Child of Destiny

…

Shin had been trying to sense if something had changed within him since he logged out of the game. He was expecting that what happened within the game had affected his senses once again, just like before. But to his disappointment, nothing seemed to have changed at all.

He was sitting at the center of the room, just finished meditating. But after not finding anything, he could only sigh and stand up, planning to resume his current training.

Clank!

At that time, the door of the room suddenly opened followed by the entrance of an old man, walking with the support of his cane.

Seeing the old man, Shin quickly paused and greeted him. “Good morning, Sir.”

Old Ryong, who saw Shin preparing for his training, nodded in satisfaction before gesturing for the young man to come over. He then looked for a chair to sit on while waiting.

When Shin arrived, Old Ryong squinted his eyes while looking at Shin before nodding once again. “Not bad. It seems like you are doing well.”

He then paused for a moment as he thought about something before continuing. “I will not be able to oversee everything on your training due to our current circumstances. I will only drop by from time to time to see your progress while also giving you a few pointers here and there.”

“But most of the time, I will be leaving an entire training plan that you need to follow or ask Henry to draw up a new plan.”

He took another pause when he saw Shin’s confused gaze before explaining. “You should know that we can’t be in contact with each other that much. It is best if we avoid meeting like this much as we can.”

Shin became even more confused when he heard that, making the old man knit his brow. Then the latter realized what was going on and explained further. “Ah! That is right. You don’t come in contact with the possessor of Seed of Hatred that much.”

“Seeds of Hatred is a special existence or power that is born from negative emotions, particularly wrath and hatred. I am sure that you are already aware of it, so I will not say anything about that much.”

“Instead, I will explain some of the relationships between these seeds, and what will happen if people with seeds in their hearts meet each other often.”

“Mostly, it is because the seeds can be attracted to one another. And usually, it is the weaker ones that are getting drawn to the superior seed subconsciously.”

“If the weaker seed got exposed a little too much with the stronger seed, the person who possessed the latter commonly becomes corrupted and becomes a mindless monster.”

Old Ryong materialized a scenario through his Materialization Technique, showing what he explained to Shin for a better understanding.

He showed Shin a couple of scenarios before continuing. “As you already know. I am also a possessor of a Seed of Hatred. But unlike you, I have already conquered my inner Demon and already keep it under control.”

“But you are different. You are still in the stage of trying to conquer it. If the demon sealed within that seed is unleashed without you being fully ready to face it, you will be most likely to get consumed by it.”

“It will be easier to solve if you are a Demonic Practitioner just like me. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not only you are a Kaleidoscope Mentalist, but you are also a unique Martial Artists, who wields two different kinds of Internal Qi.”

“Your case is completely different from mine, so you have to be careful with everything.”

“I can help you suppress it from time to time, but that is only a temporary solution. Once the seed has become more accustomed to my energy, I can no longer inject my Demonic Qi to suppress it.”

“Instead, I will only be helping it grow much stronger, which is very dangerous for you.”

Shin fell silent when he heard that, understanding the gravity of his current situation. This was the first time he met someone with a seed just like his own, so it was news to him.

“You will not have any problem if the seed of the other people near you is on the same level as yours. But you will be in trouble if it is someone with stronger seed or higher achievement in Mentalism or Martial Arts,” continued the old man.

“Your Mentalism Method happens to be suppressing your seed and able to nurture your mental strength, particularly the Jade Kirin Scripture.”

“Not only that, but this particular mental training method is also applicable to your Martial Arts. I suggest you train this Jade Kirin Scripture more so that you can minimize all the risks that you will be facing in the future.”

Old Ryong continued to tell Shin more about the Seed of Hatred and instructed the young man on what he needed to do in different situations.

“You just have to remember two things. Avoid getting involved with people who have a seed of hatred, particularly anyone with higher cultivation or achievements in martial arts. Then always keep an eye on your seed and take note of any changes that it has.”

“If you have any strange discovery, no matter how small and insignificant it is, contact any elder around you. It is best if you can look for Henry, me, the Martial King when it happens,” he emphasized in a grave tone, making Shin nod his head heavily.

After giving a few more lectures to Shin, Old Ryong finally stood up and prepared to leave. “Alright, that is all for now. I will come back again once I hear that you have already mastered at least ten different wills and can infuse them with your sword.”

“I will teach you more interesting things once that time comes,” he added before leaving the training room.

Shin, on the other hand, quickly when to train. His mind was a little occupied with the lecture that Old Ryong had given him, but he did not let it distract him too much and affect his training.

However, he was quite bothered about another thing. From his observation, it seemed like the old man was quite ill. He was not sure what it was, but he knew that Old Ryong must be suffering from a serious injury.

