In an ordinary room, barely furnished and decorated, sat a handsome figure. Flowing golden hair in thick locks cascaded over his shoulders yet not a single strand of hair fell over his forehead and was neatly combed back. His skin healthy and a set of glittering yellow eyes could enchant any bystander. Half of his handsome face, the right portion, was covered with a mask. The mask itself was quite a delicate accessory made of white and gold that seemed to match the man's aesthetics.
He wore plain white robes that failed to hide his broad shoulders and a sturdy body. With a soothing smile over his thin lips, the figure read the reports in his hands.
Aside from the extraordinary man himself, there was nothing out of the ordinary in the room. One the parchments were a list of name. On top of which was the name Blood Goddess. Next to this name was a number: 30987. Then, there was a brief description of the figure holding the name Blood Goddess.
The second name on the list was Ultimate Grandson. Though the name amused the man, the figures next to the name still made him sigh in admiration.
23,537.
Not only that, the further he read the description, the more he nodded. However, this man's gaze did not linger onto any particular name more than necessary. In total, there were ten names, and the ranking in this list seemed to be based on the numbers attached next to them.
*Knock*
A soft knock echoed but the man didn't pay any attention. The door was already unlocked and he knew that the figure behind the door would enter anyway.
*Click*
Pushing open the wooden door, a tall but slightly lanky man walked in. His visage no older than 30 years. Slick grey hair pulled back, the ends of which reached the nape of his neck. In fact, both of these men's features were slightly similar, as if they were siblings. However, on further observation, one would see that no aura would leak through his body. A sense of serenity followed this man closely and when the figure sat on the chair in front of the blonde man, the blonde individual finally sighed.
"Father. You promised that I wouldn't be disturbed while working."
Shockingly, these two weren't siblings. Instead, they were father and son. The grey-haired man smiled and looked at the list.
"You have been working on this for almost a year now. Rest and cultivate after this. The political situation is important, but martial strength needs to be pushed every day."
Chuckling, the blonde man handed the parchment to the grey-haired man and inquired, "Father, I have a disciple of my own. Do I still need mentoring?"
While reading the parchment, the old man smiled, "There is no age to stop learning. But, it is as you say, teaching you doesn't suit my bones anymore."
Saying so, he pressed the parchment on the table and looked at the blonde man.
"Xunji, any talent you have taken a shine to?"
"Blood Goddess is that little troublemaker of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. And this Ultimate Grandson is the one who Elder Crocodile should thank for his first disciple, the late bloomer."
The grey-haired man's expression changed slightly and he placed his index over his lips.
"Hush," he hissed softly, "If he hears you calling his disciple a... well, you know. Then there will definitely be a problem.
Sighing softly, the man named Xunji nodded.
"Despite these tremendous scores, father, I have to say that their potential isn't up to the mark."
The grey-haired man nodded.
For a moment, both of them fell in silence before the grey-haired man spoke up.
"Time for the report," his voice losing his previous languid grace and cheerfulness. Even his eyes turning strict.
"Lord Father, today, Xue Ye will end the war and the two imperial students will return to Advanced Spirit Hall Academy. Since the Balak Kingdom lost, the Third Prince of the Silvers Kingdom will be awarded the 20000-year-old Tyrant Elephant's spirit bone that the two of their teams hunted together.
With this war, we managed to take care of 70% of rogue cultivators in the bounty in the side of Heaven Dou Empire while overall, the list is taken care of by 30%. Though the remaining token holders have returned their tokens and their connections severed, all the factions will begin recruiting once the result of the war is announced. That should take care of the Spirit Masters still within Balak and Silvers City. Even if some manage to escape the net, the Heaven Dou Empire will be able to develop in peace for the next decade.
Meanwhile, the obvious flaw of the plan was used by many spirit masters. A lot of rogue cultivators fled to Star Luo Empire. Though, we cannot keep all the tokens active. But the next few years will be difficult for the Star Luo Empire, that is guaranteed. I will even move a few pieces near the Star Luo City to make sure everything is consistent with the plan.
The constructions of Arenas in the continent will begin after another two months once the construction of the walls of the Spirit City and the Supreme Pontiff Palace is completed."
Xunji explained everything with a calm expression.
"And Bibi Dong?" The man inquired.
Hearing this name, a trace of helplessness flashed through Xunji's eyes.
"Father, you shouldn't have let her enter Slaughter City."
"Report." The man stated plainly.
