29. Delegates 2

Hundreds of years ago the Aleria cultivation committee had been formed their sole purpose was to ensure that the mortal realm was secure from any threats.

At that time many empires believed it was just a farce made by the strong and powerful in an attempt to control them that was until the committee was able to fight off a huge threat to the mortals and even helped them recover from the threat.

Since then every declaration made by the committee was considered the law and followed by everyone and so when war broke out in various parts of the realm the Palinoru was formed.

It was declared that the seclusive Chen clan that lived on the sacred mountain would from the then on train and dispatch the Palinoru all throughout the realm as delegates to solve any disputes that arose between countries and powers.

They had also been entrusted with the task of maintaining law and order throughout the lands making them some of the most respected people in the entire realm.

It also became a famous profession as all the delegates could travel all around the realm safely as they were be under the protection of the cultivator's association.

Many wanted to become one but failed as for one to qualify as a delegate they had to go through the clan's heritage tower where they would go through a few trials.

This was one of the reasons delegates were rare as they had to have taken part in all five of the cultivation paths that is; physical, spiritual, mental, magic and soul.

These trials were made to test various cultivation levels the tower was divided into six levels with each level testing different cultivation levels.

In the first level a person's physical cultivation would be tested by subjecting them to harsh weather conditions by having them go through extreme pressure environments.

The test would begin with the test of strength as one had to move a huge boulder from the room to be able to access the main tower where the test would be conducted.

After which they would have to walk through a huge field that started off with extreme cold and walk all the way through extreme heat before facing off a puppet and one would only move to the second level after taking down the puppet.

In the second level one's spiritual cultivation would be tested by having them go through a battle using their spiritual skills.

This was where many failed as one had to be a Martial King at the fourth level and also had to have mastered their skill up to the profound level.

A fit that would take most people hundreds of years but in the clan was achieved a little more earlier as a delegate had to be stronger than regular people.

After going through the second level one could now go to the third level where their mental cultivation would be tested by having them perform a task according to their chosen path.

For example a physician would have to treat a difficult illness that had been reported to the council while a beast tamer would have to tame a spiritual beast and many more.

Magic arts were tested in the fourth level although there were many options to choose from almost everyone chose to either become a diviner or a Tenek( cultivators who hunted for dark spirits, monsters and demons)

Making it one of the hardest levels as they had to perform exceptionally to stand out from everyone else. The second last level was the most mysterious and important level as it tested the soul.

In this level one was tested on their soul attacks and defense in case of any attacks from soul cultivators. They also had to know how to protect and heal a soul as they had to heal their soul companions whenever they got injured.

The last level was the most important and would also be the cut off point of many hopefuls as one would only be considered to have passed after being successfully accepted by a soul companion.

They would then have to merge and would only be accepted as a delegate after the merge was complete and the pair was compatible.

Chen Sangyu had done it all and even broken the record making her the youngest delegate to ever finish the trial as all the other delegates would only succeed after decades of trial and error.

News of her success and talent had been spread all around. Hence when she was choosing her Nagi(escorts who already have a delegate) every single Tai(escorts who are still in training and have not been chosen by a delegate) wanted to be the chosen one but she had already made up her mind and named her betrothed as her Nagi.

Which would have been shocking a couple years back as it had been a taboo then but was now acceptable as Delegates often romantically partnered up with their Nagi and would even be celebrated.

So you can imagine just how upset she was after she heard what the council had decreed" Ning Yuxuan has been chosen as her temporary Nagi"

The two women were silent as one felt guilty for failing to change the council's decision." I am sorry I tried to get them to choose someone else but they were dead set on him."

"Why him couldn't they pick a Tai?"she asked. She did not understand why she had to give up her Nagi for that bastard.

Her mother felt helpless as she explained what had happened." They said that because she had only been taught by her soul companion a well trained Nagi would be needed and since Yuxuan is the best-"

Sangyun thought about it and was just about to think of a solution when a single detail stuck out to her."Wait, she has a soul companion? but how she has never been to the Heritage tower or gone through the trials."

The girl didn't notice it but her innocently spoken words had made her already angry mother even more so as she was reminded of her husband's deceit and betrayal once again.

Even though she wanted the father and daughter to get along well she could not stop herself from poisoning the well even more in her bitterness. "Isn't this all your father's fault?"

She asked as she thought back to how she had been happy to be betrothed to the most talented man in the clan and because he was an only child in a family where only female descendants could pick up the baton his wife would take his place.

She did not know it then but he hated her for it and that is when he decided to make her ascent even more harder than it already was by taking away the most ancient soul companions and running off just after their wedding.

At that time she was already facing rejection from the clan members as they believed she had somehow killed the previous matriarch after learning she would take her place.

So she had hoped to clear her name using his word and even merging with the most powerful soul companion, Ren Wentian, to alleviate everyone's worries only to wake up to her missing husband and soul companions.

He had gone missing for years thankfully they had consumated their marriage and she was able to gain the approval of the clan after giving birth to Chen Sangyu who was smart and talented.

Everything had settled down and was going well before all the soul plates for the missing soul companions went dark the council was alarmed as this only happened when the soul companions died.

They were yet to process the shocking news when her husband suddenly showed up he was heavily injured and completely drained of all his spiritual qi shocking everyone as they wondered what had happened.

That was when he had lied and told everyone that the soul companions had been lost during the mission he had been given by his mother on her death bed.

Just like that everything had been forgiven by the council and clan members but she knew no mission had been given as she had sent someone after him and had found out about his bastard.

The only thing that bothered her till date was that she had never been able to find out who the mother was even after constantly trying to find her.

Chen Sangyu had heard the entire story numerous times and could tell what her mother was thinking off with a single glance. She stretched out her hand and held her mother's hand before squeezing it hoping to comfort her.

Her actions seemed to work as the blank look on her mother's face receded before she told her how her sister had been chosen by the legendary Ren Wentian and was now valued by the council because of him.

She silently listened to her mother's account before raising up a question"So what are we going to do?"