruption, but if you willing I will take this young man with me on the way back to the Nirvana Auction House Main Branch. Since Tamagahara only accepts women, this young man has no place here. That is, if you're willing to come with me?", Huang Di extended an olive branch towards Shen Tian. He had witnessed the sudden growth of the vegetation on the way out of the Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect and was puzzled why a mortal was the cause of such a thing.
But when he heard that his Wood affinity was greater than even Lady Chu's, the Elder in charge of the spiritual gardens in the Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect, he knew that this kid had potential!
If he could bring him back and train him, this kid could be a future powerhouse of the Nirvana Auction House!
"Huang Di! My fellow Elder desires this child as her disciple! Are you trying to dishonor her by forcibly taking him away!?", shouted Elder Feng as she stood side-by-side with Elder Long. Her aura slowly increased until the image of a Vermilion Bird appeared behind her.
Shen Tian saw this exchange of power and his eyes widened and his mouth dropped!
This is a cultivator, he thought.
This is what I've been searching for!
This is what I've always dreamed of!
This was power.
And they were fighting over him as well. They were fighting over his abilities. His talents. His life.
"Lady Feng, I have no desire to clash with the four of you. Especially when I've already finished discussing the terms of our trade agreement with Sect Leader Lin. It would be a shame if I went back to the Nirvana Auction House Main Branch and told them how Tamagahara rejected our deal?", Huang Di's eyes turned cold and his aura grew stronger. Despite not taking on the form of a Beast like Elder Feng, it was no way weaker than hers.
"You bastard! I can't believe the so called "Yellow Emperor" of the Nirvana Auction House was such a scoundrel!", Elder Long's face twisted into one of anger and hatred and her aura slowly took the form of a Azure Dragon.
The combination of a Vermilion Bird and an Azure Dragon multiplied the others Qi exponentially, to the point where Qin Qingyue and Lin Xiaoqi could no longer handle the strain without being forced to their knees.
Shen Tian could feel their immense powers, but no pressure was exerted on him.
It was as if an external force was pushing back their Qi with an equally powerful aura.
Something which all five of these powerhouses saw.
"Young man! The Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect is not suitable for men! If you come with me, I will teach you everything there is to know about cultivation! I will take you as my personal disciple and make you a member of the Nirvana Auction House! Your future will be all but guaranteed!". The Yellow Emperor ignored the hateful glares the four elders were giving him and turned their attention back to Shen Tian.
The elders of Tamagahara gave each other another look before Elder Xue spoke up.
"Shen Tian, if you decide to join the Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect then we will welcome you with open arms. Us four elders will stand by you if you do, and you can learn the way of medicine straight from Elder Chu. Her ability to cultivate spiritual herbs and holy medicines is legendary throughout the Main Continents. Needless to say that our techniques and arts our open to you as well....". Her words shocked Qin Qingyue and Lin Xiaoqi who were currently regaining the color on their pale faces.
To them, who have been under the fellowship of Elder Chu for several years have learnt many things regarding the art of cultivating medicines and both of them have blossomed like the very flowers they often tended.
But in the several years they've been under Elder Chu, they learnt that she didn't possess any direct disciples! No-one had enough talent, nor the level of gift to sway this green haired beauty. Her gorgeous green hair and emerald green eyes were legendary throughout the Main Continent.
That put together with her legendary status as a King-Grade Alchemist turned her into an idol that many of the younger generation saw in their dreams. For both men and women....
If this young man, who had a Wood affinity that exceeded her own, was to become a student of hers....
He might even go higher than her!
The pair gulped and awaited with hidden breath at the decision this young man. Eagerly awaiting his final choice.
A bead of sweat formed on the neck of Shen Tian as he weighed the options in front of him.
"And I thought the Lone Shadow Wolf pack was scary", Shen Tian muttered underneath his breath.
Shen Tian was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
He had just arrived on this new continent and with mere moments he had already been forced into an ultimatum to decide his future.
Either join the Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect; a Sect almost exclusive to women or join Huang Di and follow him to the Nirvana Auction House and become his personal disciple.
