Chapter 49: What Are You Made Of?

Chapter 49: What Are You Made Of? Leaving the floors’ gate, Ken had once again made a commotion in the tower. And by the time he left, more and more disciples appeared to see his final floor. A minute passed by quickly, and the disciples who were trapped the entire time Ken had been fighting started coming out only to get surprised by the sheer number of disciples inside of the tower. "THE 8TH FLOOR?!" "JUST WHO IS THIS KEN GUY?!" Shouts of disbelief drowned the tower as disciples couldn’t believe their eyes after seeing Ken’s final result. His rating, shown in bold once again... "SSS-rank? Hey lady receptionist, How hard is it to get SSS-rank? Do I have hope?" One of the top 10, who had been informed about Ken participating and had a good relationship with one of the receptionists, said. "Umm, Junior Harry... This is the 2nd time it happened in the sect’s history." The receptionist, who was sure of her answer, took her time to give the answer. "2nd time? Then the first time..." The disciple almost lost hope; he, who got to know more, felt more overwhelmed by the disciples who were still ignorant of this fact. "It was yesterday..." the receptionist completed his words. The young man then looked through the gate where Ken had just left from. "Ken... whoever you are..." The young man’s body started shaking. "YOU ARE AWESOME! YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!" He shouted with stars in his eyes as he ran out of the tower. "There he goes again... He kind of reminds me of that silly guy from our batch." The receptionist smiled and got back to work. The others next to her didn’t speak much even after seeing Ken’s result; they had long gone past being surprised twice when a surprising event happened. Perks of being a sect disciple. Normally, nobody shouted inside of the tower, out of respect for the sect, but today was an exception. Everybody who so much as approached the tower and saw the new rankings couldn’t help but shout and go... "WHO IS THIS KEN GUY?" And Ken, the reason behind this commotion, had other plans. He was in front of the Mountain Scrolls Pagoda, once again, not planning to waste any time and get his hands on the Perception Mastery technique. This will help him a lot down the line. But before that, he had another thing to do here. "Greetings, Elder." The elder once again showed up in front of him, and the elder, upon hearing Ken’s greetings, smiled. "You never fail to amaze us, young man. Have you managed to get your hands on another pass?" The elder had a kind smile on his face, as if he was looking at his son. This was how treasured talents were in the sect. "Yes, elder. But I have also kept your words from the previous day in mind and thought that I should seek your help in something." Ken added. He was respectful towards the elder. Respecting the elderly, after all, even without them being powerhouses with enough vision and power to take over Earth 20 times over, was one of Ken’s principles. "Hmm?" The elder, not expecting Ken to seek his help anytime soon, stood silent for a second. Then he started walking inside of the pagoda. "Very well. Follow me." With these words, the two headed deep inside the first floor. Then, the elder opened a door on the far end, which acted as a gate between the pagoda and his personal abode. Looking at the large clearing he found himself in, Ken couldn’t help but feel at ease. His mind was sharper, and his spirit relaxed. He almost wanted nothing more than to sleep here. But he was with the elder. The two of them walked until they came across a lone tree in the very middle. In front of it was a short table. The elder sat first before Ken did so, and then he started serving tea for the both of them. And the same ritual the official disciples had gone through happened once again, minus the chessboard. Once the elder finished his tea and put the cup down, Ken spoke. "What I’m seeking help in isn’t a technique." Ken started with this. The elder nodded. "I have been wondering about something I have read about in the library..." He gave context. "The spirit path... An endless wonder with many secrets. It is the path we cultivators walk, but it isn’t one of power, but one of perception and vision..." "One of strategizing from afar." He added before he remained silent. The elder in front of him had a wider smile mixed with traces of surprise and pride. "But who... are we exactly fighting? What are we fighting for?" Ken asked. The first, he knew the answer to, but the second... It was his true question. "You are knowledgeable, and you already know why you are here. That is commendable, Ken." The elder spoke; his acknowledgment for Ken was visible with every word. The young man pleased him. He knew when to speak and what to say, and how to say it. He also knew what was going on around him, and his mind had a vision rare for those his age. "These lands of ours aren’t dominated by humans... they never were." The elder started. "Ten thousand years ago, we were merely slaves for the beastmen... Until the first cultivator, a demi-human, demi-beastman, did us, his other kin, a huge favor." "He gave us enough for us to start walking on this path. But that was all we needed to turn the tides." "We, who were slaves, took over lands, enslaved our masters, and took revenge for the old grudges." "But our enemies are not the beastmen. Our enemy is the demon race and its countless species." He said. "Each has its own traits, each its own treacherous way of killing our children, plundering our lands, and wishing for nothing more than to feast on our flesh." "But, they are unable to enter lands on which pure spiritual energy dominates." The elder smiled. "That is why... We are fighting for land." "We are fighting for the peace of our species, for our own lives, by taking land from the treacherous demons and possibly, by the end of it all, sending them back to their realm, for they, unlike us, have another home." "But this land... this is our home." -----End-----