Ch 7 - Councillor's gift
A group of grim faced men covered in robes stood around the periphery of a cave entrance as they stared at it.
"The Divine Seer said that the tomb was somewhere in this area. Let me check.", one of the men, a tall person with a long grey beard and serious expression stepped out.
The man raised his hand and chanted, "Redart - Reveal."
A powerful force came forth from his hands and shred the layer of illusions surrounding the cave entrance.
After casting a look at his compatriots, who nodded at him, they went in to assess the situation.
As soon as they got to the site of the tomb, however, they displayed an ugly frown on their faces.
The man from earlier cursed, "The realm has been destroyed. The tomb is no longer here."
Another man looked at the scene in front of them and said, "Just looking at the traces of spatial glaves tells us that the secret realm doesn't exist any longer."
"Logically, this completes our mission."
Another burly fellow stood forwards, and then slowly spoke, "But."
Nodding at the fellow, he continued, "This suggests one of two things - either the realm collapsed from age, or someone has inherited the mantle of the Kingslayer."
The grim faced men looked at each other for a while.
"We cannot allow the heir of that despicable Kingslayer to exist in this world. His growth is a threat to the continent itself. It is our mission to exterminate him.", one of the men spoke.
Agreeing with him, another man spoke, "You're right. We must eradicate that hellspawn as quick as possible.", another man spoke.
"Heh! Good reasoning.", the burly man spoke.
"Isn't the real reason that you're scared of the War Emperor? Just speak it clearly, we know.", he spat.
At the mention of that name, the man winced visibly.
"The leader of the seven Kings back then...The War Emperor. If it weren't for him, the Kingslayer would have slayed everyone and ascended to a higher plane. But the despicable Kingslayer wasn't weak either. The War Emperor was severely injured, and had to go into hiding to recover for a very long time.", the man recalled.
"If it weren't for that despicable Kingslayer, would our forces have to operate covertly for the past millenium? Wouldn't we be the loved sons of the continent? Wouldn't we be the heirs of the kings, and have power like no other? Instead, we hide like rats, gathering our power."
"But since the War Emperor has shown signs of recovery, we no longer have to be so covert. We can reclaim that throne!", a strange laugh came from the burly man.
"You're right, Xin Xushang. That day won't be far off. The only thing we can do now is to report back to the War Emperor and prepare to kill the inheritor of the Kingslayer.", the tall person with the beard spoke.
"Bai Xiong. You're responsible for reporting back to the War Emperor. The rest of us will prepare to find the heir.", the man spoke.
The man named Bai Xiong looked unhappy and was about to speak when he saw the gazes of the other men, and swallowed his words. He was the weakest of the bunch, at only the perfection of golden core, a whole realm below the rest. The only reason he could come along was because of his status as the descendant of the Malice King, and so he slowly walked away.
Xin Xushang sneered as he watched Bai Xiong walk away.
"Great decision, Lin Bai. That fellow doesn't have the rights to speak at all.", one of the men laughed.
"Alright, let's set off.", the man named Lin Bai said as he moved out of the cave, prompting the rest to follow.
------
"Hah!", a powerful strike came towards Xu Ming, who dodged it by a shave, and retreated.
"Your reflexes are only getting better, Xu Ming!", a person in a mask spoke to Xu Ming.
"Well, try blocking this! Twelve Zodiacs - Ox Fall!", the person said as they flew high into the sky and came down with a thundering force."
Glancing at this, Xu Ming didn't dare to be careless, and let out a deep breath.
"Heavenly Mountain Art - Steady Hills!", he shouted as he adjusted his legs, and blocked the attack.
*Boom*
A large amount of air was ejected from the clash, and the two retreated safely.
It had been two weeks since Xu Ming set out from Xinniang City.
The two of them, under the watchful eyes of the captain, had always been sparring in their free time. Thanks to this, Xu Ming's skills had also improved massively compared to before.
The masked person huffed as they spoke, "That's 5 minutes! I promised you I'd show my face if you lasted five minutes against me."
Removing the mask, a young lady of about 10 years of age could be seen, with all the childhood innocence visible on their face. However, she had a mischievous aura about her, such that one would peg her as a troublemaker.
Looking at Xu Ming's bored reaction, she pouted.
"Hey, you're not surprised? Look at this fair and beautiful lady!", she narcissistically proclaimed.
Xu Ming merely chuckled and said, "But I already knew."
"Huh? Impossible. You must be joking.", she said with a frown.
"Ok, okay. I'm really surprised.", Xu Ming spoke speechlessly.
Honestly, Xu Ming wasn't interested in this little girl at all. Being an adult in his past life, his taste wasn't restricted to grovelling and inexperienced little girls. Oh no, that was a genre exclusively reserved for both children and degenerates.
However, he had to admit that this little girl was really very strong.
"My name's Su Wei.", the girl eyerolled as she extended her hand.
"Xu Ming.", he reciprocated.
"You know, you're really boring.", Su Wei said as she pouted.
"Haha! Better boring than insidious!", the captain came along laughing.
