As soon as Derek finished speaking, everyone moved their eyes with difficulty and were stunned. There were people standing, completely fine. Many of them...
The whale, Ruri, Corin, and almost three thousand disciples were perfectly fine with that strange light pressing on them. It was a pressure that directly affected the mind, not the body. That light had many effects on the surrounding environment, including living beings.
Bruno murmured thoughtfully. ’This is obviously something very close to Yang. But, I feel like the Yang in our bodies is being penetrated; these laws are slowly infiltrating... and something very strange...’
’Yin and chaos, death, distance, and related things... Yang and life, order, connection, and related things. Think about it as a more distorted Yang Law from another universe. It’s kind of the infernal laws that also aren’t from this place.’ Alm said coldly.
’Connection...’ Bruno seemed to feel something and focused entirely on studying it. Alm, on the other hand, controlled the whale and turned around.
He saw Ruri, Loeus, and Corin perfectly calm. It affected the mind and will, but beyond the whale, it was hard to find someone with as much will as Ruri. Loeus, on the other hand, had a body almost of pure Yang; this law was like a refreshing bath for him. Corin, whose bloodline was sealed, still had a natural affinity with any of the seven natural elements. Yang did not negatively affect him; on the contrary, he seemed to feel it thoughtfully, wanting to learn more.
Behind them were almost three thousand disciples from the three factions. They were all the most outstanding and leaders of the small groups they divided into. They were approved by the three leaders, possessing a power beyond what was gained through cultivation; it was precisely the strong and unshakable will to lead.
On the other hand, the twelve thousand fallen disciples were feeling a bit. But their eyes were light; it was just a small challenge that they could undoubtedly overcome. Some were already moving to get up, but their expressions were of extreme humiliation.
"Being slower doesn’t mean being weaker. Focus calmly and don’t feel ashamed; everyone has their own time and evolution. This is an opportunity for you to evolve in other aspects. We’ll wait for you here, and we’re not in a hurry," the whale said gently, and everyone nodded, feeling his tranquility.
Time passed quietly. Only after two hours, all fifteen thousand disciples were standing. On the ground were all five older factions, along with their leaders. They just looked at those younger disciples with stunned expressions.
A man who clearly was a member of Nightflare tried to force himself up. Then he started bleeding from his eyes, nose, and every possible place. Ruri just turned and stared into his angry eyes, sighing indifferently. The man held on for ten seconds and fell again, now with serious injuries.
"As I said, strength doesn’t solve it. You must move calmly using your understanding and will. If you injure yourselves foolishly, it will only make everything worse," echoed the voice of the elder to everyone.
Soon, the whale turned to everyone and waved. Then he took a step forward, and everyone followed him, even leaving Derek astonished.
They walked one step at a time, and it took an hour for the whale to stop. Everyone felt the pressure multiply, but they refused to bow down again. They waited for half an hour, and when everyone was adapted, they moved on. They continued walking; every hour, they stopped for thirty minutes and then continued.
After six hours, the disciples of the five factions managed to get up and try to walk. However, their steps were shaky and slow like turtles. Perhaps in another six hours, they would be able to walk like those in the front. It was a mystery if the two remaining factions would really be able to qualify.
In that interval, Bruno concluded, ’I’m sure of one thing now. This law can connect with everything that is alive. Its power goes far beyond creating rifts in space; it blends with spatial laws. It’s a pure and strange power of life.’
Alm then digested that and thought of something. ’Can you master this and perfectly connect a soul to a body? That would be a power equivalent to the heavens, like when a woman connects a soul to the body generated within her.’
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’Seems to be something similar... but I feel like this is more connected to another thing. The runic enchantment seal. This law must have served as the foundation for the Forge God to create that,’ replied Bruno with conviction.
’Great, if it’s similar. We can use the seal as a basis, maybe we can revive Liumi earlier than expected; if this is how you think, we might even keep her memories,’ said Alm with a rare emotion in his voice.
So, they moved forward, and quickly, in less than ten hours, all the disciples of the three factions reached the finish line. Derek looked at them as if he saw aliens; they were currently completely calm, as if they didn’t feel any pressure anymore.
"Historically, only in the last three hours do factions manage to pass..." He spoke, stunned. "Well, it was to be expected."
He finished looking at the whale and waving. Alm and Bruno were intrigued; where did he get so much faith in them?
"Everyone passed, my promise can now be fulfilled. But I must wait for the test to finish to fulfill personal matters," Derek added, and the whale nodded.
The elder distributed the symbols of the central disciples to the three factions, but they chose to stand beside the whale as they waited.
Time passed, and it took exactly 22 hours for the next faction to appear. It was a faction led by a round man, clearly from the Obsidian clan. He was calm, but all his subordinates were drenched in sweat. This man seemed not to care about them, quite different from Thalor.
