The Path of the Strongest Mortal, page 4
But, in the end, he found a solution. Actually, Shacks suggested it. Being someone who preferred to think outside the box, Kai was often unaware of the simple solutions laying right under his nose. That was why he initially didn’t even think to fight the darkness by dealing with Yin in the way ordinary cultivators did. But after he was given advice, Kai used not only his Forces but also the very element that was attacking him — he was going to fight fire with fire.
He summoned the black sphere of Yin Concentration. In an instant, a spear emerged from the hovering ball and pierced his chest. He jerked. Blood spurted out of his mouth.
“It’s okay,” he said, noticing Shacks’ shocked gaze.
He needed the attack to be enhanced by the sphere, otherwise, Yin alone wouldn’t have been enough to win against the Abyss concept of a higher layer. So he couldn’t just summon it inside him.
Two dark energies collided inside his body. Despite one of them being stronger, with the support of the Heavenly Hydra’s bloodline, Kai’s Yin was still able to suppress the demon’s power. And although this didn’t mean that he completely recovered, Kai was still able to heal himself enough so that he wouldn’t die once the effect of the Calm Body Potion came to an end.
“Time to get out of here,” he said. “Keep an eye on the giant while I look for a way out to the surface. If anyone, including him, asks, an elf with a scar and his brothers kicked us out of their group at the very beginning, and we had to leave. We didn’t participate in the battle but wandered around the tunnels.”
“Whatever you say, man.” Shacks shrugged.
“Don’t forget to tell him.”
“No need... I heard everything,” said a low, but at the same time pleasant voice.
“Hey, you’re awake... That’s great,” Kai chuckled. “I left a little surprise for the elves... Well, have fun here while I’m gone doing all the dirty work!”
Having said that, he left the Night Space and went back to the big hall.
Kai jumped over the river and headed into a randomly selected tunnel with the intent of finding all the wells and marking them with his techniques. Fortunately, he could now protect them with his Yin, which meant that they’d work.
Like this, when a new group of slaves descended into the Abyss, he’d immediately know where to find them.
Chapter 4
THE INCIDENT
Three days after Menlian’s betrayal
While Kai, Shacks and the giant were looking for a way to the surface, important events were taking place in the city center. In a huge palace, in one of the many cultivation rooms sat a tall, fair-haired young elf. At the moment, he was bringing down the last barrier that separated him from the final level of the Exorcist Stage.
Dressed in luxurious azure robes, he meditated. Concentrating on his astral body, he simultaneously absorbed the energy of precious resources spread throughout the room: pills, potions, Spirit Fruits, rare herbs, and so on.
Usually, a cultivator would have to absorb the energy of all these items or, in extreme cases, hold them in their hands. However, for this young man, many powerful masters prepared a special, extremely expensive array, which, using various Forces of Space, redirected the flow of energy from the resources directly to him.
Such a luxury cost a lot; in other worlds, one could buy an underdeveloped country like Alkea for the price of such an array. Even here, in the middle world of Nikrim, not every rich man could afford this. But this particular individual, who had become an Exorcist at the age of twenty, didn’t care about the cost of cultivation. He was accustomed to getting the best of everything. After all, Liam wasn’t just anyone, but Starks’ only son.
However, the Nine Stars Array wasn’t omnipotent, and some of the very powerful resources couldn’t be used through it. So, Liam absorbed them physically. One such resource was Emerald Water, which he planned to use at the very last moment in order to boost his breakthrough to the next stage.
This was the second day of his meditation and he was approaching its final hours. His fate was soon to be decided. But failure wasn’t an option. The foundation of his cultivation was extremely strong, and the abundance of resources only increased his chance of success.
Concentrating on the Emerald Water, he sensed that the time had come to finally use it. A warm and light power flowed into his physical, and from there, into his astral body, which was now undergoing a sort of metamorphosis.
