Child of Destiny

After learning that he might take much longer than he thought, Shin tried the weapons on the other piles to see if he could grasp their characteristics and other properties better. After testing everything, he realized that he was surprisingly more proficient in handling heavy weapons aside from the katana.

Realizing this, Shin picked a huge mace and started swinging it with both of his hands. He wanted to see what would happen if he swung these weapons a thousand times like what Old Ryong had said.

Despite those thoughts, he did not swing recklessly or aimlessly. Instead, he properly took a stance and held the mace with both of his hands, and imagined that an opponent was standing in front of him before finally swinging with everything he had.

He repeated the process, not concerning himself about the time. He even failed to notice that Benedict had entered the room a couple of times to ask him for lunch together. But after seeing Shin was too immersed in his world, Benedict shook his head and quietly left.

Benedict felt that he was inferior to this junior when it came to dedication to become strong.

"Am I slacking too much in my training?" he mumbled as he closed the door behind him as quietly as possible.

…

As Shin was too busy with his training, Arthur was also summoned by Nathan. He was also excused from attending the class as his uncle personally fetched him.

"Uncle, where are we going? I need to attend the class since it is meant for the upcoming exploration of the ruins," complained Arthur as he sat with Nathan in the backseat of the car.

"Don\'t worry, this is also meant for that specific mission. I just need to train you with some things before sending you there," said Nathan as he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Arthur might not be the brightest, but he could at least sense that something was going on. He frowned deeply as he turned to Nathan. "Is there something wrong, Uncle? It sounds a little serious."

Nathan was silent for a moment before sighing. "It is not as bad as you think. But it will never hurt to be prepared for all things."

He tapped his finger on the armrest of the backseat as he continued. "We have to entrust you and your friends with the matters within the ancient ruins since we can\'t enter it."

"Whatever you find it will not be helpful to you anyway, unlike the rest. That is why I want you to focus on keeping an eye on a few people instead."

Arthur knitted his brow when hearing that. "If it is just keeping an eye on a few people, then I will not have any problem with that. Why\'s the need to train me especially for it?"

Nathan sighed once again. "It is not as simple as that. What I want to teach you is how to awaken your innate attribute much faster than the rest."

"You are already aware of what kind of attribute you have, so it will be too much of a waste if you stay the way you are and delay its awakening."

"Or should I say-… It will be a waste not to let you know how to form your \'Natural Force\' when you met all the requirements for it," he added with a solemn tone.

Arthur was aware of this. He met everything to break through. His bloodline powers were one of the major factors that played in this. With such a dense and powerful bloodline, the True Blood of the Golden Divine Dragon, his physique was said to evolved matching the \'Natural Physique\' that he needed for the breakthrough.

But he also remembered that the elders in the Dragon Valley to not make haste. His body would naturally transform and evolve so long as he continued to cultivate the \'Imperial Tactics\'.

He would also slowly awaken the \'Natural Force\' meant for him along with it, which possessed the \'Imperial Flame\', one of the major forces of the Springfield Family along with the \'Flame Emperor Flame\' that Shiella had.

He was instructed to play it slow and let the energies within him grow naturally, especially when his bloodline was slightly different from the rest of the family since his Golden Divine Dragon Bloodline also awakened the legendary \'Divine Lightning\', which was another type of force.

The Divine Lightning was an ancient force that used to appear only once in the entire history of the Springfield Family, and that was when their first ancestor had gotten the inheritance from the Ancestor Dragon of the family.

The elders of the Springfield Family let the \'Imperial Flame\' and \'Divine Lightning\' merge naturally and form a new type of force.

Nathan naturally knew about this, so he quickly explained. "Don\'t worry, this will not hinder your progress, nor hurt your foundation. I will only help you awaken the innate attributes much quicker since you will be needing them in this particular mission."

Arthur still had yet to fully understand what Nathan was trying to do, but he trusted this uncle of his. He knew that Nathan would not do him any harm, so he just nodded his head and behaved himself in his seat.

From what he could see in the actions of the teachers in the academy, he knew that something big was going to happen when the grave of the ancient cultivator was opened. He could also feel it from the mood that Nathan had.

But what made him anxious about this was something different. He felt that something bad was about to happen, and it gave him a very unpleasant feeling. He was not sure what it was, but he just hoped that it would not be for the people close to him.

