Chapter 44: An Old Man in Hiding

Day 301

The tournament has been going on for two days now and I was right: I am one of the few at the advanced stage of body forging.

Most are at the intermediate or beginner stage. There were even a few still in the qi accumulation realm.

We are 135 participants, so the elders have divided us into 16 groups: 9 groups of 8 and 7 groups of 9.

In each group, we had to fight against all the participants, and only the two with the most victories from each group qualified for the ranking matches.

Tomorrow, the ranking matches will take place. In the morning, they will select the top 16 and in the afternoon, the top 8.

The day after tomorrow, the top 4 will be decided in the morning and the finalists in the afternoon, then in two days, there will be the third-place match in the morning and the final in the afternoon.

This afternoon, I finally finished my eight matches and will have a match tomorrow morning against a girl named Xuan Yue, but she is only a beginner.

In any case, my cultivation is superior to hers and I have pretty good sword technique, so I am almost sure to win.

...

"Calm down and advance quietly. Those who make a fuss will go last!"

In the streets of White Lotus City, a strange procession was quickly moving towards the city center.

Although the city was very prosperous, there were still caste differences.

The closer one got to the city center, the more spacious and majestic the buildings became. After all, only the most powerful resided in the very heart of the city.

For some of these young adults who had never entered the city center, such extravagance made their eyes sparkle as they dreamed of the future.

"Tch, I don't even understand why we're going to the church. What does it have to do with cultivation anyway?"

A young red-moon Naga grumbled as he slithered through the streets.

He had just turned ten recently and had finally become an adult.

According to his parents, this was the optimal time to start cultivating for the red-moon Nagas.

Unlike other races, the Nagas underwent significant growth until this age and their blood energy was like boiling water.

During the process, they would unconsciously accumulate spiritual energy in their bodies and strengthen, but they had to wait until the end of this growth to truly control it.

Several Nagas tried to cultivate earlier, but they generally did not end well. Some had even directly exploded because their spiritual energy went rampage.

As he was lost in thought, a long scepter fell from the sky and crashed onto his head.

BAM

"How many times do I have to tell you, James. Stop blaspheming!"

He rubbed his head with one hand and turned around, observing the young Valyr who was threatening him with her magical scepter.

"Stop nagging, Alice, you know very well I don't believe in this nonsense! A being powerful enough to create a world and his own race, and what else? A living sandwich?"

In his previous life, he had already understood that there were beings far more powerful than him, but he wasn't ready to believe in such absurdities.

On his side, the young Valyr, who was about twelve years old and still looked like a child, puffed out her cheeks in anger and began to hit him with her scepter.

"You know, you should stop. I'm already a great Warrior so you won't make anything with your little strength."

James said as he easily absorbed the shocks with his scales.

That was the terrifying aspect of the red-moon Nagas, who could grow stronger just by aging. With his supreme spiritual root, James was almost sure he could become a spiritual Warrior before the age of twenty as long as he trained his body and mind enough.

As the two continued to squabble, they finally arrived in the city center.

There were three huge buildings constructed on a small hill that overlooked the entire city.

They were the mansion of the city lord, the cathedral and the local branch of the Tower of Wisdom.

Now, everyone was heading towards the cathedral, an imposing Renaissance-style building made of beautiful white stones and easily thirty meters high without counting the towers.

Guided by their teachers, the more than one hundred students entered the gigantic building and even James felt insignificant inside the magnificent vault about thirty meters high.

In front of them, there was an old Valyr with a long beard wearing a white tunic with red borders.

By his mere presence, he exuded an air of infinite wisdom and unfathomable power that immediately calmed the impatient youths.

There were about twenty adult Novarians, fifty young Valyr adolescents, and about sixty adult red-moon Nagas.

(As a reminder, an adult Novarian is 4 years old, a Valyr adolescent is about 12 years old, and an adult red-moon Naga is ten years old. Here, even though the Valyrs are older, they look much younger.)

At that moment, the Valyr magus cleared his throat, drawing the attention of all the youths.

"Welcome to the abode of the Great Lord of the Four Elements, the one and only god in this world. You may call me Cardinal Sideor, and I will preside over this ceremony. To put it briefly, you are here because you are the elite of the young generation of White Lotus City and the cities under its jurisdiction."

The man paused and scanned the crowd.

"Nevertheless, regardless of the path you have chosen, you will need knowledge. Potion-making, alchemy, forging, formations, sciences, and of course, magic and cultivation. Long ago, God was merciful and gave us techniques so precious that they even allow us to surpass rank 4, so cherish them and be grateful. After that, it was your ancestors who fought tooth and nail and conducted incessant research to complete these databases for our future."

