Chapter 10: Di Clan

He saw a small town in the distance, a 10 feet wall of stone surrounded it.

"Lord, this town is called Blue Cloud.", Yan shui said respectfully.

"Find out when the caravan will be here." The man assented and went off immediately.

Lance was looking around the town when he came back with another man in tow. Yan Shui whispered in his ear, "Lord, this is the caretaker of the caravan. I told him that you wanted to travel to the capital so he came to meet you."

Lance nodded and looked at the man. He too was middle-aged with a strong chin.

"Lord Immortal, I am the caretaker of the mortals of the caravan. If you want to join the caravan, please come with me to see the Destroying Spear Sect elder." He then bowed low.

Lance turned to Yan Shui and thanked him.

"It was my honor to help you lord." Lance took out a few gold and handed it to him.

"Thank you, Lord!" He said gleefully. Lance then looked at the other man.

"Lead the way."

He was soon met by an old but vigorous man with white hair. He exuded vitality even in his age. The cub which hadn't moved since his afternoon snack looked at the old man but soon closed his eyes.

"Why do you want to go to the capital?" The man's voice questioned in a cold voice.

"I have to go to the Inheritance Domain." The man's eyes immediately sharpened. "Which sect are you from?"

"I don't belong to any sect. My teacher sent me here."

"Who's your teacher?", his eyebrows furrowed as he asked.

"Her name is Anushka."

"I have never heard of her. What is your name and cultivation level?"

"Lance, Early skin stage.", he replied.

The old man eyes shone as he nodded, "This old man is Gong San, an elder of the sect."

'Peak skin stage.' A childish voice said in his head. 'Don't look around, you moron, I'm the tiger lord!'

The old man noticed his change in expression but ignored it and continued, "I can give you a quota to go into the domain as long as you agree to help my sect members who will enter with you."

"How will I be needed to help them?", he asked.

"Let me start from the beginning, this domain contains the inheritance of a Sacred Protector. The domain occupies an area as large as the Blades Kingdom but in another dimension. It was created by the power of the Protector before he left the realm. The inheritance is at the center of the land. But there are many treasures all over the land, spirit beasts guard each treasure which are born over a whole millennium. Beasts can be overcome but other sects also compete for the treasures. I want you to help my sect compete for these treasures. After that, everyone will be on their own at the inheritance trial. The inheritance trial has 15 challenges but the highest anyone has ever gone is the 12th trial. Only the Titled cultivators have been able to clear the 12th trial." The man had a fanatical and worshipful look in his eyes as he said the last sentence.

"I agree!", Lance immediately said. But he was thinking about the inheritance trial after listening to the old man.

"Then follow me"

He took Lance to a nearby inn. A bunch of teenagers were lounging about the main hall.

"Gong Yu!", the old man shouted at a young man. The man immediately jumped up and responded, "Yes, grandfather!"

"This is Lance, an early-stage skin cultivator, he will enter the domain with you. Tell him about the details and about the other sects." He then walked away without waiting for a reply.

The young man looked at Lance, "My name is Gong Yu, brother Lance. Nice to meet you." He then clasped his hands and bowed a little.

Lance awkwardly followed his gesture, "Nice to meet you too, brother Gong."

"Come let me introduce you!" He then went on to tell everyone's names and cultivation levels.

Lance noticed that of the 10 men and women except Gong Yu everyone had only just entered the skin stage and nearly everyone was around 16.

"May I ask how old you are, brother Lance?"

'Tell him that you're about to be 16 in a few more months.' The cub's voice sounded in his head.

"I will be 16 in a few more months." Gong Yu seemed visibly relaxed after hearing his age.

"The sects which will compete with us are mainly from the Blades Kingdom. They are Flying Sword sect, Nine Fairy palace and the Crumbling Mountain sect ….." But Lance's mind wandered after hearing the name Crumbling Mountain sect, 'The man who attacked the Meng family caravan said he was from the Crumbling Mountain sect. I will not forgive you for that attack!'

"Brother Lance!" Lance awakened from his pondering after hearing Gong Yu calling his name. He smiled sheepishly, "Please forgive me."

Gong Yu only shook his head and continued, "Every one of the sects I mentioned have an early skin stage cultivator but the Crumbling Mountain sect's cultivator just reached the middle skin stage. They will be our main competitors this time, but since Brother Lance has joined us, we can take on the middle stage cultivator together."

"What is his name?"

"Di Long, he is the most talented person in the Di clan in the last 500 years."

"Di clan?" Lance's eyes sharpened imperceptibly.

"The ruling clan of the Crumbling Mountain sect, the sect in controlled by a few clans which have banded together. The clan leader belongs to the ruling clan, the Di clan has been the ruling clan since the sect was established."

"Di Long is the only 3-star genius in the Blades Kingdom." He was about to continue but Lance interrupted him.

"Star?"

"Oh, does brother not know this? The number of stars indicates the talent level. I have a 2-star talent. Brother must also have 2- star talent since our cultivation level is similar." Lance nodded along, as he cast a questioning look at the cub on his shoulder.

'3-star? Meh.' He snorted disdainfully, 'If you use this method to measure the talent then you will be a 9-star talent. But don't be overconfident either, this backwater country may not have someone of your talent but the Sects and Empires which have divine stage cultivators can nurture someone of your talent forcefully.'

Lance pondered thoughtfully after hearing this.