Everything went well at first. Liam was overwhelmed with power, but he didn’t succumb to its intoxicating effect. He continued to gradually use it to complete the transition to the new stage. A few hours later, the bowl of Emerald Water was half empty. And it was at that very moment that something unexpected happened.
Having tried to introduce his will into a new portion of the shimmering liquid in order to use its maximum power, he was horrified to find that there was practically no energy in it.
In the blink of an eye, Liam’s mind was overwhelmed with panic.
He consumed the remnants of the Emerald Water in just a few minutes (although, earlier, it had taken him almost three hours for the same amount of liquid), extracting only crumbs of ki from it.
He opened his eyes sharply. They were filled with horror.
The breakthrough needed to be completed, but he no longer had the ki to do it. The remaining half of the Emerald Water should’ve been more than enough to complete the transition, and what would’ve remained after the breakthrough should’ve been enough to completely fill the Sources of as many as ten peak Exorcists.
However, something had gone wrong. Half of the Water mined in the sixth shaft of the Abyss turned out to be fake, and for some reason, no one had noticed it. And because of someone else’s negligence, he was now in danger of failing the most important mission in his life. And failure meant only one thing — death.
Unlike the beginning stages (Body, Mind, and Soul), upon failure of which the cultivator got off only with a disability that halted their further development, true masters always put their lives on the line. For them, failure of any sort meant death.
Despite his fear, Liam, as a respected cultivator, couldn’t allow himself to lose his composure so easily. Having collected his thoughts, he began to look for a way to fix his problem.
His gaze darted around the room in search of his Ring, which contained many valuables, including resources that would be of great use right now. However, no matter where he looked, he couldn’t find it.
For the array to work correctly, any item that could cause any sort of distortion in the surrounding space, like storage artifacts, had to be removed. Due to panic, Liam didn’t immediately remember leaving his Ring outside the meditation room.
When he finally noticed that the item was missing, the breakthrough went on for too long without energy, which affected his body. His face turned white, and he vomited blood, drowning out his pained cry with it.
He started losing consciousness. If that happened, the breakthrough would fail and he’d die. He couldn’t move, as this would interrupt his concentration, but he wasn’t going to give up.
Gritting his bloodied teeth, he decided to do something that in a normal situation he never would’ve done. He focused on his soul and drew some of the ki from there. The process made his body shudder in terrible pain, blood flow from his eyes, and few locks of long green hair turn gray.
A moment before he lost consciousness, he managed to use a small amount of his soul energy in order to complete the breakthrough by fulfilling the required minimum. Unfortunately for him, such a breakthrough could hardly be called a quality one.
A few minutes later, an old elf, Liam’s personal servant and assistant, entered the room. Seeing the state of his master, he rushed to him, his face turning white with horror.
***
In the middle of a huge hall stood an elf — a final-level Holy Lord. He was on his knees with his forehead on the floor. If one of his subordinates saw him now, they’d think they were dreaming.
After all, how could someone so powerful bend so humiliatingly? The prostrated elf wasn’t just anyone, but one of the seven overseers of Udin — the ruler of one of the seven Quarry zones, and the chief of numerous wardens, including Zirx. But even he couldn’t hold a candle to the strongest man in the area — Starks.
“My lord, I’ve heard everything,” he said, not daring to lift his head off the floor.
“What have you heard, Ginx?” Starks inquired; his voice held such power that it’d freeze even the strongest of cultivators in place, and make the hearts of the weaker ones stop beating.
“Not much, I fear, my lord.” Ginx paused briefly. “Lord Liam encountered some problems during his ascension. Something was wrong with the Emerald Water that had been extracted from my Abyss.”
“Your Abyss?” Starks hissed, which made Ginx shrink even more.
Although they were both Holy Lords, albeit only one level apart, there was no comparing the two. The gap between their power was like that between the earth and the sky. It was rumored that Starks could defeat even the new ruler of the Tael Kingdom, who had already surpassed the stage of Holy Lord.
