Sercy looked out of place while drinking broth around a small old dining table. She was way too extravagant to be in the house.
She had changed her appearance before going to his home and no longer wore her veil. Although her features changed drastically and her seductive figure was also less appealing, she still looked extremely beautiful.
Niyad's mother emerged from the kitchen, with a bowl of soup that she placed at the table.
"Madam benefactor I'm sorry that I don't have anything better to offer right now, this is a boar Niyad had hunted a few weeks ago."
"Oh no, this is delicious, because of my cultivation realm I don't normally need to eat. This home-cooked meal brings back memories." Sercy smiled sweetly.
Niyad got a headache as he watched Sercy interacting with his mother as if she were a normal person.
What Niyad didn't know was that although Sercy had changed her appearance before going to his house, Niyad's mother had immediately greeted her as the Jade Queen. Sercy already thought the woman wasn't simple, but now she was thoroughly convinced. When the woman did that, she felt her hairs stand on end, even Count who was in the form of a broach was surprised. So in fact, none of the women currently in the room with him could be considered normal.
Sercy had many questions, but she decided to leave them for now and only discussed wanting to take Niyad as her disciple which his Mother agreed to right away. Their conversation had just ended when Niyad got home.
Niyad's mother looked at him standing there in a daze, she moved towards him and with a smooth swing of her arm knocked him upside his head.
"Pay respect to your master then eat!"
"Mother, why!?" Niyad was genuinely confused. His mother had always stressed to him that he should live under the radar and never do anything dangerous. She even hated when he snuck out to hunt. Why is she so willing for him to become this strange woman's pupil? Was there something he was missing?
His mother looked at him in frustration before knocking him upside his head once more. She then glanced at Sercy apologetically.
"I'm sorry he's a bit dim-witted."
"That's fine." Sercy replied, "I need to test if he is compatible with my teachings before I accept him as my disciple."
Niyad didn't resist as he was dragged to the table and forced to sit. He looked at Sercy one last time before drinking his broth.
"What do you know about cultivation?" Sercy suddenly said before another spoonful of soup disappeared into her mouth.
Niyad, who was caught off-guard thought for a while. "I only know what I've read in the cultivation manuals and heard from others. "There are twelve realms, Qi condensation, Ivory , Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, Sovereign, Divine origin, Divine soul, Divine Tribulation, Celestial Realm."
Sercy listened to his response then nodded before asking. "What about body cultivation and refinement techniques?"
~Body cultivation? What's that?~ Niyad who had no hope of ever leaving the Qi condensation realm barely knew anything about cultivation. Everyone knew about alchemists and how respected they were, medicinal pills were a very important part of cultivation.
"Ahh...I've never heard about body cultivation, but I do know about Alchemists."
Sercy, who had emptied her bowl, placed her spoon next to it before looking at him. "That means you're not sure about what path you want to take while cultivating?"
Niyad had a confused look on his face. "Path?"
"I see, I'll explain the different paths and types of cultivation to you at our next meeting." She stood up attempting to clear the table but Niyad's mom intercepted her.
"No no no! Leave that to me, thank you for considering my son."
Sercy smiled sweetly and once more thanked Niyad's mother. "No, not at all, thank you for the food."
Sercy's attention turned back to Niyad, "Meet me by the river tomorrow morning. We'll undergo some tests to see if you're compatible." She then exited the house on foot instead of vanishing like she usually did.
That night Niyad tossed and turned in his duvet. He thought back to all that had happened to him before.
~They said the Queen set out to get revenge herself. So why did I only see this Sercy woman and that creepy guy? Sercy fits the description of the Queen but the Queen is cold and kills without thinking. Sercy seems a bit more easy-going in comparison to what they taught us about her.~
'I've seen men naked before.' He remembered the comment Sercy had made nonchalantly and his face flushed in embarrassment.
Besides, the Queen is a maiden and no man would be strong enough or even worthy of her. I find it hard to believe that she would go around peeping at bathing men too.
Also, Sercy is a Fae. Based on history our Queen is human.
~Sigh... Just who is this Fae woman and why has she taken an interest in me. Does she perhaps think I'm fae too, or is it simply based on the fact that I'm not human that she feels a connection?~
~She's beautiful the type of woman I would hope to marry in the future, but she seems a bit bloodthirsty and what kind of woman dresses so skimpily.~
He thought about this while remembering her outfit from the night before. Her bare legs exposed, his family jewels responded to the thought and he shook his head a bit to clear his mind.
~A seductress, she's clearly a seductress who likes to make people uncomfortable. How can such a woman look so innocent making me want to protect her when she could easily snap my neck.~
Niyad sighed, then turned in his duvet. He had moved back to his room to sleep tonight. He stared at the wall worrying about what tomorrow might bring.
~I guess taking her as my master would be beneficial, I could stop living as carefully as I am right now once my cultivation level improves, it will stop my mother from worrying so much.~
~Fine I'll do it. He got up from his duvet and changed his clothes. He had planned to run away tonight but after thinking about it for a while. He was sure that Sercy would be able to find him easily, plus it might make her feel offended and kill him.~
"I think he decided to stay little one." Count's voice came from thin air. No one would be able to see him.
