Chapter 50 – Prismatic Luan
It had been over 265,000 years since Spotted Wing had passed away from the lesser worlds.
Born into a Noble human family, A boy had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
His life was to be easy and free of any worries or troubles.
His father was a compassionate man with a smart mind. Trustful and trustworthy. His actions had gained the approval of the patriarch of their clan and he was in the running to be the next patriarch with a lead over all his other brothers.
The boy was dotted on by this influential father of his. He got everything he wanted and more.
At the age of 5, this spoilt child learnt a very hard lesson in life. Compassion can be taken advantage of.
Unbeknownst to the boy, the world outside his house was one of turmoil. The lesser races had gained significant power through their cultivation and became a threat for Gods and Fiends alike.
A war was on the cusp of being waged. Over the years, resentment and strife had accumulated and the lesser races were already divided. Domination over resources had begun due to greed.
In a chaotic time like this, the advent of ambitious men was not uncommon.
The boy's uncle was one such man and so was his mother. His father tasted the bitter pill of betrayal and was killed with poison by his own wife.
Abandoning him, his mother went and married herself to that man. The treacherous duo becoming the only contenders for the patriarch's seat.
The boy who once had everything now lived on the streets and had to beg for scraps to survive.
By the time the boy was a youth, he was no longer the same person he once was. He had done almost any shady business one could think of to survive. From robbery, smuggling, killing to assassination's the boy had done it all. He travelled from world to world just to survive and avoid pursuit.
On a fated day, the boy robbed a dilapidated grave. The grave of Spotted Wing. As a result, he received the key to Heaven Defying.
This is where his sad tale took another turn.
This outlaw had received the ancient texts of body refining and a safe haven from pursuit at the same time.
Thus began his killing spree that left a few world's unpopulated. The boy became a man with the passing of years.
He trained through slaughter and devised his own refinement technique at the edge of life and death. This man was not a genius like Spotted Wing but his rate of advancements could put even geniuses to shame. He had a will of iron.
He devised a body refinement technique known as 'One Poison Propagates a Thousand.' He gained himself the nickname of Poison Lord because of it and his name resounded far and wide.
He returned to his homeworld and took revenge by annihilating the clan that he once belonged to with the poison technique.
Accomplishing this was a double-edged sword as he also lost his only meaning to strive forward.
But his infamy would not let him reside in peace. He was hounded by the lesser races and he was forced to continue living a solitary life of slaughter.
The corpses racked up till the highest powers of the lesser races were notified into action.
He was confronted by the monarch of a world on one of his expeditions. This was the first time that he realized the old text's he had received in Heaven Defying had grown outdated. The lesser races continued developing the body refinement techniques that were passed down to them. The strongest of them even reaching the bottleneck.
They got bodies that rivalled the higher races but were still a level lower than them. The reason being the higher races were born with control over certain Heavenly Laws.
Of course, the ones who were able to reach the bottleneck of the body were the smartest minds. Their ingenuity helped them realise that the elements and attributes they attached to their body refining techniques were actually already the first step to understanding the Heavenly Laws. Thus the highest powers in this world of chaos were ones who had already comprehended a law.
Poison Lord learned this firsthand by almost being killed by the monarch who had comprehended a Law.
He spent most of his middle ages in hiding inside Heaven Defying after his encounter. Spending all his time to comprehend a law of the heavens. This was the time that he became a hermit that drowned himself in the study of body refinement and magic circles alike.
His effort paid off and he was able to comprehend an elemental law of flame. Attribute laws were a lot harder to comprehend than elemental laws after all.
Having comprehended a law he finally left Heaven Defying to realize that the worlds had already been ravaged by war.
He joined the chaos of the war and began his slaughter. He distinguished between none. He was a variable that all three sides wanted to get rid off.
His slaughter led to him killing the geniuses of the lesser races and him acquiring their body refinement methods. He alone had stacked up over 90% of the books that were now present in Heaven Defying.
Immersing himself in the war, the man would only return to the library to store his accumulated trophies of war.
It wasn't known when but once the man left and never returned. The man wanted to die on the battlefield. He only had one regret, it was that he wasn't able to comprehend the law of poison.
He left only one name that resounded in the heavens and the lesser worlds, it was a title that was given to him with a hint of respect from all… "Lava Blood"
…..
'Formidable… To be able to reach his level on his own as an ordinary talent.' Adam was in awe of the second owner of this library.
'Considering his personality, he most probably destroyed all his belongings if he perished in that war.' There was no other explanation for why the key would not have been used by his slayer otherwise.
Adam paid his respects to the records of the two previous owners and then sat down after laying down the two girls in his embrace. Even with a potion, his exhaustion was not alleviated.
He passed out.
He dreamed of images of the stories he had just read. The revelations that the stories had provided were shocking, to say the least.
His goal until now was only to reach level 30, how could that have remained the same after these stories had shown him the truth?
His blood pumped when he thought of the boundless prospects.
This world he was brought to was not the only one he was able to explore. It was most probable that there was technology to transfer between worlds in the olden times. However, this was trouble and a story for another time.