"Come, let's set off. The break's over, there's only one day before we make it to Tianming."
Nodding, Xu Ming gave Su Wei the side eye and headed behind the captain.
"Hey! I saw that!", Su Wei shouted as she followed behind.
---
It was the next morning.
After more than two weeks of travel, Xu Ming finally saw the walls of Tianming City for the first time.
It had truly been a long journey, filled with twists and turns, but he was finally here.
Just as they reached the gate, a lanky man sitting at the forefront of the caravan shouted with a booming voice, "The Crimson Caravans are entering!"
Hearing this, the guards let their carriages pass without any routine inspection, avoiding a long queue of checking.
One of the reasons this was possible is because the luggage had already been checked before they boarded, and during the journey, by the caravan members. With their reputation on the line, there wouldn't be any trouble with the caravan group, and valuable time would be saved as well.
Su Wei looked at Xu Ming and said, "I'll see you later, you weirdo. Thanks for training with me.", and then she put on her old mask.
Xu Ming stared at her but decided not to banter with a kid, and said, "I'll be going to the Councillor's residence. Where are you headed?"
Su Wei spoke through the mask in a neutral voice, "To the Imperial City. It's still a long ways from here, I've heard."
Xu Ming nodded, and bid her and the captain goodbye as he stepped out of the carriage station.
Following the city guide's instructions to the City Hall, he entered the gates of the Councillor's residence.
"Halt! State your purpose!", two city guards stood in front of Xu Ming with a menacing aura. He had no doubt that these two were miles stronger than him, and their auras alone were enough to stifle the average person.
Pulling out a letter from his pockets, Xu Ming spoke, "I've come to deliver this letter to the councillor. Please make haste and make sure it reaches the hands of the councillor."
One of the guards looked at the other, and nodded as he took the letter from Xu Ming.
"Please stay here for the time being.", the guard said to Xu Ming as he went off in a millitary like fashion, taking steady steps.
The other city guard didn't say anything, and just stood there, not making eye contact with Xu Ming.
Xu Ming had to admit these men were professionals in their job and admired them.
Not long after, the guard came back and nodded at the other guard.
"Right this way, please. But first, I'll have to bother you to keep your weapons with us, and we'll have to check you for anything harmful."
Xu Ming knew this was standard and nodded, before proceeding with the formalities.
Following the City guard through what seemed to be a good five minutes through the grand halls, he finally reached the magnificent mahogany doors of the Councillor.
The guard looked at Xu Ming and said, "The councillor is waiting inside."
The guard knocked on the door, and a deep voice came from within, "Come in."
Walking in, Xu Ming gazed upon the gorgeous wooden aesthetic of the office room. It was cozy, yet official.
Looking at the man seated on the opposite side of the big glass table, Xu Ming walked up to him.
With a deep timbre, the Councillor stood up and said, "Xu Ming, right?"
Xu Ming nodded.
"Your uncle Bai Long was once my companion during the Twenty Years War, and saved my life multiple times."
"I've always been puzzled and anxious to pay him back, but your uncle never seemed to want anything from me. I am pleased to state that today, I shall have the privilege to pay him back.", the man, who was stood at a height of 2.11 metres, said in a booming voice towards Xu Ming.
"Now, come here, boy."
The man's voice held an authority which seemed like it could not be challenged by the ordinary.
Xu Ming remained silent and walked forwards.
The Councillor put his hand on Xu Ming's navel and circulated his extremely clear Qi throughout Xu Ming's body.
The Councillor let out a frown as he spoke, "It seems greatness is not a destiny meant for you, my dear boy."
Xu Ming looked at him in the eye and asked, "Why? Do I not have a spirit root?"
The man shook his head and said, "No, you do have one. But it is a regular two-spirit root, the most average root you could find. I cannot possibly accept you as my disciple, even if I wanted to pay back my Karma."
Xu Ming didn't seem too fazed and was even somewhat delighted, and said, "At least I have the opportunity to cultivate. That is a great blessing in of itself."
The Councillor's face lightened up as he laughed in a loud volume, "Indeed. Your spirit makes up for your inadequacy for cultivation. Very well, I shall give you a chance."
Taking a medal out of his pocket, the Councillor said, "Here, take this to the Master of the Ming Sword Mountains. He will have a place for you in his sect. Work hard boy, and make yourself worthy of your uncle's mantle."
The Councillor hesitated before placing a ring on Xu Ming's hand.
"This is a space ring. It is incredibly precious. Do not show it off unless you are ready to fight off the greedy thieves that envy your possessions."
Sitting back down, he let out a deep sigh and said, "You may leave now. The Karma between us is now over."
Xu Ming nodded and slightly bowed towards the Councillor, and said, "I thank you for the blessings.", before walking out.
The Councillor let out a strange laugh in his regular booming voice after Xu Ming left, and said, "Interesting, interesting. How interesting. I would have plucked the nobles out and left them to dry if Bai Long wished it of me. It seems that he has extraordinary faith in this nephew of his."
"Haha....."