by KSY
Ryan had had his Asura eyes activated all this time and could see a mocking expression on the face of the White Fiery Serpent within the white flames.
“This Evil Heavenly flame sure is overconfident,” Ryan thought to himself as he smirked at the Devil’s flame.
The Evil Heavenly flame was taken aback for a second. It felt as if Ryan was able to see the physical form it had taken with his red eyes. Generally, Martial Artists only see blazing flames when they look at Heavenly flames and are unable to see the physical form the Heavenly flame has taken until the Heavenly flame wishes to show it. The Evil Heavenly flame ignored its suspicion as it waited patiently for Ryan to start absorbing it. It would then enjoy seeing him die.
Oscar dropped Ryan on the lava surface about two meters away from the Devil’s flame. Ryan used his Spirit Power to stay afloat on the lava as he slowly approached the Devil’s Flame. Generally, Heavenly flames erupt when someone tries to get close to it but this Heavenly flame didn’t do so – it looked at Ryan with contempt and disdain. It didn’t wish to waste its energy over a small fry like Ryan, who was still an Early Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist. Even Immortals had died when they’d tried absorbing it, so how could it fear a human child? The Devil’s flame was certain that Ryan would die the moment he tried to absorb it.
“This Devil’s flame will definitely regret underestimating me,” Ryan thought to himself as he placed both his hands within it. The moment Ryan did so his body was engulfed in white flames, but he had a tranquil expression all the while. Ryan’s clothes were burned to nothingness within a few moments, but the white flames were unable to harm him and Ryan started absorbing them.
Oscar, on the other hand, had a jubilant expression upon seeing that the Devil’s flame was unable to harm Ryan.
The Devil’s flame, however, was alarmed when it saw that its flames were unable to harm Ryan. It erupted like a volcano and its white flames spread in all direction. The temperature in the area surrounding it also soared by millions of degrees within a few moments. Oscar’s expression changed as he saw white flames heading towards him, so he quickly flew up in the sky to avoid them. He had covered himself in Darkness Attribute Spirit Power, but even though Calamity Giants had high resistance to Fire Attribute, they lacked immunity to Fire Attribute unlike an Asura.
The absorbed part of the Devil’s flame entered the black side of Ryan’s Soul World, where Yama swallowed it immediately.
When Ryan had absorbed around twenty percent of the Devil’s flame, Yama roared inside his Soul World and his body was covered in black-colored flames.
Yama had successfully awakened his dormant Fire Attribute!!
Ryan could feel his Death Attribute Soul Core undergoing changes the moment Yama’s dormant Fire Attribute became active. Ryan sent his consciousness inside his Soul World. He found that his Death Attribute Soul Core was also covered in black flames just like Yama. They were Hell’s Fire flames. His Death Attribute Soul Core had transformed into a Death Fire Dual Attribute Soul Core successfully.
Yama entered a deep sleep-state soon afterwards with his body was sealed in a cocoon made of Hell’s Fire flame. A smile appeared on Ryan’s face as he felt the changes happening within his own body. Earlier, he had been unable to sense Fire Elemental Energy, but now he was able to do so. This meant that he could now become a Fire Attribute Martial Artist which had been one of his childhood dreams.
Ryan was unable to decide what to do with the remaining part of the Devil’s flame as Yama had already awakened his dormant Fire attribute. It was just too powerful, so Yama had only needed around twenty percent of it. Ryan decided to continue absorbing the remaining part of it and store it in the black side of his Soul World. Yama could decide what to do with it later.
Ryan continued to absorb the Heavenly flame, the power of which started decreasing after some time as large parts of it were absorbed by Ryan. Ryan could see a fearful expression on the face of the Fiery White Serpent, unlike its previous mocking expression. However, Ryan didn’t show any sympathy and continued until the Devil’s flame had been wholly absorbed by him, which took him about four hours to achieve.
When Ryan had absorbed all the Devil’s flame, a strange thing occurred inside his Soul World. He could feel changes happening inside it, so he sent his consciousness into the black side of his Soul World.
