The whale turned around with surprised eyes. There, the figure of the man, looking worn out and much older than he remembered, appeared. There were no doubts, and his shock only increased; it was the patriarch of the Divinestone clan.
’How the hell is he still alive?’ Bruno thought dryly.
Alm and Bruno fled from the clan, stealing that bloody rune that was being secretly generated. That rune was very close to completion, and a divine clan was responsible for it. As soon as they escaped, a divine cultivator appeared in the sky, alerted by the theft; Ruri was responsible for that. (Chapter 49)
According to logic, this cultivator would unleash his fury on the small Divinestone clan, and hopefully, some would survive and try to keep the clan. Their patriarch leader? He should never come out alive from this situation, let alone the main elders. That’s why Alm and Bruno felt no fear in coming to the sect.
The whale stayed silent for three seconds; then, its expression changed quickly. Its eyes focused on that man, and it said dryly, "Don’t address me as if we were acquainted. I was expelled from your clan years ago. Now, I’m part of the realm of dwarves, and I have nothing to do with you."
The man trembled, and the elders around listened attentively, stunned. The elder leader recognized the old man and was even more stunned by the humble origin of that round figure.
"Denil! I was wrong, please come back! We... need to talk privately!" The man spoke quickly in a tone of fear and desperation.
The whale, on the other hand, just released its cultivation lightly without looking at him, then spat. "Get out of here, or I’ll kill you without hesitation."
The air changed, and the smell of blood was sensed by everyone; none could move a muscle. The old man trembled from head to toe; he just turned his eyes to the young ones next to Denil... his eyes passed over them and Ruri, but he didn’t recognize her at first. Before, she was just 11 years old, a complete child, but now, she had the appearance of a beautiful woman, much older than her real age.
But...
Her descent and appearance from the people of Montide were as clear as day. The old man quickly made connections and opened his mouth in astonishment... the princess of Montide whom he kept and became Denil’s personal servant just before he left... she disappeared completely after that...
"Ru... Ruri?" The man murmured tremulously.
Ruri immediately trembled, with old memories she never wanted to revisit being awakened. It was at this moment that the whale snorted. And a wave of QI swept back mercilessly.
"No! Denil, she..." The man tried to call out to him when he was violently swept away.
Bruno didn’t want to kill him, and he didn’t know why. He just swept him away to the point where he would fly away from the city. Maybe he would die from the fall, but he didn’t care.
Ruri just felt a chubby hand touching her head and looked at her master; then, she took a deep breath. ’Sorry, next time I’ll kill him myself...’ Ruri said through the array, but her words didn’t convey much confidence.
’Take your time. You’ll have to face the past, but don’t rush or act alone. There’s no need to be ashamed.’ They responded gently and soon, seeing her eyes change, turned to the elder.
"You heard, Denil." The whale spoke, and the elder nodded quickly and handed over the crystal. "Where should I go?"
The elder leader saw the whale inquire in his direction and spoke lightly. "The institutes conduct their own test. I’ve already taken the liberty to send a message to the leader of the forging institute; he should..."
He stopped as, coming from the sect, a woman suddenly emerged with an identical stature to Ruri’s. A long, furry tail swayed behind her, and her ears, much longer than an elf’s, resembled those of a cat. Both her tail and ears were purple, contrasting with the white tips. She looked like a hybrid between a human and some beastly creature, but everything about her was human, from her aura to her bloodline. To complement that, she wore tight and revealing clothes similar to those worn by dwarf women.
She was a Grassrunner, a humanoid race on this planet. Originating from the wild, their bloodline leaned towards the beastly side, developing beast-like characteristics. However, they had no beast blood; they were a unique race. Their average height was slightly shorter than that of a human, but their physical strength and talent in Yang elements were notably superior.
In the past, dwarves maintained closeness with this race, but currently, few of them survived. Alm and Bruno were familiar with this race, and the diagram possessed their complete bloodline. From the attire of that woman, it was clear she had lived a long time in the realm of dwarves; even the fabric of her clothes resembled that worn by dwarf women.
She looked excitedly at the whale and ran to his side. "I’m Liumi, the leader of the Forge Institute! Did you come from the Dwarf Realm?!" She spoke, breathing deeply as if she had just run with all her might.
"Yes, I trained there for some time." The whale responded gently.
Soon, Liumi smiled from ear to ear, quickly took the green crystal from the whale’s hand, and, with shining eyes, read the notes, smiling even more.
"Great, great. Come on, I’ll accept you as my disciple; let’s do the final test for formality." She said, looking deeply into the eyes of the whale.