“I beg your pardon, my lord! I was wrong. Nothing is mine here. Everything here belongs only to you! I beg you to forgive my stupidity!”
“Sanatos, tell him everything,” Starks said to an old elf wrapped in a dark robe, ignoring the apology.
The overseer of the Dark Alchemy Area wore a huge hat and had a long beard. He was the first to arrive at the palace, as it was he who had been summoned to help Liam.
“Yes, my lord.” He bowed, folding his hands behind his back, fearing to look Starks in the eye. “Two days ago, Lord Liam began his ascension. For this, he was provided with many resources, including the Emerald Water obtained three days ago.”
Abyss No.6.! flashed through Ginx’s mind. Over the past week, that had been the only active well.
“Lord Liam decided to use Emerald Water last, and it was the right decision. Except, a part of it contained practically no energy. Due to this, he didn’t have enough energy to complete the ascension process, and he had to use his soul energy in order to survive. He managed to do what he had begun, but the quality of this breakthrough...” Sanatos stammered to find the appropriate word. “...was rather low. Fortunately, his cultivation has a very solid foundation, so he has every chance of fixing some of his mistakes and eventually becoming an Elementalist. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the Holy Lord Stage...” Having said that, he turned to Starks. “Forgive me for these words, my lord.”
“Don’t apologize for speaking the truth,” Starks replied. He still continued to stand at the window, with his back turned to the others. “Go on.”
“Yes, my lord.” Sanatos nodded. “I swear to use all my power and skill to help Lord Liam overcome this.” He turned back to Ginx. “The young lord will need at least three months of physical recovery and about a year for spiritual recovery. Only then can he continue to develop.” Sanatos cleared his throat, since he didn’t like the next topic either, and then continued. “And now, regarding Emerald Water. The interrogation of the alchemist to whom you had handed it over for verification is already underway. According to his notes, there was nothing out of the ordinary with this batch of Emerald Water. However, as I personally checked it later, that wasn’t the case. As it turned out, the amount of energy in this batch was about sixty percent lower than the rest.”
“Impossible!” Ginx exclaimed, raising his head to look at Sanatos. “It must’ve been your alchemist who diluted it!”
The accusation made Sanatos chuckle. Only for a split second, but even that was enough for Ginx to freeze with horror.
“Honestly, I would’ve thought so myself,” he said calmly, “if I hadn’t decided to conduct another experiment. I gave samples from the same batch to several other alchemists for verification, without telling them anything. Like the first alchemist, they, too, were all Elementalists. Imagine my surprise when all of them independently reported that everything was in order with their samples. They didn’t notice that almost half of the energy was missing. It continued like so until I gave the sample to an alchemist who, like me, is a Holy Lord. He was the first to notice the difference. Thus, I concluded that changes in this batch could only be noticed by Holy Lords... And probably those above them.”
“A very interesting theory, sure,” Ginx snapped. “But how does that prove that your alchemist didn’t do anything with the sample?”
“I decided to conduct another experiment, as a result of which I realized that everything was in order with the liquid itself. There were no impurities or traces of other substances in it. Even the composition was the same. I can say with complete confidence that everything was fine with the Emerald Water itself.”
“Then what prevented my son from reaching the next stage?” Starks asked, continuing to look out the window.
“I discovered something else. Although everything was in order with the liquid, there was still not enough energy and Forces inside it. And what was left of it wasn’t distributed equally throughout the bowl. That is, Lord Liam got unlucky. If he had absorbed the affected bit of the Emerald Water first, he would’ve immediately noticed that something was wrong. Then he would’ve had enough energy in the rest to keep going and we would’ve had the time to help him. But, since only Holy Lords and those cultivators of higher stages can detect voids in the liquid’s energy...”
“...someone... or something, was able to remove them from the Water without affecting it in any way...” Starks said thoughtfully.
“Precisely, my lord.” Sanatos bowed again.
