The Secret of The Demonic Artifact

A Hope.

The sound of cackling filled the entire cave, echoing and causing fear. A foul stench came out of the figure's mouth as it brought its head closer to Eadric Rong, only half a meter away from his face.

"Are you deaf? Didn't you hear my words?" his voice echoed again, sounding like an ancient voice from another world.

Eadric Rong naturally shivered with fear.

The ugly face, the long and tangled hair. And the most terrifying thing was those empty eyes, as if they were moving and observing him. Eadric Rong felt like he was being interrogated. His mind quickly moved. "No matter what, I have to stay alive! The safest answer is the one I'll use."

Subconsciously, still trembling, Eadric Rong replied, "My name is Eadric Rong. An outer court disciple, even if I can be considered a mere worker disciple..."

Eadric Rong could feel the figure's hand grip loosening. "He softened when he learned I wasn't a core disciple."

"Does Zhang Shi Dao still lead the Wudang Sect?" asked the hideous old figure, his tone cold at the mention of Zhang Shi Dao's name.

"N-no, sir. Zhang Shi Dao's ancestor has long since died. Sect Leader Isaac Zhang currently leads the Wudang Sect!"

Instantly, the grip on Eadric Rong's neck was released when the figure knew that Zhang Shi Dao was dead.

Eadric Rong fell onto the hard, rough floor of the cave. He held his neck, which must have been bruised blue by now.

There was silence for a moment. Eadric Rong thought about escaping from the cave, while the monstrous figure seemed silent, like a dazed person. Occasionally, the older man could be heard whispering as if regretting.

Eadric Rong had just shifted his feet two steps closer to the mouth of the cave when suddenly, the old voice spoke without turning his head. His tone was cold and expressionless.

"Boy! Now tell me. How come the Pearl Core, something essential for a practitioner to debut within the cultivator world... that you don't have?" asked the mysterious figure.

As he spoke, he turned his face to Eadric Rong. Suddenly, Eadric Rong's knees went limp, unable to move. The child drooped helplessly as if an invisible force had weakened him.

"Wretch! This older man is a monster! Perhaps he is one of those martial arts grandfathers who are said to be hiding themselves and don't want to be recognized in the outside world. How is it that in just one glance, I'm left helpless?" Eadric Rong complained as he fell to his knees at the feet of the older man.

After gathering his courage, Eadric Rong explained, "Master... As far as I know, I know my existence in this world. I already don't have a Pearl Core like other people have.

That's why, despite training hard and wanting to become a disciple in the Wudang Sect, my position is nothing more than a worker disciple. I'll probably be expelled from the sect soon for lack of talent!"

While speaking, suddenly, tears welled up in the little boy's eyes. He was crying not out of sadness but annoyance at why his fate was so bad. He had a talent like the other children who were real outer court disciples, even inner court disciples.

He was called an outer court disciple but was treated as an ordinary worker disciple.

Please note that at the time this story takes place, to become a so-called cultivator or warrior, the most basic thing was to have a Pearl Core and good bones.

The Pearl Core is required to collect energy from the air currents moving on earth, gather it into the Pearl Core, and then convert it into energy or power.

Instead, this world has five types of bone talents: Wolf Bone, Tiger Bone, Bear Bone, Qilin Bone, and God Dragon Bone.

This Eadric Rong has the worst of the worst talents. Never mind that the only bones he had were Wolf Bones; another bitter reality was that he didn't have a Pearl Core. Tell me how he can't become sad.

The knowledge and techniques he learned only looked beautiful when executed. However, they had no content.

He was very proficient thanks to his craft of always practicing one technique repeatedly. However, once the battle lasted more than ten moves, the emptiness of all the sword techniques he unleashed that looked beautiful and terrifying had no content. It had no power because it did not contain pure air energy, and his innate bones were fragile—Wolf Bones.

Hearing the little kid in front of him suddenly sob sadly, the older man's figure snorted coldly. His words in a low tone sounded in Eadric Rong's ears.

"Those poor-quality Wolf Bones you have can be fixed by practicing and cultivating using the best techniques from the martial world. But how can it not have a Pearl Core? You're like a fruit, but the inside is empty!"

The older man's taunts made Eadric Rong's heart ache even more.

For too long, he had pondered and regretted why he was so unfortunate. He received so many curses and was not given the chance to become a cultivator. Heaven was so unfair!

Looking at the little boy who turned sad, the older man snorted coldly. He said without the slightest pity, "Boy! What are you crying for? You can't change your heavenly destiny. Holding the Pearl Core in your dantian is an impossible thing."

Eadric Rong's heart grew even sadder. The older man's words seemed to slap him in the face. He became quiet and no longer cried, but his heart remained sad.

Silence engulfed the cave. People who didn't know each other no longer spoke.

"Truly, there is still one path, one last chance you can have. However, this path is very miserable... Would a child as small as you be willing to suffer for the Pearl Core?"

The terrifying foreign figure's words rang like thunder in Eadric Rong's ears. His heart raced, which meant he still had hope of becoming a cultivator or warrior.

Putting his fear aside, Eadric Rong rushed over to the older man. Suddenly, all the weakness in his body disappeared instantly. Without realizing it, he was already near and kneeling at the figure's feet.

"Elder... Tell me how I can get the Pearl Core?"

Continued