by KSY
In the meantime, the Horned viper opened its eyes as it sensed Ryan approaching near its resting place just like a gullible deer fawn. The Horned viper was able to gauge Ryan’s Cultivation Level and knew that they had a similar Cultivation Level. The Horned viper decided to launch a surprise attack on Ryan the moment he got into its range. The Horned viper didn’t wish to expend a lot of energy and wished to finish Ryan off with a single attack.
The Horned viper’s head shot out of the bush with lightning speed as Ryan entered its range. Its mouth was wide open, and its black fangs were wholly visible at that moment. The moment the Horned viper launched its attack, Ryan’s body was covered in a green-colored Poisonous aura like that of a Savage beast. The green aura was the after effect of him using his Poison Attribute Spirit Power. Whenever a Spirit Humanoid Martial Artist uses his Spirit Power he or she is covered in an aura of similar Attribute. Ryan’s Poisonous aura looked like a green fog.
In the next instant, Ryan’s body turned into a blur as he dodged, by just a hair’s breadth, the incoming bite-attack from the Horned viper. He had just used a movement-based Martial Skill known as Shadow Steps.
Since ancient times, most Martial Artists have been unable to unseal all the Innate Abilities of their Martial Spirits, which had resulted in Martial Artists lacking powerful moves and skills for attacking their enemies. That situation led to the creation of Martial Skills, which are nothing but the clever use of Elemental Laws. In terms of power, some Martial Skills can compete with the Innate Abilities of dragons and phoenixes, so their prowess can be imagined.
Shadow Steps Martial Skill is a neutral Martial Skill, which means that it doesn’t require the Martial Artist to possess a Martial Spirit of any particular attribute, so it can be practiced by anyone irrespective of the attribute of his or her Martial Spirit.
Spirit Humanoid Martial Skills on Grandura are divided into two broad types: Mortal Martial Skills and Immortal Martial Skills. Both Mortal and Immortal Martial Skills are graded as low, mid and high, based on their ability to increase the combat prowess of the Martial Artist. Shadow Steps Martial Skill is a high-grade Mortal Martial Skill, as it increases the speed of the Martial Artist exponentially.
The Horned viper was dumbstruck by Ryan’s speed, but quickly regained its composure. Its head changed direction at lightning speed and was again aiming for Ryan. Ryan again used his Shadow Steps Martial Skill to dodge the bite attack from the Horned viper, but this time he launched a counter-attack.
He unsheathed his dagger tied to his waist and stabbed it into the Horned viper’s neck. The dagger was also covered in green Poisonous aura like the one that shrouded him, because Ryan had channeled his Poison Attribute Spirit Power into the dagger. When the dagger struck the neck of the Horned viper, it failed to even leave a mark on the Horned viper’s tough body and on seeing this, Ryan quickly retreated. He looked at his dagger whose blade had developed numerous cracks after this exchange with the Horned viper.
The Horned viper hissed angrily as it slithered towards Ryan at a horrendous fast speed. Ryan sighed as the aura around his body started to increase. His green aura started to resemble more and more that of a savage beast and the air surrounding him became fiendishly toxic. His green aura then transformed into a green serpent that was around one meter in length and as thick as a human arm. The green serpent floated above Ryan’s head. This was Ryan’s Martial Spirit. All Martial Spirits possesses the ability to fly whether the beings they resemble possess that ability or not. The Green Serpent Martial Spirit coiled around Ryan’s body, and the Horned viper halted in its path when it saw the Green Serpent Martial Spirit.
Ryan’s Martial Spirit resembled an Elemental Beast known as an Emerald viper, an Ancient Elemental Beast. This beast is known for its toxicity and bodily toughness. Even a dragon would have a hard time injuring it, and it is famous for being able to easily kill Divine Elemental Beasts with its poisons. It is generally found on Divine Worlds, but its descendants with low and mid-grade bloodline purity can be found on higher worlds like Grandura.