“But how is that possible?!” Ginx exclaimed
“In the immense world of the Ecumene, there’s a lot of things that may seem impossible to you, Ginx.” Sanatos smiled. “You shouldn’t limit your mind.”
“Ginx.” Starks finally turned around.
At the same moment, Sanatos lowered his gaze, and Ginx again rested his forehead on the floor. Both of them knew how dangerous it was to look their master in the eye.
“Y-yes!” He trembled.
The tall elf with pale skin, long blond hair, and gray-purple lips took a couple of steps in their direction. But what stood out most in Starks’ appearance were his shining eyes. They were a mesmerizing white, which made the black of his pupils stand out even more.
His gaze was hypnotizing. If the one who looked into his eyes was weak-willed, their consciousness could be erased for a while. There were those daredevils that took this stupid risk, after which they were turned into puppets for the rest of their lives. Their souls lost touch with their bodies and soon left them altogether.
Looking at Ginx, Starks frowned.
“Speak.”
“My lord, let me explain. This week, only one well was activated — the sixth one. The Water was obtained from it three days ago. Overseer Zirx was in charge, and he was the one who sent the sample to the alchemists for testing,” he said. “I immediately came to you when I found out about the incident, so I didn’t have time to investigate. However, I still ordered Zirx to be arrested along with the only surviving slave. I must admit that I’m doubtful that these two are guilty since they’re both worthless beings that could hardly have done something that only Holy Lords could notice. I suspect that something had happened to the Water in the well itself...”
“Do you understand that in comparison to Sanatos’ explanation, yours seems rather vague?”
“My lord! I’ve served you for six hundred years! I’ve never spoken a lie or let you down! Why would I suddenly change that?”
“I don’t blame you...” Starks suddenly appeared right in front of his subordinate. “But you have to understand my suspicion. My son was hurt. And an attack on my son is an attack on me. The alchemist, the warden, and everyone else involved will, of course, be punished, but what about those responsible for them? Do you really think that you’re not guilty at all? That you’re not responsible as a leader?”
Ginx couldn’t do anything but nod.
“Y-you’re right, my lord. Leaders must be held accountable for the misdeeds of their subordinates.”
“Then, Ginx, raise your head,” Starks ordered, crouching down in front of him. But the fear of his gaze was stronger than the fear of disobeying him, so Ginx only twitched slightly. “Ginx,” Starks repeated in a quiet voice. “Look into my eyes.”
The elf slowly raised his head until his gaze met the black pupils, and froze, trapped in the bewitching gaze.
“Do you admit your guilt?”
“Y-yes...”
“Do you repent?”
“Y-yes...”
“Do you atone? Will you pay for your mistake?”
“Y-yes, master.”
“Well done.” Starks smiled softly. “I forgive you.”
In the next instant, snow-white light shot out of Ginx’s eyes, instantly rushing into the eyes of his master. Euphoria gripped the overseer. He was happy to be forgiven.
This lasted only a few seconds, after which the light went out.
“You’re forgiven, Ginx,” Starks said. He stood by the window as if he had never left it, his back turned to his guests. His eyes still glowed faintly. “Now, both of you, leave. Once the interrogation is over, bring the alchemist and the overseer to me. They, too, must atone for their sins.”
“Yes, my lord,” they answered in unison and then headed for the door.
And while Ginx glowed with happiness and euphoria, Sanatos silently looked at him, occasionally shuddering. Unlike Ginx, he knew what had just happened. Soon, Ginx himself would notice the changes in his soul and realize that today he had given Starks five hundred years of his life. The same had once happened to Sanatos himself.
Such was the power of Starks’ eyes. But there was balance flowing through all the worlds, and the elf had to pay a terrible price for his gift. The only way of bending the rules was to fulfill strict conditions… And Starks was good at that.
While he pondered what could’ve happened to the wells, somewhere deep underground, three cultivators were trying to find their way back to the surface. And one of them was even smiling a little.
