Side Story: A Tale from the Eastern Light Clan (I)

The Eastern Sanmu Metropolis returned to normal day-to-day life fairly quickly after the excitement of the Golden Feather Hunt and the chaos caused by the battle between the Virtuous Order of Chunzhen and the Sororal Order of Endless Love. The city had a long history of over a thousand years and these two events were nothing more than an interesting side note. The residents, its various sects and factions, returned to their prior squabbles and age-old grievances without a care for the outside world.

On this day, an interesting event took place at the Tower of Light, the sky-scraping pagoda that was the home of the Eastern Light Clan. Outsiders were completely unaware but Chen Wentian managed to experience it first hand and then some…

Chen Wentian, as Ming He, emerged from a cultivation room. Profound spiritual energy radiated from his body. He had finally broken through to the Spiritual Ascendance realm after many months of hard work. As a top disciple of the Eastern Light Clan, this was to be expected. As the young master of one of the Four Kings of the metropolis, anything less than the Spirit Lord Realm was unacceptable.

For the old Mine He, this matter would still have been difficult. For the new Ming He, a soul within Chen Wentian's vast soul space and another avatar of the master of the Anatta Soul Nirvana Art, becoming a Spirit Lord was guaranteed.

In fact, Chen Wentian had a vested interest in Ming He becoming a Spirit Lord. It would give him a far more reliable spy within the metropolis. It was also the path already laid out for Ming He, he just needed to provide an extra push. Ming He, unlike his other reliable spy in He Xingping, had adequate talent. It would be strange for He Xingping to suddenly start progressing towards the immortal realms but it wasn't strange at all for Ming He.

Thus, using some excess soul energy from the immortal wangliang, the graverobber demon, that he had recently acquired, Chen Wentian gave Ming He some help in the right direction, straight past the bottleneck of the lesser realm of Spiritual Ascendance.

"Well done, son!"

"Good job, Xiao He!"

Two people met Chen Wentian outside of the cultivation room. They included Ming He's father, Immortal Light Warder Ming Hai, as well as the clan head, Immortal Light of Daybreak Ming Mu. His father was expected but the clan head wasn't.

He quickly went up to the clan head and bowed, "Venerable Clan Head, your presence honors me. I have finally reached the lesser realm of Spiritual Ascendance. In the process, I've already completed the third stage of the First Light of Zhulong."

Ming Mu smiled, "Xiao He's dedication to cultivation is impressive. I was worried that you would develop a heart demon with the way Long Yifei was snatched away by those bitches from the Martial Brilliance Continent. But you did well, beyond my expectations. You will be rewarded for this."

"Venerable Clan Head, thank you. I shall train with all my heart and reach the Spirit Lord Realm soon!"

"Mmm." Ming Mu nodded sagely and then began to study him with a keen eye.

Chen Wentian stood still with a relaxed posture. He didn't put any defense as the clan head's vast spiritual energy swept over every pore of his body. After some time, the exanimation was over and Ming Mu smiled once more.

"Good, excellent. His potential is great. He can immediately start cultivating the immortal Dao."

Ming Hai burst out in laughter that shook the hallway, "Hahaha, that's my son! I knew it! Hahaha!"

Ming Mu let him finish and said, "You can leave. I will guide Ming He to the selection room."

"Yes, father! Son, rejoice, I will be waiting for your good news!" With that, Ming Hai quickly disappeared.

"Come," Ming Mu beckoned.

Chen Wentian, as Ming He, followed. He had some idea about what was going on but he held back his curiosity.

They crossed several floors and arrived at a secret room that was behind several protective arrays. The power of these rune arrays was comparable to that of the Grand Beast God Formation of the Beast God Sanctum which could protect a whole city. Even if three or four Spirit Kings wanted to uncover this room within the Tower of Light, they wouldn't be able to as long as the clan head was alive.

"We're here." The clan head said as the door closed behind them.

The room was small and there were no windows. There was nothing inside except for glowing ball of white light that floated in the very middle. It gave off an endlessly powerful and incomprehensibly profound spiritual aura. It could only be described as divine.

Chen Wentian sucked in a breath, unable to believe the object before him.

Ming Mu spoke, "This is our Eastern Light Clan's greatest secret. It is something taught to only those attempting to reach the immortal realms. Thus, before I say anything else, I need a spiritual oath from you that this room and nothing I say here can be revealed to others except me."

Chen Wentian gathered his spiritual energy and formed a ball of light, "Clan head, I swear!"

The spiritual oath entered his and bound itself with his soul, Ming He's soul. But since all of his souls could witness Ming He's every action in real-time, this spiritual oath had no real effect on him whatsoever.

"Good, let me start at the beginning…"

Immortal Light of Daybreak Ming Mu explained the history of the Eastern Light Clan, which started over a thousand years ago. In those days, the Eastern Sanmu Subcontinent was still a wilderness where human pioneers were struggling day by day with monsters. Among them was the ancestor of the Eastern Light Clan who came from the Martial Brilliance Continent to make a name for himself.

He arrived at the area of the Eastern Sanmu Metropolis and discovered a holy land for cultivators, an oasis of spiritual energy of all forms in this subcontinent. And within this region, he found the greatest treasure of them all which was this ball of light. This ball of light was mysterious yet powerful and bestowed the ancestor a supreme Dao utilizing the power of light.

Ming Mu didn't explain what the ball of light was exactly except for calling it the First Light but Chen Wentian didn't need him to. Chen Wentian already knew what it was. It far surpassed his wildest hopes.

This ball of light was the source of light of the Shining Dragon, a complete legacy to its divine power that the dragon left behind before dying!

It was the one that bestowed the First Light of Zhulong to the Eastern Light Clan!

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