He had already set his sights higher than any others of this 'small' Gordian continent.
He was not about to grow complacent though. All he had, for now, was just knowledge, he still lacked the major component of strength and he knew this more clearly than anyone after reading the story of the second owner.
This world was not all roses and daisies. There were shadows that hid in plain sight. He would learn from their mistakes and experiences. A fool learnt from his own mistakes while a smart man learnt from others. He had always kept this philosophy.
The group finally woke up after a few hours.
The potions were truly a level above salves. All three of them felt renewed only after a short nap.
"Is everyone feeling better?" Adam asked as the three stood in a circle with the little boy still asleep atop Luna's head.
"Yes." The girls replied with a bit of confusion. They had no idea where they currently were.
"We are in a library called Heaven Defying and Luna is its new owner." Adam laughed, he knew how much more confusing his words were.
"I am? What? How?" The girl only now noticed the boy atop her head. "Ahhh! What is this thing?!" The usually calm girl was frightened out of her mind. She was too scared to move and stood like a pole. Completely unmoving.
"That is your new assistant." Adam lost himself in laughter. After having his fun he started slowly explaining everything he had learned. From the time he caught the boy in the core room till now.
The girls' expressions alternated along with his story as if they were personally experiencing it, it was a joy for the storyteller.
After the girls heard the complete story and calmed down for a while did the boy finally wake up groggily.
"Huuaaaahhh, Oh… you are all awake already? Are you done reading the records?" the boy asked Adam as he rubbed his eye with one hand and stretched the other. He flew up and came into the centre of the circle that the three were standing in.
"Yeah, I am done," Adam replied.
"Good. Do you want to begin receiving body refinement techniques?" The boy asked.
"Yeah!" Elaine spoke up this time.
"Very good. I like your attitude." The boy spoke like an elder treating his household children.
Adam flicked the back of his head. "Who are you putting on an act on for?"
"Ouch. Alright, I won't do it again. You didn't have to flick me just for that…" He complained. "Just go and put your hand on the Book of Findings and channel your will." He said while he pouted.
"That easy?" Elaine thought it would be a bit more complicated.
"Yep." He replied.
"I shall go first then, young master and sister." The girl was obviously the most excited so no one complained.
Putting her hand on the book, she closed her eyes.
Everyone in the room watched her attentively.
A moment later, a green hard covered book came hovering in and stopped in front of Luna.
"She is lucky. She has received the previous owner's inheritance." The boy had a serious face on as he said.
Adam and Luna were shocked.
Lines and lines of squiggly, tadpole-like texts flew out from the book and flew into the head of the girl who stood with one hand on the podium. After completing its task the book slowly hovered back and vanished into the columns of bookshelves.
Elaine opened her eyes slowly.
"Young Master! I received the 'One Poison Propagates a Thousand' Body refining manual!" She was extremely happy.
"Amazing!" Luna praised.
"I expected nothing less." Adam gave a kind smile. He was genuinely happy for her.
Elaine blushed a bit when she was praised so openly.
"Its nothing really." She mumbled softly and came to Adam's side. She clung to his arm and hid behind it.
"Haha. Your turn Luna. I wonder what the legendary Ether constitution will receive." Adam was expectant.
"Luna will do her best not to disappoint." The girl weirdly enough became fired up. She marched up to the podium. Placing her hand on the podium she closed her eyes.
"Oh, does master have the Ether constitution?!" The boy was a bit surprised.
"Yeah." Adam did not hide it. Who could this boy tell anyway?
"Oh. Then she really is deserving to be this mighty one's master.hm hm. I am pretty sure I know which book she will receive." The boy said with a crafty smile.
Just as his words left his mouth, a book that was black like ink came hovering over. Stars twinkled on the black cover of this ink black book from time to time, which gave it a purple hue.
"Yup, I wasn't wrong." The boy nodded and praised himself incessantly.
"What are you talking to yourself about?" Adam asked.
"You will find out soon." The boy said.
"Fine."
Just like Elaine, The book had lines of text fly out and imprint themselves into the mind of the still standing Luna.
When the book finished and hovered back, Luna opened her eyes with radiant joy.
"Young master! I received the 'Prismatic Luan' body refinement Manual." The girl said in excitement.
"Mhmm. This is a skill that incorporates all seven elements. It was one that was looted from an Ether constitution body refiner who had already comprehended two elemental laws. The only reason master even succeeded was because he entered the fray as the oriole who stalked the mantis that had stalked a cicada." The boy spoke with pride of his earlier masters tricks.
"I see." Adam was left speechless. What kind of concept was comprehending two heavenly laws and to have the guts to stalk such a prey…
Luna skipped over even more joyfully as she heard how awesome her manual was.
"Young master! it is your turn now." Luna said. That pretty smile seemed to have been plastered on her face.
"Alright. Don't expect much. I see no hope of trumping the two of you at this point." He truly only wished for something above average at best at this point.
"Best of luck young master!" The two girls encouraged.
Adam stepped up to the podium and placed his hand on it.