Nodding, Xunji cleared his throat and began, "She has obtained the rudimentary qualifications. However, she will need some time to recuperate and regain her focus. She's quite close in becoming a Spirit Sage and as planned ahead, we'll add starting rings to her second martial soul after she reaches the rank of Spirit Douluo."
The man nodded for a while before adding, "Enlist her as a teacher in the academy once the recruitment is completed. She will be in charge of sorting out the new appearances and develop the team to represent Spirit Hall in the first tournament. Although the two Empires have agreed, the rewards must remain within the Spirit Hall. Her team must win all the internal and external rounds. The loss of rewards will be considered cut out of her future inheritances."
Xunji nodded calmly.
"If I may add, the next tournament, I want to limit the ages till 25 only."
"Matters of future aren't needed to be discussed now," the man replied calmly and then gazed at Xunji carefully. A serene smile spread across his lips and he nodded, "You have made progress. Now, tell me, any news on Tang?"
Xunji silently shook his head and the grey-haired man let out a soft sigh.
"The other elders are still a little conservative on this widespread recruitment of spirit masters. You understand that most of these spirit masters are employed by upper clans and the imperial and royal lineages of both the Empire to infiltrate us, right?"
This was reality. How could the two Empires not see that the Spirit Hall joining hands with Heaven Dou Empire will mean trouble for its counterpart? But they cannot take drastic measures. Instead, they used the rules set previously and filled the Spirit Hall with their lower-ranking members. While these members will attract the attention of Spirit Hall, the true spies, the ones employed by various factions to act as rogue cultivators will act in the shadow, too.
Every action has a consequence. More so in a political world. Spirit Hall can only thrive if both the Empires are balanced. But the two Empires are also cautious of Spirit Hall. Although they cannot act in a heavy hand, they still use hidden means to lower the grip of Spirit Hall.
Right now, Spirit Hall had truly recruited too many Spirit Masters. Most of them are within the Clergy itself and only the talented, despite their ages, are sent to the Academy to revitalize their educational foundation.
Xunji smiled softly.
"Father, all my actions will only be for Spirit Hall."
"Yes, Spirit Hall as a whole," the man gave a soft chuckle, "And that's why the elders fear you despite their strength. Who knows if you have planned something for them and they don't even know about it? In the end, other Titles aren't like you and me."
"That is quite narcissistic, father," Xunji smiled.
"What? Complimenting us both or comparing myself to you?" The man continued with ease. This time, Xunji didn't reply and focused on his task. On the other hand, the man seemed to have disappeared silently, as if he wasn't present in the first place.
---
'One percenter... to think I'll actually lose out an S-ranked objective because of lack of status,' Ja Sun had a slightly gloomy expression.
As Yu Suntao stated, completing all the Extreme Missions will allow him a chance at the final mission. It was left unsaid but the final mission was the assassination of the Third Prince of the Silvers Kingdom. However, this chance didn't even reach Ja Sun. Instead, Yu Suntao revealed when Ja Sun went to the Spirit Temple to return his token that the mission was first presented to a noble of the rank Spirit Ancestor to assassinate the Princess of the Balak Kingdom while under the protection of a team of Spirit Kings!
This figure managed to complete the mission and won the war before Ja Sun got the chance.
Ja Sun was already aware that the assassination only meant defeating the guards this time. However, he was plenty frustrated.
The war, however, hadn't ended until the results are announced so Ja Sun calmly sat within the bathroom, the one location where Ah Yin's blue silver grass didn't sprout. He was silently waiting for the distribution of the actual rewards.
*Knock*
*Knock*
"I know you're hurting," Ah Yin's soothing voice traveled through the door as Ja Sun sighed softly. Although they didn't explicitly stated it, but with Ja Sun not running around, the two of them felt quite peaceful together.
"But I need to use the restroom, too. So can you hurry up?"
Of course, this sense of familiarity opened the both of them to each other's jarring and insults more than ever.
"Just hold it in!" Ja Sun hissed.
She didn't knock further either.
At this point, the screen of his trait emerged once again.
[Objective: Participate in the war between Silvers and Balak Kingdom and gain merit.
Optional Objectives:
1) Remain Unscathed
2) Become the critical reason for the victory of your faction.
Mission Rank: A-S-S
Rewards: Dragon's Observation—Crystal of War God's Essence—20000-year-old Tyrant Elephant Torso Spirit Bone.]
[Status: Complete-Complete-Fail.]
