by KSY
In both the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and the Eternity Family Clan, strength and talent are what decide the ownership of Treasured weapons, Treasured armor, and Heavenly Treasures. If Yun and William refused to accept the challenge or lost against Gabriel in a duel, then they would be forced to sell the egg to him at its market price. A person can only challenge the owner of a Treasure if he or she is in the same Sub-realm as the owner of the Treasure. Since Gabriel, Yun and William were all Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artists, Gabriel could easily challenge them.
“Gabriel, you cheat. My brother won’t spare you for doing this to us,” Yun said as his eyes became moist, as he was certain that they would lose the egg.
“I am just following the Clan rules,” Gabriel said with a smirk.
“Let’s see if you have the ability to take that egg,” Ryan said in an icy tone as he slowly walked towards Gabriel, and stopped a few meters away from him. Yun and William were stunned on seeing Ryan before smiles appeared on their faces, as they were certain that now they wouldn’t lose the egg.
They had heard from Emilia that Ryan was not at all weak even though he employed cheap tricks to get out of problematic situations. They had seen Ryan’s duel with the Martial Artist from the Dark Moon Family Clan, in which Ryan had hidden his actual Cultivation Level and shamelessly fought a Martial Artist from the Dark Moon Family who was an entire Realm below him. This duel had brought a lot of bad name to the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and the Eternity Family Clan. Death duels were serious stuff and Ryan had turned one into a joke.
Gabriel’s face changed on seeing Ryan. He had heard a lot of rumors regarding Ryan and none of them were good. He sent a Mental-message transmission to his elder brother for help, as he knew that he was no match for Ryan. The thing that pissed him off the most was the Cultivation Level that he sensed from Ryan, who had set his fake Cultivation Level at Early Mortal Elite Realm before coming to Heavenly City. Gabriel hated people who played cheap tricks to win. He had also seen Ryan’s duel with the Martial Artist from the Dark Moon Family Clan, where a Late Mortal Elite Realm Martial Artist was finished off by Ryan with a single move. He had no intention of exchanging blows with Ryan personally.
“Brother, this egg is for you,” Yun said as he and William walked to Ryan and handed over the egg to Ryan. Yun and William sneered at Gabriel. They were enjoying this moment to the fullest. Yun’s action clearly signified that this egg now belonged to Ryan. Gabriel’s face twitched on seeing Yun’s action, but a smile appeared on Ryan’s face as he patted both Yun and William, and then placed the egg in his Beast pouch.
The egg was a timely gift, as now, Ryan could create his own Evil Fire Spirit. The egg that Yun and William had given him was of a Hell Mantis, a Death Fire Dual Attribute Elemental Insect, whose strength is no less than that of a Nether worm. Hell Mantises are known for their fearsome strength and the Evil flame possessed by them that is called Blood flames. Its flames are blood-red in color and are as strong as a Mid-grade Heavenly flame.
In Grandura, Hell Mantises are quite weak as they lack sufficient resources to grow strong unlike the ones found in Divine Worlds. This limitation wouldn’t exist after the Hell Mantis was reborn as an Evil Fire Spirit, following which Ryan could provide it with limitless Death Elemental Energy of extremely high purity. Hell Mantises on Grandura have almost become extinct due to overhunting, as their Elemental Cores can be used to make a number of pills that are highly beneficial for both Fire Attribute and Death Attribute Martial Artists. Gabriel needed the egg for a similar purpose, as he was also a Fire Attribute Martial Artist.
“Have Grandmother and the rest of the family also come?” Ryan enquired in an excited manner. He found it odd that Yun and William were in Heavenly City as none of his cousins were eligible to participate in the Divine Trials.
“Everyone came to meet you. Even some Ancestors came out of their Closed-door Cultivation sessions just to meet you,” Yun said in an excited manner.
“So that’s how it is,” Ryan said as he nodded his head. A jubilant smile had appeared on his face just from thinking about his paternal family members.
Meanwhile, Gabriel’s anger was escalating because he’d been ignored. He had already sent a number of messages to his brother for help, but had received no reply. He couldn’t let such a golden opportunity slip by his hand.
The crowd, on the other hand, couldn’t help but try to guess what sort of a creature would hatch out of the black egg especially the shopkeeper, who was unable to accept the fact that he had sold a priceless egg for ten low-grade Elemental stones. Many people could understand his feelings and felt sorry for him, including Ryan.
“Uncle, deduct one million high-grade lower-attribute Elemental stones from my crystal card,” Ryan said with a smile on his face. He still had the Elemental stones his mother had given him previously. The shopkeeper looked at him in a bewildered manner, and the crowd was no different. Yun and William were also stunned by Ryan’s action, as they hadn’t expected Ryan to be so considerate of others.