He could not bring himself to ask about it since it was his third time seeing the old man, and he felt not they were not that close and comfortable with each other to pry on each other’s business.

He wondered how the old man had gotten injured when he was stronger than a bull when they last met yesterday.

He was quite curious about what happened and a little worried at the same time.

Regardless, he trusted Old Ryong that he could handle it since he looked more reliable compared to his other two masters.

Throwing that thought at the back of his head, he continued his training, which was progressing quite smoothly.

***

Boom!

In an abandoned temple somewhere in the Central Region of the Soaring Continent, a battle between three people was currently taking place.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

David rolled on the ground as he dodged a series of attacks that were trying to take his life. The floor of the already ruined temple collapsed due to the series of impacts that it was unable to endure.

When David saw that he was already about to reach the corner of the room that he was currently in, he suddenly pushed the ground and sent himself propelling in the air.

Swoosh!

Bang!

He then sent an energy wave that created a hole in the wooden wall of the temple before jumping toward it.

Swoosh!

Behind him, a silhouette of a person covered with black and crimson aura chased after him. This person’s speed was so fast that a fist was already zooming in front of David’s face right after he landed on the ground.

“F*ck!” he cursed as he summoned a Mental Energy wall in front of him while reinforcing it with more energy that came out from both of his hands.

Boom!

The Mental Energy Wall instantly collapsed with just a single hit while David was sent flying away by the powerful impact.

Swoosh!

David quickly adjusted himself in the air by twisting his body and spinning midair.

Ta-ta!

He slid back right after his foot touched the ground. Dust flew everywhere as his foot skidded on the ground, drawing long and deep trails on it.

The moment when he stopped himself from moving further, he quickly took a stance. He spread his legs and moved his feet away from each other while his hands circled in the air, leaving a trail of glowing mental energy through its trajectory.

When his hands were about to meet in front of his chest, the energy covering them suddenly intensified and brilliantly released a light that illuminated the surroundings.

His hands stopped with his palms facing one another, inches away from each other.

Hong!

A golden sphere of light suddenly appeared right in between his palms before circles of pulsing repulsive force came out from it. It pushed the air around David and prevented anything from approaching him.

Swoosh!

It was at that moment when the person that was chasing after him earlier suddenly jumped out of the cloud of dust and charged at him.

Bang!

But before that person could even approach David, they bumped into the repulsive force that the sphere of light had released. It sent the person slamming into the ground.

Bang!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Then black chains suddenly emerged from the ground and circled that person. They moved as if they were alive, resembling the movements of snakes, and wrapped themselves around the limbs of the person lying on the ground.

David, who just retracted his stance, quickly leaped in the air while raising a palm blade above his head. His arm was currently covered with Divinity Grade Mental Energy, forming a sword extending from his hand.

“Vincent, you better hold him tightly this time,” he shouted as he descended and swung his hand down.

Vicent, who was currently standing at the other end of the chains, tightly held the black chains wrapped around his cousin. “Do you think I am slacking off? This guy just has a monstrous strength!”

He was in the middle of talking back when the chains were tugged from the other end and started dragging him.

“F*ck!” he cursed as he lowered his stance and pulled harder while shouting. “Just do your job and knock him out already!”

“What do you think am I doing?” snarled David back as he swung the Mental Energy Sword.

But before that energy sword fell, he noticed that something had come out from Jerimiah’s body. It was a black aura with crimson edges, which formed a humanoid figure and blocked his strike.

Boom!

The shockwave spread in every direction, destroying the already ruined temple. Strangely enough, the ceiling remained intact and did not collapse despite the strong force that kept on bombarding it.

Due to strong force, Vincent could not keep his grip and let go of the chains, freeing the berserk Jerimiah once again.

Seeing that, David quickly retreated while cursing. “What heck!? I told you to hold him properly!”

“As if it is easy!” Vincent snarled back before giving chase.

“We must bring him to the surface! I am sure that something is affecting him here, which makes his Killing Star to be awakened!” suggested David as he ran away.

“We have been doing it since earlier, but as you can see, whatever is controlling him is aware of that stupidly obvious plan!” replied Vincent as he appeared right beside David.

“I thought he already had better control over it. How come he became like that? He will turn into a ‘Slaughterer’ if this continues,” said David worriedly before turning to Vincent. “This can’t do. Let’s change roles.”

“You keep him busy while I am preparing a suppression array,” he added while dodging another attack.

There was an unwilling look on Vincent’s face, but he did not refuse. He just slightly tilted his head to the side while saying. “That is more annoying.”

“You are faster than me, anyway. Take him for a walk,” said David before dashing toward another direction.

The berserk Jerimiah was about to chase after him when Vincent suddenly turned around and obstructed the path. “Alright, my cousin. Let’s do this the old way.”

…