The former guaranteed a path of cultivation with Elder Chu, who also promised to take him on as a disciple and teach him the way of medicine. While the latter only gave him a promise to take him on as a personal disciple.
And he still didn't know what exactly the Assimilating Flower Immortal Sword Lineage was either. It sounded powerful but he didn't know how he could develop this Lineage to its fullest potential.
Shen Tian needed information.
But to do that, with nothing to bargain with he had to gamble.
He had to take a chance with a high risk in order to receive a high reward.
He goes nothing, he thought. The 13 year old boy cleared his throat before continuing.
"I have a question, that I was hoping you both might answer for me first, if that's alright". Shen Tian's words were steady but his heart was racing faster than ever before.
Both Elder Xue and Huang Di narrowed their eyes before the former nodded.
"Speak". She said.
Shen Tian nodded before taking a deep breath and asking, "I was wondering if either of you knew what a Lineage might be?".
The reaction was instantaneous.
Both Elder Xue and Huang Di grew silent.
The air grew still and all oppressive Qi vanished without a single trace. The wind billowed throughout the territory of Tamagahara and only the sound of faint chatter was carried from far away.
This doesn't look good, thought Shen Tian.
He examined the change in emotions on all the Elders faces, but even Elder Chu showed an expression of shock and awe. Elder Long who had the perpetual angry look on her face was too stunned to even speak!
Huang Di couldn't keep his mouth from separating from his jaw and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Do you receive a Lineage Shen Tian?", the redheaded Elder, Elder Feng snapped out of her daze first and asked the question all five of them were thinking.
Because this simple yes or no question would determine how far each of them would be willing to go to have Shen Tian join their faction!
If a mortal child that received a Lineage with absolutely no idea how to utilize it just landed in front of you, how lucky must you be!
A Lineage was different to a Bloodline and Inheritance. An Inheritance was a cultivators way on passing their techniques down to their predecessors. Only those who were worthy could learn an inheritance as well as the techniques and arts that came with them! It was the most common form of passing down power from one generation to the next!
A Bloodline was even rarer than an Inheritance! Although every cultivator has a bloodline, not everyone can awaken their dormant power! It provided a greater boost in strength compared to an Inheritance, but it was even harder to obtain. Even great Sects and Families use exorbitant amounts of spiritual medicines to awaken their younger generations bloodlines. It was the rarer form of passing down power from one generation to the next!
A Lineage was completely different! Unlike the previous two which could have a multitude of wielders at any one time, a Lineage was unique! It was singular! Only one person could posses a Lineage at any one time!
And what made them even rarer was the fact that a Lineage possessed its own consciousness! It chose each wielder specifically! It chose the most suitable host and granted them its powers!
The younger generation might not have heard of a Lineage wielder in the past several hundred years, but the four Elders and Huang Di definitely have! They knew the power each Lineage contained, and that every wielder eventually grew up to become an the the true overlord of an Era.
Not just that, but the main power every Lineage had was the ability to create new Bloodlines. That meant if the descendant of a cultivator that wielded a Lineage awakened to a Bloodline, it would be the perfect consolidation of power between the Lineage and Bloodline.
A new bloodline born from the combination of one parents Lineage and the other parents Bloodline.
This meant if Shen Tian didn't have a bloodline and was chosen by a Lineage instead he had the potential to bring about a new Clan or even Family into the world.
That was what they wanted to know.
".... and if I did?", he replied, his tone neither confirming nor denying the accusation Elder Feng claimed.
Huang Di instantly vanished from his position in the sky and reappeared directly in front of Shen Tian.
"Shen Tian! If you come with me to the Nirvana Auction House I'll guarantee you'll become a Foundation Establishment cultivator with 12 months, no, ten months! Everything will be open to you! Our information network and connections are the best on the main continent! We have branches all over the eight continents! Anything you desire could be yours!", Huang Di wanted to grab Shen Tian and run all the way back to the Green Mist Continent.
Everyone in the older generation were looking for disciples to pass down their techniques and arts, but Huang Di didn't have any.
He was a powerhouse raised by the Nirvana Auction House and considered the House to be his home.