…

Somewhere in the outskirts of the Eastern Sea Region, there was a small village, where the residents lived as fishermen, fish traders, and fish vendors, Old Ryong suddenly appeared.

He slightly raised his head to reveal his eyes hidden under the shade of his hat. He swept his gaze in the village, seemingly looking for something.

The village was quite busy despite how small it was. The residents were busily running back and forth while carrying a basin filled with fish and other sea creatures. Some of them were even pushing a cart with a basin filled with seafood.

But despite that being the case, no one seemed to notice the old man despite him standing in the middle of the street. The people seemed to ignore his existence despite almost bumping into him.

Old Ryong did not care about these people as he continued to walk toward the different parts of the village. He walked for quite a while until he reached a particular house that was someone isolated from the rest.

He stopped in front of it while mumbling. "This should be the place."

Not long after, someone walked out of that house and looked at the old man as if he was expecting the latter\'s arrival. "It is surprising to see a senior visit my humble place. May I know what I owe you for this visit, Senior?"

Old Ryong squinted his eyes as he looked closely at the man standing in the doorway. From what he could see, this man seemed to be nothing but an ordinary person. But his instincts were telling him something completely different.

He might not be able to see it, but he could at least feel it.

And right now, what he was seeing through this \'feeling\' was a massive darkness in front of him with a pair of abyssal eyes.

"Who are you?" asked Old Ryong as his aura was also starting to leak out.

The scrutinizing gaze that Old Ryong was giving him earlier did not affect the man, but this pressure that he was getting from the old man was completely different.

For some reason, this man wanted to give it a go, especially when the opposing party also possessed something that might be helpful to him.

But if he did that, he would not be able to achieve what wanted from coming here. He suppressed the urges that he was getting and calmed himself down. "I suggest not to do that, Senior. Do you want those innocent people to get implicated in this?"

Old Ryong glanced at the nearby village before turning back to the man in front of him. "I should be the one asking you that. Why is someone like you doing in this kind of place, when you are supposed to be distancing yourself away from other people."

"Isn\'t it the reason why I isolated myself from the rest," refuted the man in a calm tone.

"Don\'t play words with me. You know what I am talking about," said Old Ryong as his tone grew more solemn with every word. "What a Demon like you doing in this place."

The man standing at the door, who was Jan Mateo in disguise, smiled evilly as he responded. "I don\'t see any problem with that when a senior like you seems to be doing the same."

"Your \'Demon\' may not be as powerful as mine, but it sure has its edge over mine," he added smirkingly, seemingly provoking the old man.

Old Ryong ignored that comment as he continued. "There are only a very few \'Demons\' with such a dense demonic power around, but I can\'t seem to remember someone like you."

"Just what are you exactly?" he asked as his hand slowly fixed his grip on his cane.

This time, the \'respect\' that Jan Mateo had completely disappeared. "Hey, old man. You better do your own thing and don\'t get involved in my business."

"Since you are an old fossil, you should have known about the unspoken rule," he added as he crossed his hands behind him and leaned forward. "How about I use mine now? Let\'s not bother each other for a month and I will leave this place peacefully without creating any kind of disturbance."

Old Ryong smirked. "You are talking about the unspoken rule, yet you are unwilling to introduce yourself properly? It looks like the younger generation is getting bolder since we secluded ourselves."

Jan Mateo smiled as he said. "Trust me when I say this, Senior. You not knowing who I am is the best for the both of us."

"Never trust the words of a Demon. That is a basic rule," replied Old Ryong.

Shing!

As those words left his mouth, his suddenly flicked upwards. It hit the handle of his cane and sent it upwards, unsheathing the sword hidden under it.

Swoosh!

Old Ryong\'s figure suddenly flickered at that time as his other hand caught the flying sword. There was a flash of light as the old man suddenly appeared in front of Jan Mateo while pointing the sword forward.

Jan Mateo did not move as he stared at the incoming attack, completely unbothered. The shadow underneath him seemed to have as it extended itself and formed a group of tentacles that grabbed the blade of the sword tightly, preventing it from moving further.

Jan Mateo wanted to try fighting the old man, but he knew that he could not afford to do that since it would only expose him to the others.

Just like Old Ryong could not see through his disguise completely, he was also unaware of the real identity of the old man. He only knew that he was an old expert and a fellow Demonic Practitioner.

There was a tense atmosphere between the two as they maintained their positions.

A fight between demons was about to break out.