Spirit Humanoid Martial Artists can conjure their Martial Spirits from the Early Elite Realm onwards, and the conjured Martial Spirits can fight alongside them. Conjured Martial Spirits look exactly like the real thing, even though their bodies are made up of aura. Their aura bodies have toughness and strength like the bodies of the beings they resemble. A considerable amount of Spirit Power is consumed, each time a Spirit Humanoid Martial Artist conjures his or her Martial Spirit’s in the real world. The stats of a Martial Artist get a massive boost and his combat prowess goes up after conjuring his or her Martial Spirit. No matter how many times the Martial Spirit’s aura body gets destroyed during a fight, the Martial Spirit can be conjured again, so long as the Martial Artist has enough Spirit Power. Martial Spirits are immortal while their hosts are alive.
A conjured Martial Spirit can only use its body plus any Innate Abilities that has been unsealed by the Martial Artist for combat. This is a powerful reason why most Martial Artists wish to unseal the Innate Abilities of their Martial Spirits, even though they can use Martial Skills as an alternative. The combat strength and powers of a Martial Spirit directly depend on the number of Innate Abilities it’s unsealed. A Martial Spirit with many unsealed Innate Abilities is far more powerful and terrifying during a fight than one with fewer unsealed Innate Abilities.
The Horned viper being a Normal Elemental Beast naturally feared an Ancient Elemental Beast. It immediately changed direction, and fled from Ryan, but was soon stopped by the energy barrier that had been erected by Oscar earlier. It repeatedly attacked the barrier to crack it open, but nothing worked. Ryan sneered upon seeing this.
“Dargar, use Emerald fog,” Ryan said to his Martial Spirit with a big smile on his face. Dargar opened its mouth and spat out a cloud of green fog which filled the space inside the barrier. When the Emerald fog dissipated the Horned viper had turned into a pile of bones, while the area inside the barrier was no different from a barren land. Not even a blade of grass survived due to its toxicity.
Emerald fog is the trademark Innate Ability of the Emerald viper. This fog is highly toxic and is deadly to beings that are in the same sub-realm as the Emerald viper or lower. Even antidotes don’t work on such victims, and only death awaits them. This is the specialty of this Innate Ability. Even beings with a Cultivation Level above the Emerald viper by a sub-realm need to take an antidote after getting infected by Emerald fog, otherwise even they’ll end up dead after some time. This alone speaks a lot about the toxicity of Emerald fog.
Ryan had gained this Innate Ability when he had stepped into the Early Mortal Elite Realm. Every Spirit Humanoid Martial Artist gains an Innate Ability after stepping into the Early Mortal Elite Realm unconditionally. This is one of the strongest Innate Abilities of Emerald vipers, so Ryan was lucky to have gained it with such ease.
Ryan approached the bones of the Horned viper and picked up a fist-sized black crystal orb that was lying amongst them. It was an Elemental Core, the powerhouse of an Elemental Beast. Every Elemental Beast possesses one, as it performs similar functions to the Soul Cores of Spirit Humanoid Races and all its cultivation is concentrated in it. Elemental Cores can be used for cultivation or alchemy, as they contain a large quantity of Elemental Energy, the quality of which directly depends on the Cultivation Level of the Elemental Beast. The quality of the Elemental Energy contained inside the Elemental Core of the Horned viper was quite low, as it was only a Mortal Elite Beast Realm Elemental Beast. As cultivation speed is reduced from using low-quality Elemental Energy, it was of not much use to Ryan.
“Dargar, return for now,” Ryan recalled Dargar to his Soul World. The savage beast-like Poisonous aura that had covered his body disappeared along with the return of Dargar to his Soul World. Ryan sent his consciousness into the Elemental Core and scanned it. He was trying to find a Poison Elemental Law fragment inside the Elemental Core, though the chance of finding one was minimal, give
n that the Horned viper’s Cultivation Level was quite low. He sighed upon not finding any.
Elemental Law fragments are created when an Elemental Beast gains insight into Elemental Laws. Each insight into Elemental Laws leads to the creation of an Elemental Law fragment. Most of the times the Elemental Law fragments disappear with the death of the Elemental Beast but the chances of their not disappearing increase with the increase in the Cultivation Level of the Elemental Beast. By absorbing these Elemental Law fragments, a Spirit Humanoid Martial Artist can quickly increase his or her insight and understanding of the Elemental Laws.