If he could bring back Shen Tian and raised him the same way his master raised him, he would be able to truly live his life without any regrets.
"Huang Di! Aren't you being a little too conceited! This is the territory of Tamagahara! I don't believe that even our Sect Leader will stand idly by as you take a potential seedling away! Even with our trade alliance at stake", Elder Xue practically teleported behind the bald old man and swung her sword him, sending him flying several meters back.
Shen Tian watched her sword glow with a pale silver light and his new green eyes glowed as he watched her technique.
[Infinite Blade Release]!
Everything grew slow in Shen Tian's eyes. The whole world grew to a near standstill as his green eyes glowed as the mysteries behind Elder Xue's technique slowly unraveled.
It was a set of unparalleled sword strikes that completely ignored defense and focused everything on offensive attacks. The technique was Metal attributed which seemed to be complemented by Elder Xue's own Metal affinity.
The individual set of moves embedded themselves within Shen Tian's mind.
[Heavenly Tiger Crashing Through the Gates]. [Reigning Push of Majestic Fang]. [Descent of the Heavenly Tiger]. [Raging Whirlwind of Formless Steel]. [Divine Fang Shatter the Nine Heavens].
These five moves that constituted the Infinite Blade Release were completely memorized in just one viewing of the technique. At a speed that even cultivators of Elder Xue's level may miss!
"Damn you Xue Lingyan! He isn't even a member of your Sect yet you dare to attack me!", the Yellow Emperor's face turned into one of blood lust and a beautifully crafted red sword appeared in his hand.
[Majestic Devouring Inferno]!
With a flourish and a wave, Huang Di's sword burst and a brilliant scarlet flame covered its edges. Of the five primary elements, it was well known that fire melts metal! It was one of the overcoming interactions!
"Damn you Huang Di!", shouted Xue Lingyan, her tone full of spite and hate for the bald old man.
With a single sword clash it was clear that Elder Xue was at the disadvantage. Not just in terms in of their technique, but also in cultivation.
The other Elders appeared behind Elder Xue and each of them brandished a sword similar in design to Xue Lingyan's. With the appearance of these similarly crafted swords, the amount of Qi the four Elders exuded multiplied by a monstrous amount!
Huang Di saw this and gave a wry smile, "I see that the title of "Four Holy Swords" suits you four well. Your special spiritual weapons each have an array crafted into them which multiplies their power in the vicinity of the other four. In addition you lay another array on top of this and share our Qi between the four of you, multiplying it once more. Individually you are capable of facing enemies in the cultivation stage above you. Together you can face enemies of the cultivation realm above you!".
The four Elders gave a wry smile and Elder Chu spoke up, "Are you sure you won't back down Huang Di? I am intent on making Shen Tian my disciple, regardless of whether he has a Bloodline or a Lineage".
The green haired beauty revealed an abnormal glare towards the bald old man. Her kind and gentle expression lost, and an aggressive and battle hungry replaced it.
"I apologize Lady Chu, but I must insist on making Shen Tian my disciple. You have an abundance of talented young women here in the Floating Heavenly Bridge Sect. Why must you fight me on this?", he said, Huang Di's tone righteous and just. His words may have appeared that way, but everybody, including Shen Tian rolled his eyes at the bald old man.
What a shameless old man!
The Four Holy Swords' expressions hardened and raised their swords above their heads ready to deliver a fatal strike.
Green, silver, red and blue Qi all mixed together and the image of a Heavenly Asura formed in the space above. It's four arms wielded the same sword each Elder possessed and its faces showed four different expressions.
"Ma, ma. How scary. But if this is all you can do then....", Huang Di pointed his sword towards the Heavens and an equally powerful golden aura came bursting towards the sky.
There was no image formed, nor was their a summoning of a divine beast to assist him.
The pillar of golden Qi pierced the sky and everyone in Tamagahara, whether they be outer disciples, inner disciples, core disciples or Elders came flooding out trying to find out what the commotion was.
"I think it's time to end this Yellow Emperor".
"I couldn't agree more Lady Chu".