This was followed by a long mass of nearly half an hour explaining the respect for the elders and the glory of the God of the Four Elements.

Although James found it particularly useless and boring, he didn't want to waste his only opportunity to acquire a powerful technique, so he went along with it.

"Now, my children, I will call you in alphabetical order. When it is your turn, you will kneel before the altar and formally present yourself to our lord. Then, you will stand up and place your hands on the crystal ball in front of you. The color of the ball will represent the level of accreditation you will receive in the Tower of Wisdom."

"Let's not waste time and start right away."

The old cardinal pulled out a long paper form and a pen and then read the first name on the list.

"Lasy Aratnea, come forward, my child."

"Y-Yes, Father."

A young Novarian stammered and stood rigidly at attention.

The Cardinal laughed gently and gestured to the altar with his hand.

"Do not be afraid, my child, Our Lord accepts everyone."

The young Novarian nodded and advanced stiffly, nearly tripping on the steps, before kneeling and stammering her oath.

"I-I, Lasy Aratnea, humbly present myself before the lord. M-May he witness my deepest piety and guide me on my path to the eternal truth."

The Novarian stood up and walked to the altar, where she placed her hands on a beautiful transparent crystal ball.

Immediately, the ball began to glow a beautiful green color, illuminating the entire church.

After a few seconds, the cardinal noted the result and approached the young woman. He placed a hand on her shoulder and comforted her.

"It's alright, my child, you can let go and go wait on the benches. You have obtained a B1 level accreditation."

"T-Thank you, Father..."

The old man smiled kindly and escorted her back to the group, then resumed the form.

"Alright, let's move on to the next, Sonia Azeloth."

...

"I, James Constantine, humbly present myself before the lord. May he witness my deepest piety and guide me on my path to immortality."

Even though he didn't want to, James recited his oath without much conviction.

"This is really a waste of time," he thought. "All of this is nonsense. They could just say that the accreditation level is proportional to strength and family background. I'm almost sure I'll get A1."

Nevertheless, he didn't want to stand out and followed the procedure like the others.

He stood up and approached the crystal ball, waiting for the blue light to turn on.

"What the—"

As soon as his palm touched the ball, he felt the world spin and his consciousness sink into darkness.

...

Slowly, James felt his senses return.

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't greeted by the familiar sight of the altar but by that of a starry, boundless darkness.

"Damn it, what the hell is this?"

He panicked and tried to move, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't touch anything, as if he had been isolated from the real world.

Upon closer inspection, his body was translucent and ethereal, as if only his soul was present.

Suddenly, his vision changed and he found himself looking at a world covered in vast stretches of water and large green expanses.

The two only continents were covered with lush forests, vast meadows, a few lakes, and high mountains.

"This... This is my world..."

For a moment, he forgot all his problems, focusing on this incredible view.

Upon closer inspection and comparing it with the maps he had seen in class, he finally found White Lotus City and, for the first time, admired the city in its entirety.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Unconsciously, James nodded, and it was only after a few seconds that he realized the problem and took a fighting stance, observing the unknown being that had appeared to his left.

He was about the same size as James and had the same lower body as a normal red-moon Naga, but the upper part of his body resembled that of the Valyrs, though different.

He was shirtless, displaying a very muscular yet slim and well-balanced silhouette. His long black hair floated behind him, and his red eyes seemed capable of piercing all the truths of the universe.

Only a few scales under his eyes and on his chest reminded of his serpentine side.

The being turned to him and gave him a gentle smile, revealing his pearly white teeth.

"Don't worry, James, or Herald, as you pleased. If I wanted to harm you, it would have already been done."

James widened his eyes and looked at him incredulously.

"Who... who are you?"

The strange naga looked at him with an amused gaze and smiled.

"Oh come now, James, you already know me, even though you have serious doubts about my existence. You know, I am aware of everything that happens in this world, and I thought it was a good idea to meet the only red-moon Naga who doesn't believe in his creator. After all, beyond not believing in me, it's strange that you refuse to acknowledge my existence given your past and the memories Ruvia inadvertently fused into your soul."

"Impossible, you can't exist!" James shouted.

The god raised his eyebrows, looking at him in astonishment.

"Oh, and why not, young transmigrant?"

James only realized too late that he had unconsciously spoken without thinking and felt his back soaked with cold sweat even though he was just a soul.

After all, god or not, he was at his mercy at the moment. "There's no use crying over spilled milk, I can only try to clean the floor," James thought.

Fortunately for him, it wasn't as if he obstinately refused to believe in this god without reasons. In fact, he was almost sure that such supreme beings could exist in the universe, but there was one reason, one and only reason that had prevented him from believing in the god before him.