He saw that his Soul World had split into three parts! The new third part was white in color and had a White Fiery Serpent in it, which was still burning brightly with white flames amongst the chaos there.
Dargar who had been in a deep Cultivation state was immediately woken up by the sudden disturbance inside Ryan’s Soul World. He looked at Ryan with an astonished expression as he also knew what was happening inside Ryan’s Soul World.
Ryan could feel a Soul-link forming between himself and the White Fiery Serpent. It had unexpectedly turned into his Martial Spirit!
He had a stunned expression, not due to his becoming a Triple Martial Spirits holder, but because the Devil’s flame had become his Martial Spirit. Generally, the sentience of a Heavenly flame disappears after getting absorbed but that hadn’t happened to this Devil’s flame. He’d never heard of a Heavenly flame becoming someone’s Martial Spirit.
It is possible for a Martial Artist to acquire Martial Spirits but the difficulty in doing so is very difficult indeed. A Martial Artist requires a living being to become his Martial Spirit willingly. Such a condition might sound simple but it is easier said than done, as no living being readily agrees to it because it would lose its autonomy. It is exceptionally rare for a living being to agree to it. Generally, only weak living beings agree to it.
Triple Martial Spirits holders are mightily rare in worlds lower than Divine Worlds, and the number of Triple Martial Spirits holders does not exceed more than a few thousand in the world of Grandura. This number might look big but compared to the tens of billions of people living in Grandura, it is insignificant.
Once the Soul-link between Ryan and the White Fiery Serpent was complete, things started to calm down inside the white side of his Soul World. Ryan felt a lot of information entering his mind, and once again he was shocked. He had just now gained all the insights of the Devil’s flame in Fire Elemental Laws which the Devil’s flame had gained over millions of years!!
Ryan knew that so long as he was able to understand them, his understanding of Fire Elemental Laws would increase by leaps and bounds.
Ryan entered the white part of his Soul World after things calmed down inside it and saw two things: the Fiery White Serpent and his third Soul Core, which was covered in dazzling white flames.
Ryan approached his new Martial Spirit. The White Fiery Serpent looked at Ryan with anger and hostility, but it did not take long for him to accept the new reality.
“How did you manage to absorb me with your Cultivation Level? You should have died the moment you touched me,” the White Fiery Serpent said in a deep masculine voice which signified that it was male. He found the situation altogether unbelievable.
“I have a Special physique that makes me immune to Fire attribute,” Ryan said with a smile. The White Fiery Serpent cursed his bad luck. In a few years time, he could have ascended to a Divine World, but now he was trapped inside the body of a young boy as his Martial Spirit forever.
“You can call me Earl,” the White Fiery Serpent said after a few minutes, and his mood looked a little better than before.
“My name is Ryan. The Emerald viper is called Dargar and that dragon over there is called Yama. Really, he is not a dragon – he is a Humanoid Martial Spirit that has changed his shape to avoid unnecessary problems,” Ryan quickly introduced himself to Earl, as he wanted to form a good relationship with him.
Dargar quickly greeted Earl, when Ryan introduced him. Earl reciprocated happily, as he knew that his life was now connected with Ryan’s. They exchanged a few words, following which Dargar returned to cultivating Poison Elemental Laws as things had returned to normal i
n Ryan’s Soul World.
Earl’s attention then moved towards Ryan. “I have a question. How did you turn into my Martial Spirit?” Ryan asked Earl, as he found this quite incredulous.
“I have no idea. I should have died after getting absorbed by you. It might be due to my being too powerful, and near ascension so the usual rules didn’t apply to me,” Earl said with a sigh, but he was happy to be alive.
“I think you are lucky. If you had ascended to a Divine World, then your life would have been chaotic. Fire Martial Artists, Fire Attribute Elemental Beasts and other kinds of Fire Attribute beings would always have been after your life in order to gain Devil’s Flame. After killing you, they would have absorbed you to increase their own power,” Ryan said.
“Even though you have lost your autonomy, you can at least live peacefully. We can walk the Martial Path together while helping each other,” Ryan added with a smile. He was trying to highlight the good points about being a Martial Spirit.
