Tainted Blood

by Tinalynge

  Did they also have more eyes than normal?

  While the four of them were in deep thought about the many-eyed people, confused about where they might have ended up, the guard that had led them there returned, this time with an elderly man who had four eyes.

  The man was being treated extremely respectfully by everyone on his way over, so Xue Wei understood that he had a high standing.

  He stopped in front of Xue Wei and his friends. His eyes swept over them and although there was a slight sense of superiority in his eyes, he did not show direct disdain for them.

  “I hear you are from the Chang’an Continent?” he asked. Xue Wei nodded his head and answered, “Yes, we hail from the Continent of Chang’an. Could you, sir, perhaps tell us where this is?”

  “This is Yan Dalu.” the man said, causing Xue Wei to be completely confused. “Yan Dalu?” he asked. “Not the Demon Phoenix Continent?”

  The four-eyed elder snickered when he heard this. He shook his head. “I am afraid that if you were going for the Demon Phoenix Continent, then you will be disappointed. This continent is called Yan Dalu.”

  “Yan Dalu is not far from the Demon Phoenix Continent, but it takes around a year to travel across the sea. Not to mention that you would have to cross the entire continent first. Also, your strength is not bad, but compared to the strength needed at the Demon Phoenix Continent, it is definitely insufficient.”

  “I think you should praise the lucky star that you arrived here and not on the Demon Phoenix Continent. Had you arrived there, you would have been in for a lot of trouble.”

  “It was not a lucky star that brought us here, but Lan,” Xue Wei muttered, but his voice was so low that no one heard him. The four-eyed elder continued talking unabated. It was clear that he was feeling excitement because of these people who came from outside the continent.

  “Yan Dalu is quite different from most of the other continents,” he began. “First, let me tell you a bit about the history of the world from way before it became a continent. Around ten thousand years ago, it was possible to have mixed races. Many different halfbreeds and mutations were produced, no one really cared about what race you were: as long as there was love, there would be a way.”

  “The ancestors of Yan Dalu were such figures. They were a mixture between Golden-Crowned Five-Eyed Lions and humans. The Golden-Crowned Five-Eyed Lion is now an extinct race, but they were a Primordial Beast. The king of all Primordial Beasts, even.”

  “Many of these descendants had a mutation. They seemed human, but they had more eyes than normal humans. The more eyes one had, the purer one’s bloodline was.

  “One’s bloodline does not only determine one’s ability and achievements in the future, but it also gave us outstanding powers and innate abilities.”

  “All of these descendants ended up becoming overlords of a region of the world. Then some thousand years ago, the world was split into continents, and that was when our region was turned into a continent of its own.”

  “On this continent, one’s rank in society is determined by how many eyes one is born with.”

  “One eye means that there is something wrong up there, and they are usually considered crippled or braindead.”

  “Two eyes is normal. ninety percent of the population has two eyes. Some of them are normal humans, some of them just do not have a lot of the bloodline. Either way, they are all third-rate citizens.”

  “Three eyes means that you have some talent. It is guaranteed that you will one day unlock the first of our three innate abilities.”

  “Four eyes mean you are outstanding. It is rare to be born with four eyes, and when you have four eyes, you have to accept a rank of nobility alongside responsibility for certain tasks.”

  “Finally, we have the five-eyed experts. They are children sent from the heavens. All the upper echelons of our society belong to the five-eyed experts. They are second to none when it comes to natural talent, and they have managed to unlock all the innate abilities.”

  “Now, I have explained to you the basic understanding of Yan Dalu. Why don’t you come with me to the camp? We would be very happy if you would accompany us back to the Garden of Shadows later, but first, we must finish our training here. You can participate if you wish.”

  “Oh right, I forgot to tell you, but I can sense from you that three of you specialize in Qi and not spiritual energy. In our culture, spiritual energy is the king. Qi is also trained, but never to the degree that we train spiritual energy. Everyone with three or more eyes has a great affinity with spiritual energy due to the psychic nature of the eyes.”

  Xue Wei did not consider much. This man had been incredibly accommodating and they had understood a lot of things thanks to him. If he had any ulterior motives, he would not have been so welcoming, so joining him would be much better than leaving on their own and getting lost.

  Seeing that Xue Wei had decided, the other three quickly consented as they had the same opinion as him.

  As they agreed, the smile of the four-eyed man turned brilliant and he introduced himself, “I am Elder Sun. I am the Vice-Principal of the Garden of Shadows.”

  “We, the higher-ups of the Yan Dalu, are fond of visitors from overseas, so we look forward to hearing about what kind of continent Chang’an is.”

  Xue Wei nodded his head. He had no reason not to tell them about Chang’an. As long as he elegantly glossed over the fact that he was a wanted man, everything would be fine.

  It also seemed as if the Chang’an Continent was rather isolated compared to the other continents. Here on Yan Dalu, they knew the location of the Demon Phoenix Continent, and they might even know more about the other continents as well, whereas on Chang’an, most people thought that the other continents were just old folklore.

