11 11. Take off
When the man finished reading the paper, he grinned.
"What is old man emperor scheming now," he chuckled.
He then got up and walked up to a big mirror that was propped on the wall. He bit his finger and smeared his blood on the face of the mirror. A moment later, the mirror distorted and revealed a face that looked quite similar to the man's face except that figure in the mirror had gray hair and more wrinkles on his face.
"What do you want boy?" The figure asked impatiently.
The man was already used to the way his father spoke to him so he didn't take that to heart, "Father, I've just received an invitation from old man emperor," the man said as he waved the small paper in front of the mirror.
"Oh, what sort of invitation?" The man in the mirror asked with interest.
"A competition for the younger generation to exchange pointers," the man responded, "It says that all the families are invited," he read.
"All the families?" The man in the mirror brooded.
"Yes father," the man nodded his head, his eyes then brightened, "Father, doesn't that mean that the Bai Family will be there too?" The man asked.
"Even if they are there, don't engage with them," the man in the mirror scowled.
"Why is that father?" The man pouted, "Although nobody knows almost nothing about them, they haven't done anything to attain such distrust?"
The man in the mirror grew quiet, "Just do as I say," he said after a moment of silence, "Get Ling'er and Mian'er ready. They will participate in this competition," the mirror then distorted back into its original state.
"Yes, father," the man rolled his eyes and left his study with heavy steps.
-----
Over the next few days, Bai Cong has been seeking guidance from Bai Sze as he practiced the Bingxue Cultivation Technique.
When Bai Cong read though the manual, he saw that it was indeed as Bai Sze had said. The person cultivating this technique must have the Bai Family bloodline in their veins, they must have at least, purple level potential, and they must not allow any distractions to disrupt their cultivation.
But Bai Cong found a section that said that the cultivation technique would allow some emotion with people of the Bai Family bloodline. Only outsiders are excluded from any and all emotional contact.
Bai Cong went to a secluded area which was one of the small rooms that were used for closed door cultivation and closed his senses off to block out the happenings of the world.
Bai Cong closed his eyes and let his conscious drift. He felt the energy in his vicinity. His soul felt like it was merging with the space around him, as if he were nothing.
Bai Cong cultivated like this for the remainder of the month as the day of the competition grew closer.
Two days before the competition, Bai Cong was packing up his stuff when he heard a knock from his door.
"Come in," he said coldly. Although it had only been a month, there were some noticeable differences in Bai Cong. His face always stayed in the same frozen expression of indifference, as if nothing could make it crack. His temperament became even more withdrawn.
Bai Gui entered the room and saw his youngest son fixing up his things.
"Cong'er," Bai Gui greeted him, "Are you done packing?"
"Yes," Bai Cong answered as he put his last few items into his bag.
Bai Cong dressed up in white robes made out of expensive silk. It was tied together by a blue sash that had the Bai Family emblem pinned to it. Bai Cong had not cut his hair since he was born so now his shoulder length, silver hair was left hanging on his body. His eyes were quite big for his small, chubby face so it wouldn't be weird if you had mistaken him for a really cute young miss of a rich family.
"Here," Bai Gui said as he took out a simple looking ring. It was white with a single blue gemstone in the middle, "This is a spatial ring. It's a small dimension that can store items. You have to drip a bit of your blood on it so it can recognize you as its owner. If the space is too small, you can ask me for a bigger one" Bai Gui explained nonchalantly.
Bai Cong nodded his head. He already knew how spatial ring is worked. They were quite rare in his past life. Rare to the point that many wars were started over who can possess one. Now this ring that people spilled blood over is now being given to him as if it were nothing too important.
Bai Cong bit the tip of his finger and dripped a drop of blood on the ring. The ring soaked up the blood and shined a bit. Bai Cong then slipped it in his ring finger and stashed all his belongings into the ring.
"Good," Bai Gui said when he saw Bai Cong pack his things inside the ring, "Let's go, your brothers and your mother are waiting."
Bai Cong hummed and followed his father out of his room. When he got outside, Bai Cong saw his two elder brothers seated on top of a beast and his mother seated on top of another beast.
The beasts were two huge wolves that looked almost identical. The bigger of the two wolves had gray colored fur with white markings all along its body. The second wolf was also gray but it had different white markings on its body. Both wolves had huge, gray colored feathered wings.
"Cong'er, these are Hui," he said as he pointed at the bigger wolf, "and Wei," he said pointing at the smaller wolf. "They´re Snow wolves," Bai Gui introduced.
Bai Cong nodded his head. He read about the Snow Wolf race in his free time. They are the most powerful of the wolf race and are considered royalty. They're loyalty to the Bai Family went as far back to the beginning. The Snow wolves that stay in the main house are descendants of Ancestor Gray. But Bai Cong couldn't find the reason why such a proud and powerful race would be in the service of his family or who Ancestor Gray was.
When Bai Ying Yu saw her youngest son, she waved him over with a big smile.
"Cong'er greets mother," Bai Cong greeted his mother. Because of his constant cultivation, the time that he has spent with his mother has not been long at all.
"Cong'er, come sit next to your mother," Bai Ying Yu chuckled as she patted the spot in front of her.
Bai Cong had no reason to refuse so he complied and went to sit in front of his mother. When he reached her, he sprung up and landed on top Wei. The fur felt quite soft when he touched it.
Bai Gui jumped on Hui, "Don't fall off," he laughed jokingly at Bai Chen and Bai Chang as he patted the top of Hui's head.
Hui got the signal and stretched out his wings, he then ran forward and took off into the air. Wei followed suit and took flight.
Bai Ying Yu held Bai Cong tightly as they entered the air.