“You don’t have to console me. Since I have become your Martial Spirit I will behave like one, as my life is now directly connected to you,” Earl said as he slightly shook his head. Earl knew what Ryan had stated really was true, and Ryan could tell that Earl's mood was getting better and better with each passing second.
“Are you a Heavenly Fire Elemental Martial Spirit or something else?” Ryan asked with curiosity.
“Yes, I am a Heavenly Fire Elemental Martial Spirit,” Earl said with a smile. This could been considered as his rebirth, as he had been reborn as a Heavenly Fire Elemental Martial Spirit.
“Do Heavenly Fire Elementals lack Innate abilities, as I am unable to see any Heavenly seals on your body? Don’t all Martial Spirits have Heavenly seals on their bodies,” Ryan asked Earl with curiosity.
“Heavenly Fire Elementals or Normal Fire Elementals have no Innate abilities, but they possess supreme control over flames. Since I am your Martial Spirit then you should have similar control over flames,” Earl said with pride and Ryan was happy to hear that.
As Ryan was talking with Earl, Oscar was keeping a watch over Ryan from a distance and soon a smile crept on his face. Since the Devil’s flame had been completely absorbed by Ryan and he was still fine, that meant he had been successful in absorbing the Heavenly flame.
Soon Ryan opened his eyes. He had a bright smile on his face, as he turned towards his grandfather and said, “Grandfather, I was successful in absorbing the Heavenly flame.”
On hearing this, Oscar had a jubilant expression. Ryan extended both his hands, which ignited into flames. One hand had a pitch-black flame and other had a pure white flame.
“Good. Good. Good.” Oscar said as he appeared next to Ryan and patted his shoulder.
“Now put some clothes on then we will immediately depart for home. I think your mother and brothers need to know about this good news,” Oscar said as he took out some clothes from his Spatial pouch. Ryan finally noticed that he had no clothes on. He quickly hid his private parts as he took the clothes from Oscar, who laughed at seeing Ryan’s reaction.
Once Ryan had dressed, they immediately left for their home, both in delightfully buoyant moods.
Ryan decided to keep Earl a secret for the time being, as no one would be able to tell that Earl was his Martial Spirit, as Earl’s aura was utterly different from that of a Martial Spirit, but like a Heavenly flame instead. Even if Ryan conjured Earl during a battle no would suspect him to be his Martial Spirit. Everyone would think of him as a serpent created from Evil Heavenly flames by Ryan, as there were many Martial Skills that made that possible.
It didn’t take long for Ryan and Oscar to reach home. Emilia immediately came to greet them with a hopeful look on her face. On seeing this, Ryan extended his hands. Hell’s Fire flame and Devil’s flame ignited on each of his hands. Emilia was astonished for a second, but soon a smile crept on her face. Blake and Cris were also overjoyed for Ryan.
Emilia made a feast to celebrate Ryan’s gain of two variant flames. The family was in a jubilant mood until Emilia received a call from her Family Clan.
She had to leave for her Family Clan at the earliest. She hadn’t returned to it for the past two decades and hadn’t told anyone in it about her marriage or about Ryan. She’d already decided some time ago to inform her family about them, as it would be beneficial for Ryan. Her Family Clan had a sound relationship with the Divine Martial Sect.
Emilia called Ryan to her room that night.
“Ryan, I need to tell you a few things before I leave for my Family Clan,” Emilia said.
“I will begin with my Family Clan.”
“I belong to the Heaven Sundering Family Clan. It is one of the most powerful clans in Grandura, while your grandfather, father and uncle belong to the Eternity Family Clan. The Eternity Family Clan has the same status as my Heaven Sundering Family Clan. They stand at the top amongst the numerous factions on Grandura,” she continued.
“The founders of both my Family Clan and your father’s Family Clan were brothers, because of which both factions have a sound relationship with each other. Both Family Clans have established their Main branches on a Divine World,” Emilia said in a melancholic tone as she stopped for a second and searched her Spatial pouch for something.