  “Well, while you are here, although you are outsiders, we cannot look past the fact that everyone will look down upon you due to how our society works,” Elder Sun said with a slight grin on his face. “Although our Yan Dalu is unlike the rest of the world with our many eyes, the truth is that everyone with only two eyes, whether they are from our continent or not, will be treated the same way. It means that you are either an ordinary person or one with subpar bloodline purity.”

  “So, what is the relationship between humans and beasts on this continent?” Xue Wei slowly inquired. There were two beasts on their team, him included. If this continent looked down on beasts as well, then he was likely to get into trouble.

  “Beasts?” Elder Sun paused. “Well, Fierce Beasts are not worth a lot,” he said after contemplating, “but Primordial Beasts, depending on their heritage, are treated as three- or four-eyed experts. Outsider Primordial Beasts might not have the bloodline of the Golden-Crowned Five-Eyed Lion, but they have their own abilities and strengths.”

  “Are any of you beasts?” Elder Sun asked curiously, but Xue Wei’s only response was a shrug. He was not going to reveal their secrets just yet. Although he had a good impression of this man, he could not say for sure what the public opinion about Sovereign Beasts was. If he got trapped here, he could only blame himself for not being cautious enough.

  Elder Sun could see that he was not willing to answer, and nodded his head. He did not get insulted by their lack of reply. He had expected it. Although he had been very accommodating and welcoming, no one should let go of their guards just like that.

  “Come with me into the camp, I will introduce you to all the main experts of our camp,and then, if it interests you, you can join us on our field trip from tomorrow onwards. I can highly recommend coming with us - we will even provide you the best accommodations for it. This way, you will have both a place to stay and something to do, right?”

  “There are quite a few experts who are very interested in the outside world, but leaving the continent is harder than it seems. We do not have anyone strong enough to create a normal space tunnel, and not even close to being able to creating a trans-dimensional tunnel, and if they sail out on boats it will take th
em ages to arrive at the right place—and most of those who sail out never return.”

  “A few outsiders have come to our continent throughout the history of time, but those experts either traveled further or gave up and stayed as guests of Yan Dalu.”

  “The only continent we have contact with is, luckily for you, the Demon Phoenix Continent.”

  “I understand that your plan is to travel to the Demon Phoenix Continent, and if you make some contributions to our people, we can help you get onboard the envoy that goes to the Demon Phoenix Continent once every tenth year. You are in luck because the next envoy is only two years away from now.”

  Chapter 40 - Join Us

  Xue Wei felt his head hurt from all the information that was being dumped on him in one go. He decided it was time to get heads and tails of everything that had been said and looked at Elder Sun while straightening his thoughts.

  “So Yan Dalu has contact with the Demon Phoenix Continent, but only once every tenth year?” he started out asking. Elder Sun nodded his head.

  The Elder had realized that he had been a bit too hasty with his explanation, but he had been very eager to make them stay for those two years. There were some secrets on Yan Dalu that the common people did not know about, but as a member of the higher echelons of society and as the vice-principal of Garden of Shadows, he was aware of most of these secrets.

  “There are now two years until the next delegation will be sent to the Demon Phoenix Continent, and if we contribute enough, we will be allowed to tag along on the boat?” Xue Wei continued. Elder Sun once more nodded his head, while also adding: “Not only will you be allowed on the boat, you will also be treated as a great guest. A guest like that will have a much easier time in the Demon Phoenix Continent than if you had to fight for your standing from the get go.”

  Now it was Xue Wei’s turn to nod his head. Being regarded as esteemed guests from outside in the Demon Phoenix Continent would definitely be a great benefit for when they were aiming for the Thunder Flame Crown.

  “So, until then we are to stay in Yan Dalu the next two years and rake in merits. However, how can we do so? Is there a war ongoing on the continent or are there some other kind of issues that need help to be dealt with?”

  This was the point that worried Xue Wei the most. How exactly could they earn merit points? This continent seemed very calm compared to Chang’an. There was no war for supremacy, and the hierarchy was already properly established.

  “Merits can be earned in many ways,” Elder Sun smiled. “One of these ways is to participate in the event we have ongoing now, but only students can participate so I need you to swear a heavenly oath to never betray the Garden of Shadows before you can: the oath is quite flexible though, it states that as long as the Garden of Shadows does not treat you unfairly, you cannot betray it. However should we treat you unfairly, then we are the ones who have betrayed you.”

  Xue Wei frowned. Was this not too good a situation for him and his friends? What was it exactly that this Elder Sun wanted from them? His personality seemed very friendly, to the point that it was suspicious.

  Looking at Bai Tianyi, Lin Xiao, and Hei Gou, he noticed that all of them were looking at him with the same suspicion in their eyes. They wanted Xue Wei to take the final decision, and this was something that weighed heavily on his mind.