“Grandfather I would like to hunt a few more Elemental Beasts to gain more fighting experience,” Ryan spoke with a smile on his face. The matter of not finding an Elemental Law fragment was quickly forgotten. After all, this was his first time hunting Elemental Beasts, and he had already killed one without any major help from his grandfather.
“OK. Then let’s head a little deeper into the forest to find some more Mortal Elite Realm Elemental Beasts,” Oscar said as he started moving deeper into the Eternal Forest. Ryan quickly followed his grandfather.
A masculine voice resounded in Ryan’s mind as he followed his grandfather.
“Ryan, what about me?” the voice was filled with murderous intent.
“How can I absorb the souls of Dead Elemental Beasts in front of grandfather?” Ryan responded hurriedly to the mysterious entity to which the voice belonged. He knew that this guy lacked patience when it came to collecting souls.
“If you are unable to collect Souls of the dead or Death Elemental Energy then we won’t be able to cultivate Death Elemental Laws,” the mysterious entity said sullenly.
“I will try to collect Souls of the dead Elemental Beasts when Grandfather is not watching over me,” Ryan tried to reason with the mysterious entity.
“OK,” the voice resounded once more, following which there was complete silence. Ryan hurried his pace to keep up with his grandfather but couldn’t help but sigh.
He was a Dual Martial Spirits holder, and yet he couldn’t tell his family or anyone about that. The voice belonged to his second Martial Spirit, but his second Martial Spirit was a Taboo Martial Spirit.
Generally, people with a Taboo Martial Spirit are hated by the people around them and have to live in solitude for their lives. Ryan didn’t want something like that happening to him, so he hid this from his family. His second Martial Spirit was an Asura Martial Spirit. It was a Death Attribute Humanoid Martial Spirit but a Taboo Martial Spirit.
Asuras are demonic beings with six hands, of which four wield weapons, four identical weapons. The Asura Martial Spirit can increase the talent of a Martial Artist in wielding that weapon. Ryan’s Asura Martial Spirit held swords in four of its hands, which meant Ryan would have an exceptional talent in using swords.
Asuras can only be found in Divine Worlds, and they are one of the most powerful existences that can be found on a Divine World. They are born with a Cultivation Level of the Early Immortal Elite Realm which speaks a lot about their Tyrannical strength. In folklore, Asuras are depicted as harbingers of death. It is said that even the Gods fear them and run away in fear. They are also known as God Slayers.
The easiest way to collect Death Elemental Energy for gaining insight and understanding into the Death Elemental Laws is for the Death Attribute Martial Spirit to devour large numbers of Souls of the dead. A Death Attribute Martial Spirit converts the Souls of the dead into Death Elemental Energy, which can then be used for cultivation purpose, as it is quite pure and doesn’t affect the cultivation speed of the Martial Artist.
Ryan wanted to cultivate Death Elemental Laws, but he lacked the necessary resources. This was his biggest obstacle. His family could provide him with the necessary resources, but he had no intention of letting them know about his Taboo Martial Spirit. He intended to cultivate Death Elemental Laws without anyone knowing about it. He finally had a family, which he’d lacked in his former life, so he had no intention of giving them a reason to hate him.
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Ryan had come to the world of Grandura fifteen years before. He was originally from Earth where he used to be a contract killer but due to certain circumstance, he’d died a painful death and ended up reincarnating on Grandura. He’d been a little bit shocked with his sudden death and rebirth into an utterly new and different world, but he quickly accepted the reality, and had a happy childhood in his new life. He was named Ryan in this life by Oscar. He had a loving and caring family which he’d lacked in his former life, but the happy times didn’t last for long.
His father and uncle had mysteriously died one day when he was eight years old, following which his aunt had disappeared and had yet to return. Ryan’s uncle and aunt had had one child whose name was Blake. Ryan’s aunt left Blake, who was seven at that time, in the care of Ryan's mother, whose name was Emilia. Emilia made sure Blake had everything he needed while he grew up and made sure he never missed his parents.