'Ass...' While the rewards appeared, Ja Sun sighed in loneliness. Only a single S-ranked reward but soon, he stored the brown crystal and the thick book. His affinity with journals and tomes seems to be too great. Even as an A-ranked reward, he happened to gain a tome.
Unlocking the door, he found Ah Yin sitting on the edge of the bed impatiently. Seeing her flustered and anxious expression, Ja Sun's troubled heart soothed slightly and he gave way to her.
---
"It is truly unfortunate that so many brothers and sisters lost their lives in this bloody war."
Heaven Dou City is the greatest imperial faction of the Heaven Dou Empire constructed in the center of the territory of the Empire. It holds the strongest military faction, slightly less in number than the Balak Kingdom, but far surpassing in comprehensive strength. Even the palace of the current Emperor— Emperor Xue Ye— is located within the heart of Heaven Dou City.
Right now, in the view of the city, everyone could see the projection of the Emperor.
Although the projection is as tall as 50 meters, in reality, the Young Emperor has a robust physique marking as high as 2 meters. His eyes looked vibrant, as if carved out of jewels and his jet-black hair glimmered. His powerful voice traveled through the entirety of his city. The City was hosting multiple grand figures: All of them related to this war.
"Once again, the treasures of Spirit Beasts incited our greed. But not anymore! The conclusion of the war is reached. This war for the Treasure of Bloody Rivers ends today! The cause of this war— A rare spirit bone, shall be handed to the Silvers Kingdom Royal Clan."
Once the Emperor was done with the public appearance, instead of his main hall where a few guests waited, Xue Ye made his way towards his study. Within the luxurious room, he didn't take a seat. Instead, he leaned against the table and read the parchment already prepared.
In front of him stood his loyal attendant.
"Blood Goddess, if I remember correctly, should be that talented girl from the Tyrants. Don't approach her. Find out Ultimate Grandson and those below it. None of them are employed by us so these talents should join the Empire."
The attendant nodded silently and left.
---
After calming down, Ja Sun secluded himself and began reading the Dragon's Observation. After completely digesting the information, Ja Sun closed his eyes and meditated. Reading this tome cleared too many doubts in Ja Sun's mind. Too many.
This Tome wasn't related to dragons at all. Instead, it seems to be written by a dragon himself, or so the author calls himself. This is a dragon's complete and comprehensive observation of a human's cultivation path. It records many branches and specialties. It even goes into detail on Spirit Souls, firming Ja Sun's belief that for some reason, the existence and knowledge of the Spirit Souls were forcefully removed, and aside from these inheritance tomes, no other records contain this knowledge.
This tome, in simple terms, was the complete glossary of the current era's cultivation path.
After clearing all his doubts, Ja Sun's clear mind easily let go of one selfish knot.
The core wasn't useful to him, now he understood. He did gain this core from Ah Yin, and in the early stages of mental cultivation, it helped greatly, but now its use waned. Not all rewards are suitable for him, Ja Sun understood. The only reason why the core was even slightly beneficial to him was because of a single fact— the quality and origin of this core far surpassed Ja Sun's speculations.
Seeing Ah Yin gazing out the window with an idle expression, Ja Sun spoke up.
"How many do you think will die?" Ja Sun inquired.
In reality, the War for Treasures of Bloody River, in the most technical sense, wasn't over yet.
Rogue cultivators value their freedom the most. With freedom, they get to achieve their desires. But now, Balak City was like a cage. The spirit masters who hadn't joined a faction may live here calmly but the moment they try to leave, they will be approached by factions and if the rogue cultivators don't relent, they will end up shedding blood, of course.
Hence, the rivers were yet to completely dry up. Many men would die soon, and the cause of it will be the treasures that attracted them in the first place.
"I don't know. I just don't want to die myself since I didn't even take part in the war."
"Then you should have stayed in the forest," Ja Sun smiled. He, of course, never shrink from risk. Each challenge brings him a greater sense of accomplishment. And he also had the mind to join a faction. Not just any faction— the kind that specializes with Spirit Masters.
"Let's talk," Ja Sun patted the grassy floor in front of him and invited Ah Yin to sit.
***
A/N: In canon, it is stated that two countries went to war for a spirit bone. I was inspired by that account. This also served to reveal the political situation of the continent and gave Qian Xunji his first appearance alongside the First Worship. With this, in the future, people of the continent will say that two countries went to war for a spirit bone, titling these treasures as Treasure of Bloody Rivers.
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