Approaching the Gate of Dong Empire

A blind cultivator!

King Ru Ning and his troops were astonished after hearing the man's declaration.

"My disciple is cursed. Hence, his eyes had turned color white. He has no eyesight but his vision was not compromised." the mysterious elder explained.

A curse! King Ru Ning slightly remembered the disappearance of the clan who practices curses in their continent.

'What does he mean by his disciple having no eyesight but his vision was not compromised? Ah, cultivators are hard to understand!' King Ru Ning pondered and was hesitant.

He did not expect that the senior has a blind disciple. Moreover, it was beyond his comprehension that the mysterious elder asked him to let his disciple joined his troops. For a man as decisive as King Ru Ning, he was completely at lost!

"Senior, we are just ordinary people in the military..." King Ru Ning awkwardly started to explain but the disciple quickly assessed his words.

"No need to worry. I will be responsible for my life. My master will not blame you if something bad will happen to me."

"Then it is my honor to have you, young man. My name is King Ru Ning and I am the leader of these troops." King Ru Ning cautiously said.

"I am called Mo." the disciple stated.

"Alright, I will be off then. Learn as much as you can." The elder told his disciple before he vanished once again in an instant.

'These people are definitely not from our region!' King Ru Ning thought as the mysterious elder disappeared before him.

"Mmmn..."

King Ru Ning heard the silent hum of the disciple .

He felt like the man just responded to what he was thinking or from his master's instruction.

He could not determine but at that moment, his guts were telling him that it was the former than the latter. The idea had made him shivered.

'Can you hear me?' King Ru Ning asked using his mind to test his assumption. But the disciple did not respond anymore.

As King Ru Ning sighed in relief and looked away, a small yet meaningful smile crept on the face of the disciple.

.

.

The mountain was finally gone and the road was clear. As they looked toward the road, they could see the border of the Dong Empire.

"Men, eat your food and we shall depart after." King Ru Ning called the soldiers who are still training.

"Yes, thank you our King!" the men bowed their heads and answered in a chorus manner before they proceeded to take their food.

"You are a king." the disciple stated when he heard how the soldiers addressed King Ru Ning.

"I am. If you don't mind, where are you from? Your cultivation is not from our continent."

"No. I am the order of the central core." the disciple casually replied but King Ru Ning did not understand his response. He has not heard about the place that the disciple is talking about at all!

'Where could this central core possibly be located?' King Ru Ning pondered.

"It's okay if you don't know. You are not the only human who did not know this place." King Ru Ning heard the disciple replied to him. He absentmindedly nodded his head in affirmation. His mind was also too occupied to notice that this disciple had just responded on his thought!

"We shall head to the next kingdom. My goal is to unite all kingdoms in this region. But I do not know how to train you." He explained to the disciple.

"Don't worry, I will just observe." the disciple declared.

Observed!

King Ru Ning was even more puzzled by the response of this disciple but he did not ask anymore.

When they arrived near the gate of Dong Empire, King Ru Ning momentarily halted. No, he was stopped by something invisible! It was a barrier!

The troops also halted but the disciple continued walking and passed the invisible barrier.

"What happened?" the disciple asked when he felt that the people around him had stopped.

King Ru Ning sighed, "There is a barrier."

"Oh? This wisp of energy?" the disciple pondered and slightly tilted his head. He did not make any movement but it seemed that he was in a deep trance.

Before King Ru Ning could say his response, the invisible barrier in front of him was gone in an instant!

"Hahaha, it is my luck that our path has crossed, young man." King Ru Ning stated with an amused voice. The disciple nodded his head by kept silent as they continued heading towards the entrance gate of the Dong Empire.

~

Palace Grounds of Dong Empire

"Your highness, there is an urgent report of abnormality from the elders! The barrier of our empire was destroyed." A guard announced outside the pavilion where the ruler of the empire was resting.

A palace maid opened the door and a middle-aged lady emerged from it.

"Show me." the lady demanded.

"Yes, your highness." the guard bowed his head before he guided the lady towards the hall where the elders are gathered.

The Dong Empire was located at the northern edge of Region A. Just like other empires, they also practiced eryarchy. Eryarchy is a term only in this era exists. Every region has a set of empires and each territory is ruled individually by an emperor. Governance is centralized in an empire. He who bears the title of an emperor shall be the person that holds all the authority of the kingdom.

But the only difference between this empire and the others is that the person who holds the title of emperor was a lady! The ruler is an empress!

Because of the barrier, no outsiders had explored the empire. The outside kingdoms are also not aware of what is happening inside the Dong Empire. This kingdom was even branded as the most eccentric empire because they seemed to show no interest in the affairs outside their territories.

In return, this empire is completely unknown and their demographic location also helped them maintain the air of mystery. As they are located on the edge of the region, the other empires did not show interest in their affairs as well.

"Mother, some people have reached our border gate!" a young man stated as the empress and the guard arrived in the hall. The lady nodded her head as the elders gave way for her to see what they are watching.

There was a large pool of water in the center of the hall and on the water shows the reflection of King Ru Ning and his troops standing outside the border gate of their empire.

As the empress looked at the pool closely, her eyebrows raised a little.

"These are all ordinary people. Who are they? How did they manage to break our barrier?" the empress asked simultaneously as she stared at the reflection of King Ru Ning and his troops.

On this reflection of the pool, the image of the disciple accompanying King Ru Ning is nowhere to be seen.