Ryan looked at his mother agape as he was having a hard time believing her words. He had read about the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and Eternity Family Clan in numerous books and calling them strong was an understatement. They had a history of more than 500 million years and only a handful of factions could boast of such a long history on Grandura.
Emilia took out a medallion from her spatial pouch and handed it to Ryan saying, “The Divine Martial Sect might ask you a few questions. Just show them this medallion I’m giving you. The Divine Martial Sect is on very good terms with both my and your father’s Family Clans. Just tell them that you are there to become a personal disciple of a Poison Martial Artist.”
Ryan closely studied the medallion. It had a simple design with Heaven Sundering written in the middle. It was made of unknown blue-colored metal, but Ryan knew it would be influential in Grandura, even though it looked so simple.
“Don’t show the medallion to everyone. My Family Clan has more enemies than friends. This medallion is generally meant for members with high status within my Family Clan, so it will attract more enemies than friends. Keep this fact in mind at all times,” Emilia said gravely. Ryan quickly nodded his head. He knew a strong faction like the Heaven Sundering Family Clan was bound to have many enemies.
“This is a Crystal card. It is a Spatial artifact used for storing Elemental stones. I have stored a million high-grade Elemental stones each of Poison Attribute, Death Attribute and Fire attribute in it,” Emilia said as she handed it to Ryan.
Ryan was dumbstruck upon hearing the number of Elemental stones contained in the Crystal card. As Ryan was about to refuse, Emilia said, “This is a very small amount for my Family Clan, so you don’t have to be apprehensive in accepting it, but make sure not to show off your wealth. It might attract unnecessary trouble.”
Ryan nodded his head as he put both the medallion and the Crystal card in his Spatial pouch.
“Now go to your room, as I need to prepare for tomorrow. I leave early in the morning,” Emilia said as she lovingly patted Ryan’s head. Ryan nodded and left her room.
He slowly digested the information while returning to his room. He was still having a hard time believing that his mother’s and father’s backgrounds were this abnormal. He was unable to understand the reason his family avoided the sight of others – like criminals hiding from Law enforcement officials. No matter how hard he tried to think of a reason, he was unable to come up with one that could have forced his family into hiding. He guessed that the reason was most likely associated with his grandfather, as his mother was still able to return to her Family Clan. He decided to put it all on the back burner temporarily and investigate it in the future.
Ryan entered his Sp
atial Cultivation chamber after returning to his room. He sat on its floor and started comprehending the insights of Fire Elemental Laws he’d gained from Earl. He knew there was no point in overthinking any matters regarding his family, as his knowledge about the facts was limited.
In one night, Ryan’s understanding of Fire Elemental Laws increased manyfold. He was certain that by the time he had to leave for the Divine Martial Sect, his understanding of Fire Elemental Laws would undeniably have reached the threshold requirement for a Martial Artist to attain a breakthrough to the Late Mortal Elite Realm.
Next morning Emilia was standing at the entrance of the estate. The previous night, she had completed all her preparations to leave for her Family Clan. Oscar, Cris, Blake and Ryan had come see her off at the entrance.
“Mother, when will you come back?” Ryan asked in a sorrowful tone. Cris and Blake had a similar question in their mind.
“I am not sure … it might take a year or two. You three keep working hard. OK?” Emilia said. Ryan, Blake and Cris nodded their heads frantically. On seeing their reactions, she gave them big hugs.
“Father-in-law, please take good care of them,” Emilia said to Oscar.
“You don’t need to worry about them. You take care of yourself and call me if you need my help. You might face a lot of problems after your return,” Oscar said. Emilia nodded her head in response.
She bid them goodbye and used a Teleportation scroll to open a portal to her Family Clan and disappeared into it. The portal closed soon afterwards. Ryan, Cris and Blake had sad expressions.
“We will also be leaving Hope City forever in a few days, so you guys start packing your stuff,” Oscar said. Oscar’s sudden declaration took Ryan, Cris, and Blake by surprise.
“Where are we moving?” Blake asked, as he saw a playful expression on his grandfather’s face.