He gathered his courage and looked the being straight in the eyes despite the deep fear churning his stomach.

"If you were really our god, then why did you leave the original owner of this body in a coma for three years." As he began to express his grievances, he clenched his fists and started raising his voice.

"For three years, my family lived in perpetual torment. My sister thought it was all her fault, and my parents kept blaming themselves for not stopping us from going out, so why? Why did you do nothing?! Why did you have to inflict all this on them?!"

After a year of living in this world, pampered by his parents' love, he had come to blame himself for stealing the life of their son, even though it wasn't really his fault.

By venting his feelings, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. For the first time in years, he felt peaceful and calm inside, while a tinge of anger rose in his heart towards the being before him.

The Lord of the Four Elements looked at him with an impassive gaze for some time before opening his mouth.

"When the real James was poisoned, your father brought him to the temple of the capital, but even the best healer in this world was powerless to heal his soul."

The being turned his gaze, looking towards the plane.

"It was also at that moment that I sensed the energy of reincarnation gathering on his body, and that could only mean one thing: somewhere in the universe, a compatible being had died, but his soul manage to survive and was going to take over this body."

"I then had a conversation with the real James, and I offered him two choices. Either I would heal him, but your arrival would probably crush his soul and memories, twisting your personality in an unknown direction, or I would reincarnate his soul into a new loving and affluent family, preserving his body in a comatose state until the arrival of the next host, you."

"To my own surprise, James loved his family very much, to the extent that he didn't even hesitate for a second before choosing the second option because he feared that a forced fusion would lead you to harm his loved ones."

James gave him a doubtful and suspicious look. It seemed concocted and far too elaborate to be true.

Nevertheless, the God of the Four Elements merely shrugged and gave him a mocking look.

"It's the truth. I gain nothing from lying to such a pitifully weak existence as you, and if you don't believe me, perhaps the old man who has been hiding since earlier can convince you. By the way, haven't you ever been told that eavesdropping is rude?"

"Huh, who is he talking to?!" Ignoring the insult he knew to be true, James turned his head left and right, filled with confusion as he searched for the supposed old man.

"Sigh."

He suddenly heard a deep sigh resonate within his own soul, and then the pagoda voluntarily emerged from his ethereal body without James being able to do anything.

It floated before him, and then the ghost of an old man appeared in front of their eyes.

He was dressed in a white Taoist robe and had a long white beard and hair that floated in the void.

Even though he was old, his gaze and facial features were as sharp as swords, giving James chills just by looking at him.

The old man placed his hands behind his back and bowed to the God of the Four Elements.

"This old cultivator apologizes for his rudeness and presents his greetings to Your Excellency, the God of the Four Elements."

To James' great surprise, the God simply nodded before narrowing his eyes.

"There is a trace of immortality on you. Were you an earthly immortal? No, that's too weak. Even if you had been dead for millions of years and only your soul remained, it would be stronger." He take some time to look at the old man before lightly smiling. "You are a cultivator at the pinnacle of the source manifestation (rank 10) who failed in your breakthrough to immortality, aren't you?"

The old man could only display a sad smile.

"Your Excellency has seen through me. I was indeed on the verge of succeeding in my breakthrough when one of my close ones betrayed me and attacked me at the most critical moment, destroying my physical body and true soul. Fortunately, I managed to escape with my nascent soul and take refuge in this pagoda, of which I became the artifact spirit."

Liam nodded.

"Very well, since fate has brought you here, so be it. I won't ask your reasons for accepting such a weak pseudo-master as this young transmigrant, but I want you to protect him until he becomes a superior existence and prevent him from causing trouble in my world."

"Of course, I won't be stingy with rewards. If you succeed, I swear with the universe as my witness that I will create a body compatible with your soul with a supreme spiritual root just for you. In addition to that, it seems you cultivated the rules of tides and rain before, so I will grant you a great affinity with the laws of water."

Upon hearing this, the old man widened his eyes and immediately bowed to the God.

"This old man is honored by Your Excellency's trust and swears with the universe as his witness that he will fulfill his mission."

The God of the Four Elements nodded and extended his hand towards the old man.

From his fingertips, he released a small beam of energy that entered directly into the old man's forehead.

As for James, he was far too weak and didn't even see the beam pass. He only noticed that the space between the two beings trembled.

"Consider this an advance payment; it will help you recover your strength by the next planar war."

The old man bowed again and then turned into a beam of light that returned to the pagoda, which in turn returned to James' soul.

Without being able to say anything for the beginning, James felt his consciousness falling asleep again, and his eyes closed as he plunged back into darkness again.