The atmosphere of the house brightened a little when Oscar came home with a new family member. His name was Cris and he was six years old at that time. He was two years younger than Ryan. Ryan was shocked upon meeting his new younger cousin brother. He had always believed that his family only comprised his parents, Uncle, Aunt, Blake and his grandfather, but it turned out that he was wrong. His grandfather and grandmother had eight sons in total. Ryan’s father was his grandfather’s oldest son while Blake’s father was his grandfather’s second-oldest son, and the new entrant to the family, Cris, was the son of his grandfather’s third-oldest son. The rest of the family lived with Ryan’s grandmother. Ryan could already guess some reasons for that but was not sure as his grandfather didn’t speak much about it.
When Ryan was ten, he noticed that his mother and grandfather were hiding their identities from the rest of the world. He would see his grandfather and mother take each step cautiously as if scared that they might be found out. Initially, Ryan thought that his grandfather and mother were just taking precautions as this world was fraught with dangers, but as time passed Ryan felt that a bigger matter was forcing his grandfather and mother to live like that. Ryan made a silent vow to himself at the time that he would help his grandfather and mother in the future when he had sufficient power. He would do everything possible to make their lives easy and comfortable. He wanted to keep his family safe from all sorts of harm.
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By evening, Ryan had hunted nine Early Mortal Beast Elite Elemental Beasts. He knew he could not spend any more time in Eternal Forest as night was fast approaching. That was the most dangerous time to be in Eternal Forest as all the powerful predators of Eternal Forest became active then.
Ryan was currently fighting his tenth opponent, a Scorpion-tailed mouse, which was a Normal Elemental Beast. This one had a high-grade bloodline purity. Since Ryan was able to easily hunt Early Mortal Elite Elemental Beasts, Oscar decided to increase the difficulty. This Scorpion-tailed mouse had a Cultivation Level of Mid Mortal Elite Realm, which was stronger than the previous Elemental Beasts that Ryan had hunted. Its body was four meters long and its tail was six meters long with a sting at its end, but its tail moved around as if it had its own brain. The size difference between Ryan and the Scorpion-tailed mouse made Ryan look like a deer in front of a tiger.
Ryan was using his Shadow Steps Martial Skill to continuously dodge the attacks of the Scorpion-tailed mouse. Ryan had attacked it a number of times, but none of his attacks were effective against it. His dagger was unable to pierce its thick skin.
Ryan had no choice but to conjure Dargar in the middle of the battle. When Dargar was conjured by Ryan the Scorpion-tailed mouse ‘squeaked’ in horror upon seeing it and tried to flee from the fight. On seeing this, Ryan smiled as he commanded Dargar to use the Emerald fog Innate Ability. The Emerald fog released by Dargar was like a ghost as it chased the fleeing Scorpion-ta
iled mouse. This was the specialty of this Innate Ability, so Dargar could control the fog like an extension of its body.
The Scorpion-tailed mouse was remarkably quick-footed as it tried to escape, but Dargar encircled it with Emerald fog on all sides. The Scorpion-tailed mouse shivered as it saw the Emerald fog approaching it. Soon the Emerald fog enveloped the Scorpion-tailed mouse killing it instantly and turning it into a pile of bones.
Ryan approached the pile of bones to collect the Elemental Core of the Scorpion-tailed mouse. His Asura Martial Spirit was unable to control itself anymore and took control of Dargar. The Soul of the Scorpion-tailed mouse which was still lingering around the pile of bones was absorbed by Dargar. Ryan was dumbstruck seeing this, as he’d never expected his Asura Martial Spirit would be able to take control of Dargar and absorb the Soul of a dead creature like that. Ryan quickly recalled Dargar back to his Soul World.
Ryan then sent his consciousness into his Soul World. Since Ryan was a Dual Martial Spirits holder, his Soul World was also divided in two. One side was green in color, while the other was pitch-black. The green side housed Dargar, while the black side housed his Asura Martial Spirit. Each side contained a Soul Core. The green side had a Poison Attribute Soul Core, while the black side had a Death Attribute Soul Core. Each side acted independently, so if Ryan cultivated only Poison Elemental Laws then his Death Attribute Soul Core wouldn’t advance to higher realms of the Martial Path. Since Ryan had two Soul Cores it meant he had two Cultivation Levels. The Soul Core with the higher Cultivation Level would become his primary Soul Core and be perceived by others. They wouldn’t be able to perceive the Cultivation Level of the other Soul Core.