Shortly after, a black elf woman arrived. She had the same cold air as the late Xylos, but the whale didn’t feel malice or a death aura in her; not everyone from the Noctryn clan was entirely bad.
The Nightflare, Bonecrush, and Soothora clans failed the test. The man from the Nightflare clan was the negative highlight; after he got injured, his faction was the farthest from passing. Even with two days, it was hard to imagine them succeeding.
Once the elder distributed the central disciples’ emblem to everyone and sent the two victorious factions away, he then dismissed those who had failed; the test officially ended.
"Now, Denil, everything will become clearer," Derek spoke, his eyes gleamed, a rune appeared in front of him and floated towards the whale.
The disciples were confused, never having seen anything similar. The rune was yellowish, indicating a subtle earth power, something high-level used in divine realms to convey secret memories. The whale nodded nonchalantly and received the rune; then, an avalanche of information surged.
To the surprise of Alm and Bruno, the memory did not come from Derek. In their minds, an extremely old-looking man appeared and began speaking as if it were a recording.
"Hello, my son. I know I can’t call you that, after all, we will never meet because I have already died... thousands of years ago. But, I am your father."
’Again, witz\\h this father story? Why does everyone want to be our dad now...’ Alm retorted, even though he knew he wouldn’t be heard.
The old man spoke through an image with a regretful expression. "For you to be seeing this, it means that you have finally been born and become an adult capable of entering the central sect. I worked hard to leave a legacy for you to enjoy. I brought my family and changed your name, erasing the past traces. I established the clan in the forest, where there was no competition. There, you would have a great supply... of food... your mother could eat two beasts several meters long at once... it was troublesome. But, it was even stranger how she never gained weight; I don’t know where all that went... is it a black hole? Anyway..."
"So, I negotiated with a connection of mine from the divine world. And with great effort, I left a formation that could refine your body. Your mother told me that, using the Yin of death, she could balance your hybrid bloodline, as you are a boy. There was the method of using dual cultivation, but your mother would kill me if I allowed that."
"Well, let’s begin. Your mother’s name is Quitera, I met her on a battlefield fighting demons that lived on the continent, even long after the war. I was a young man from a tiny clan called Sharpstone. But, she saved me from a demon... and with much effort... well, you can imagine. Your grandparents owned a restaurant, and I learned to cook very well, your mother couldn’t resist my skills." The old man smiled, and his eyes shone with a sincere nostalgic feeling.
"At that time, Quitera was a beautiful woman from the Obsidian clan; that clan must still reign until your current time. We started a relationship, and she had the freedom to do so as a common member. Everything changed when she managed, after much effort, to get permission to meditate at the sacred skeleton within the Skyward Forest."
His words echoed with tension and sorrow; he sighed for two seconds and continued. "That place represented a unique opportunity for a few. By meditating near the skeleton, cultivators could connect to the Holy Light Law. All this law emanated from that skeleton, resembling an insect; only a small fraction of cultivators could use these laws. Those who succeeded became extremely important members of their clans."
"Due to the discovered uses of the Holy Light Law, everyone believed that there was a hidden secret in that skeleton. And it was precisely your mother, the first cultivator in history, who revealed that secret. She not only mastered the laws but managed to enter the world inside the skeleton. This contained a world similar to the death worlds present in the sect. However, according to Quitera, there were no demonic beasts inside. Only a divine and untouched nature."
"She seized the opportunity, finding millennium herbs that she felt as if they were calling out to her. She consumed them directly and entered deep meditation. This process took ten years... and when she finished, she had reached a cultivation higher even than the leader of the Obsidians. Simultaneously, her Behemoth bloodline became so dense that no demon or human could compare. She rose like a dragon to the skies."
"It was as if it were a gift given by someone. As soon as she came out of meditation, she was expelled from the place. There was no possibility of return, and as long as I was alive, no one else could enter there again."
The old man angrily huffed and continued. "That’s when she went out and showed her exuberant power to the world that the demon revealed itself... Although your mother became the most powerful of all, that demon was on another level. He resided in a realm that only cultivators of the divine world could reach."
"That jealous demon. He couldn’t attack directly due to the contract he made, but he threatened all the living beings in another way. He said he would take over all the resources of the forest for himself. With that, soon, all cultivators would see their realms diminish. And then the remaining demons on the continent would destroy everyone in a few centuries..."
The old man clenched his fists, and his eyes became dark. "It was at that moment that your mother negotiated with the demon willingly. Her bloodline was the cause of the demon’s envy, so, being a woman, the demon made her a proposal. She had to marry the demon emperor, a descendant of that demon, and become his slave."