  “I understand your worry,” Elder Sun said understandingly. He looked at Xue Wei but did not pressure him. He was willing to wait for Xue Wei to reach a decision on his own.

  Truthfully, it was his personal wish that he joined the Garden of Shadows. It was not necessary for Xue Wei and his comrades to do that.

  “It is easier to gain merit points while being in our academy,” Elder Sun said after a bit of time. “We give out missions that you can take and earn merit points, which you can then use to exchange for various things.”

  “Do it,” Bai Tianyi was the first to speak. “Just make sure to include that the academy cannot betray you. Then it doesn’t matter if you cannot betray them either.”

  “Yeah, we were not planning on staying here for two years, but considering the fact that they only send out a delegation every tenth year, this is already considered fortunate,” Hei Gou added.

  Xue Wei then looked at Lin Xiao, who shrugged his shoulders. “I have always wanted to go to school,” he grinned, looking rather excited.

  Seeing the support he was getting from his three friends, Xue Wei could not help but chuckle and nod his head. “Okay,” he said after a bit of time. “We will do it like that, then.”

  Elder Sun was excited to hear that Xue Wei agreed. This was without a doubt what he had been wishing for.

  “Follow me,” he said with a big grin on his four-eyed face and turned to enter the camp. The other people in the camp gave them disdainful scowls as they passed by.

  Even if they were outsiders, they only had two eyes. It was clear to these people that having only two eyes meant they were lesser.

  “This is almost as bad as the beast war on Chang’an,” Hei Gou muttered when he saw the clear contempt that these experts felt for them.

  There were many experts with three eyes among the inhabitants here. In fact, ninety-five percent of the people who they saw had three eyes, while the final five had four. They did not encounter anyone with five eyes, but when Xue Wei brought up this question, Elder Sun looked at him as if he heard the biggest joke.

  “Five eyes are the monarchs around here,” he said seriously. “Anyone who is born with five eyes will instantly be adopted by the Emperor, becoming royalty. Their talent is so outstanding and their abilities are otherworldly. They cannot be sent out on a mission like this.”

  Xue Wei finally understood that the five-eyed experts were incredibly rare. “How many five-eyed experts exist?” He asked curiously, half expecting that Elder Sun would not answer as it could be considered a secret of their continent.

  Unexpectedly, Elder Sun did not hesitate and answered right away, “We have a full two hundred and seven five-eyed experts right now. Although the number sounds like a lot, we have to remember that this continent has billions of people. To only have two hundred and seven already shows how rare they are.”

  At first, Xue Wei had indeed thought that two hundred and seven was a high number, but when it was put into the perspective of the continent’s total population, it was indeed very few.

  Continuing forward, they reached the middle of the camp. Many were looking curiously at them at the beginning, especially since Vice-Principal Sun had brought them himself, but when they saw that the four only had two eyes each, all of them lost their interest.

  Even if there was a chance that they could be Primordial Beasts, their rank would still be beneath the three, four and five-eyed experts due to their bloodline being different.

  Xue Wei and the others ignored the contempt that was sent their way. Their aloof behavior caused the many-eyed experts to feel perplexed and rather shocked. No one with only two eyes had previously been so casual in front of them!

  Some snorted with arrogance and swore that they would get back at them with time, others were amazed and felt that perhaps these experts were different and yet some did not care.

  Elder Sun was astounded by the fact that Xue Wei and his comrades were capable of completely ignoring the many people who looked down upon them. Apparently their mental fortitude was much stronger than he had expected.

  It required some mental fortitude to completely ignore such a large quantity of disdain.

  “Come inside this tent and take your oath,” Elder Sun said smilingly. “We will explain the details of the mission to you when you have taken the oath.”

  “Okay.” Having already decided upon what to do, Xue Wei did not cause a fuss or question the oath. He had already accepted it, and he was not one to change his mind.

  Seeing his straightforward way of acting, Elder Sun was very pleased and felt incredibly satisfied.

  This tent was ten times bigger than the ot
her tents. When they entered inside, they saw that multiple walls of fabric had been erected, splitting the tent into different ‘rooms’ and that there were people in some of these rooms.

  Xue Wei, who had trained with formations, could instantly sense that there were formations all over the tent; every room was covered in multiple formations he had never seen before.

  Noticing Xue Wei’s glance at the many runes that had been inscribed on the fabric around the tents, a chuckle escaped Elder Sun’s lips.

  “Have you dabbled in formations before?” He asked as he saw the curiosity in Xue Wei’s eyes. Xue Wei, not hiding this fact, nodded his head.

  “I have indeed had something to do with formations before, but I cannot recognize these formations,” he admitted.

  “Here in Yan Dalu we specialize in spiritual energy. The more eyes you have, the more talented you are in spiritual energy. Those who cultivate Qi as their main base for cultivation are often looked down upon. However, even if a two-eyed cultivates spiritual energy, they will never have a high standing compared to their many-eyed counterparts. Also, those who cultivates Qi are mainly those with two eyes.”