"Hmn" Sercy answered.
"What would you have done if he decided to run away?" Count asked curiously.
"I'd leave him be." She said softly before vanishing from the corner of the room.
Niyad, who was at the river, examined his environment before entering meditation. The moment he closed his eyes Sercy appeared before, her white gown fluttering in the wind. She examined his face then sat in front of him without announcing her arrival. Her face wore a contemplative expression almost as if she were trying to solve a puzzle. After staring at him for a few minutes, she cleared her throat to announce her presence. Niyad's eyes snapped open and he shivered a bit when he made eye contact with Sercy. "You're on time. Sit still, I'm going to trace your meridians and make a diagram that matches how they are laid out in your body. Like mine, your veins are in a different pattern from humans so their cultivation methods would be useless to you. It's surprising that you even made it this far without ki
Sercy sat in her quarters brushing her hair constantly, her eyes were out of focus. She no longer wore her veil and the knife Niyad had given her was on the floor. She had discarded it the moment she entered the room. Almost an hour had passed since she sat there brushing her long silky hair repeatedly as if in a trance. This was something Count hadn't seen her do for Decades. An action only done like this when her mind was clustered or she was upset about something. He started pacing in the room before asking. "You're upset?" -"Yes." "Why?" -"That's what's upsetting me even more." Sercy's tone was flat. "That he was able to mak
After entering the house his mother exited his room looking a bit jittery. "Where did you go all night?" "To train." "Your cultivation level, it's much lower than it was before, and what happened to your clothes, why is there blood? " A worried look was on her face as she started to examine his body. "I'm fine mother, it's just that I had to start from scratch in order to cultivate the method master gave me. So I punctured my dantian to let the Qi leak out. " "You idiot, you could have just guided it out of your body. Wait- Master? I thought." Niyad smiled weakly, then walked away. "That would take too long, I have to reach the
Kiro, ruler of the Southern Kingdom sat on his throne fuming angrily. Five days ago the heads of two thousand soldiers were placed outside the royal palace. It was a direct slap to his face as the king. Someone was able to get into his territory and kill two thousand soldiers then place them directly in front of his palace without alerting anyone. What made him even more upset was that all the soldiers killed were cultivators and one of them was his third son. There was a note stuffed in his mouth that read. 'The Kingdom of Blenheim always pays its debts- The Jade Queen' He knew some form of retaliation would after they trespassed into the Blenheim territory, but he didn't expect it to come so soon or in such fashion. <
~Two of them!! How the hell am I to lose two of them? It's even more impossible to fight!~ He quickly checked the cultivation of the other beast and saw it was at the mid stage of the ivory realm. ~The only way I can survive this is if I kill the weaker beast first then focus all my attention on getting away from the second beast.~ Touching his storage ring, a bow and arrow appeared in his hands. He suddenly turned to face the weaker beast then took aim at it. Coating the arrow with his Ivory realm energy, he pulled the bow back then fired. Not waiting to see the outcome he got up and started sprinting again. The beast howled soundlessly as the arrow pierced it through its neck rupturing the larynx. It fell motionless and the arrow embedded itself in the tree behind it. A slightly surprised look was on Count's face as he watched from a distance. ~This silverback spirit wolf is not from this area, how did he know that its neck was a weakness?~ After creating a large enough distan
The man raised his palm and a flame appeared. Niyad's eyes widened as he struggled trying to free himself, but the much stronger man wasn't phased. He moved the flame towards Niyad's head with the intention of burning him alive. "Halt!" a voice came from above them. The guard who recognized the voice immediately paused looking behind him. There, a man clad in adamantium armor stood above the city walls. The guard shivered a bit before bowing in respect. "General, this imbecile from the Blenheim region was found wandering in our territory." The general's eyes twitched a bit as his attention moved to Niyad. ~Blenheim? ~ "Release hi
Count left Niyad unsure of what to do with himself, so he started backing away slowly, "I'll take my leave." He bowed then turned to walk away but a force held him in place making it impossible for him to move. His body became weightless as a strong force picked him up, moving him towards the King. Kiro placed his left palm on Niyad's forehead, getting ready to soul search him. This was an attempt to access Niyad’s memories to reveal any secrets he may have. Niyad's eyes became lifeless as sharp pain stabbed into his mind. Kiro sent his spiritual sense into Niyad's mind trying to peel away at his defenses so he could view his memories but the only thing he saw in the boy's head was darkness. Two glowing red eyes suddenly appeared in that darkness and the temperature
Niyad moved his aching left arm in a circular motion; His body felt horrible after sleeping on the hard floor. Before him was the cultivation academy that the General had advised him to attend. Checking that his light blue robes were properly straightened he approached the huge gates of the academy. On either side of them stood statues of men holding a scroll similar to the one on his identity medallion. When he arrived at the gates he nodded slightly to greet the guards then showed them his medallion. The guard nodded back to him, signaling that it was fine for him to go in. Upon entering the academy his mouth hung open in awe. He had never seen a building so big and exquisite up close. Sure there were large buildings in Blenheim's city but he was from a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom. He never really had a close look at them. <