She got very close to the whale and handed the crystal back to him, as if she wanted to hold his hand. The whale quickly recoiled on reflex. Then, squinting, he gave a sideways glance to Ruri. The latter seemed to have a trembling hand, gripping the katana with all her might, ready to attack at any moment.
All the elders felt the girl’s bloody intent. However, the leader of the forgers seemed completely oblivious to all of this. She laughed, her tail swaying, taking another step toward the whale, nonchalantly.
Reflexively, the whale took another step back. ’God... has she never had to fight in her life? Can’t she even sense it coming from her back?’ Bruno thought, stunned. If Ruri attacked, everything would go haywire.
The whale shot her a cold look, and she stopped where she was. "Oh... come on, come on!" Liumi said, smiling, and briskly walked in a direction without even looking back.
Alm and Bruno cast one last glance at Ruri, who had red and teary eyes. Then, they looked at Loeus and Corin, who just waved back. The whale had already instructed them not to leave Ruri alone, after all, she was clearly someone from Montide. So, they followed the steps of the forge leader.
They distanced themselves from the elders and continued walking. The Grassrunner walked ahead, and after a few minutes, she turned around and waved, smiling with a gleam appearing on her finger. Quickly, the space on the horizon changed. At that moment, the whale clearly saw the spatial distortion in front of them unraveling, revealing a distant gigantic castle.
"That’s the Outer Forge Institute. Unfortunately, I can’t take you to the Central Institute, according to the rules. But, in six months, the test for the oldest external disciples will happen." She spoke, slowing down and walking alongside the whale.
She was much shorter than the whale, measuring one meter sixty, and exuded a youthful aura, full of energy like a flame. The whale, in turn, asked gently.
"Is this for all common disciples and institute disciples?"
She answered softly. "The test is mandatory for everyone every year and a half. But the oldest ones who entered the previous generation will complete this cycle in six months. Anyone who wants to can try, even the young ones; but if they fail, the consequences will be the same, so the newcomers won’t go. As for you, with your talent, I’m sure you won’t have any problems."
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"Great, I’ll do it. And my companions too," said the whale, sensing energy fluctuations around her. "I thought I’d encounter an older leader; you’re not very young, are you?"
Liumi sighed heavily before responding promptly. "The leader died exactly six months ago." After a brief pause, amidst memories, she continued, "I was his only disciple, so I took the position temporarily following his orders. But, in ten years, I’ll have to give an account, and we’ll choose the permanent leader."
"I get it, you need merits to hold your position," the whale observed, noting her reaction.
"Yes, with that talent, you’re my bet. Hopefully, we can go to the Skyward Forest before that time, and I..." She stopped abruptly, realizing she had said something she shouldn’t have.
Alm and Bruno sighed mentally. ’She’s honest and blurts out everything that comes to her mind, just like a dwarf. It’ll be easy to get everything we want from her,’ Alm commented.
’She was just excited when she saw our talent... it wasn’t anything weird... too bad Ruri won’t see it that way,’ Bruno added.
The whale nodded lightly to her. "I’ve heard rumors about that forest. Our goals align; I want to get there as soon as possible."
"Great, every six months, there’s a test for the older disciples. If you pass three times in a row, you’ll have the chance to go there," said Liumi, turning to him with joy. "You’re easy to talk to; it must be because you were accepted by the dwarves. We’ll get along."
Alm and Bruno smiled inwardly and didn’t respond; they didn’t trust anyone so easily. She would have to prove her sincerity with her actions. But it seemed like she already considered him more than she should; that innocence could easily lead her to ruin.
Liumi started talking about her life easily without any reservations, leaving Alm and Bruno feeling strange. After two hours of walking toward the castle, they arrived and entered.
It didn’t take long for the whale to be taken to a forge. Then, Liumi, alongside some elders, asked him to forge a specific weapon, giving him the exact specifications. It was a high-level test for a newcomer, but she seemed confident. Usually, such a test would take a whole day.
However, it took less than thirty minutes for the whale to complete everything, as if it were a child’s simple and boring game.
Everyone who watched him forge could only stare wide-eyed, unable to say anything. Meanwhile, Liumi burst into loud laughter.
Shortly after, she ran and handed him a badge, officially making him a member of the institute. However, in that second, she received a mental message that made her furrow her brow. Liumi looked at the whale with trembling eyes.
"Denil, your companions! They’re causing a bloodbath!"
Alm and Bruno froze and turned to run out of the castle. When they stepped outside, they saw hundreds of external and internal elders flying in the sky with bloodthirsty expressions in one direction.