Initially, many in the crowd didn’t recognize Ryan, but the few who did informed the others about him. Ryan’s duel with the Martial Artist from the Dark Moon Family Clan had been watched only by the members of the top ten branches of both the Heaven Sundering Family Clan and the Eternity Family Clan, so it was natural that many people didn’t recognize him. His previous deeds had given both Family Clans a bad name, so even though not many in both Family Clans recognized Ryan by face, everyone had heard about him and knew everything about him.
“Uncle, I am serious,” Ryan said with a big smile on his face. He could tell that the shopkeeper was unable to believe his words, but he finally deducted one million high-grade lower-attribute Elemental stones from Ryan’s crystal card after Ryan requested him a few more times. A smile soon bloomed on the shopkeeper’s face, and he thanked Ryan many times before closing his shop and going home. Soon smiles appeared on the faces of all the people who witnessed the scene. Earlier, they’d looked at Ryan with contempt, but that was not the case now: they looked at him with admiration now.
“Let’s go home,” Ryan said to Yun and William who subconsciously nodded their heads while they were lost in their own thoughts. They were still unable to believe what they’d just seen.
“Is elder brother seriously not a badass as everyone claims?” Yun and William couldn’t help but think. Ryan could roughly guess what was on their minds.
“If that uncle had not been a part of Heaven Sundering Family Clan then I would not have even paid him ten low-grade Elemental stones for that egg,” Ryan said with a smile on his face. Everyone hearing this was stunned, especially Yun and William. Everyone finally understood Ryan’s character. Soon there was no ill-will towards Ryan in anyone’s heart even though he had maligned the images of both the Family Clans.
“I will be waiting for your challenge until tomorrow. If I don’t receive any challenge from your side by tomorrow, then I will use the Hell Mantis egg. I am in Early Mortal Lord Realm, so find someone who can fight in your stead as your Cultivation Level is too low for you to be my opponent,” Ryan said as he left for home along with his brothers. The crowd made way for them to leave.
Gabriel looked at Ryan with a stunned expression. He could tell Ryan was sincere towards him, but he just shook his head slightly as he left for his home. No one knew what was going on his mind.
The crowd finally understood why Gabriel had been so frantic to acquire that ugly-looking black egg. It was the egg of a Hell Mantis!!! Some people in the crowd quickly sent information regarding the egg to their respective branches as an egg of Hell Mantis was simply too precious. It was clear from their actions that many people would challenge Ryan for the ownership of the Hell Mantis egg. Yun, William, and Gabriel had known that fact, but they hadn’t let anyone know as that would have attracted unnecessary problems. Yun and William didn’t know what to say to their brother.
They knew big trouble would be heading towards him
soon.
Unknown to Ryan, he’d been under the watch of the members of the Upper echelons of the Heaven Sundering Family Clan since his entry into Heavenly City. They were seated in one of the Meeting Halls of the Family Clan.
“This boy’s loyalty towards both the Family Clans is unquestionable, which makes it difficult for me to punish him for his previous deed but his attitude towards other people is very problematic which could create a lot of trouble for us in the future. It will be in the best interests of both Family Clans if we could rein him in a little,” a middle-aged man said. This person was none other than the current Head of the Grandura branch of Heaven Sundering Family Clan, and his name was Nero. He had a smile on his face.
All the members of the Upper echelon present in the Meeting Hall nodded their heads and started suggesting ways in which Ryan could be reined in a little.
Ch.6
Gabriel reached his home in a sour mood. He was angry at his brother for not reaching the Business District in time to help him issue a challenge to Ryan. He was also a little apprehensive about issuing a challenge to Ryan on his own, because he was weaker than Ryan. His brother was already a Late Mortal Lord Realm Martial Artist and the rising star of the Third branch. He’d been considered unrivaled amongst the Martial Artists in the Mortal Lord Realm since the day he’d stepped into it. Now, being a Late Mortal Lord Realm Martial Artist further solidified his position as unrivaled in the Mortal Lord Realm, but Gabriel knew that getting the Hell Mantis egg wouldn’t easy anymore because of Ryan’s big mouth. Now, geniuses of most of the branches of Heaven Sundering Family Clan as well as Eternity Family Clan would vie for that egg as Ryan belonged to both Clans.
Ryan was among the few exceptions that belonged to both the clans. Generally, if one of the parents of a child was from Heaven Sundering Family Clan and the other was from Eternity Family Clan, then the child needed to select one of the Family Clans to belong to in the future.
Ryan hadn’t got this choice as both Family Clans wanted him. In the end, it was decided by the members of the Upper echelons of both Family Clans that Ryan would belong to both of them. From the start Ryan had not been consulted regarding this matter, and he most likely didn’t even know about it.
He, however, had assumed on his own from the start that he belonged to both Family Clans.
Ryan had arrived at the Estate of his maternal grandparents some time ago.
He was currently being introduced to everyone present in the Living room by Emilia. Emilia and the rest were astonished a little by Ryan’s early arrival, nevertheless everyone was happy seeing him. The eyes of Alexis and Julia became a little moist on seeing Ryan, especially Julia’s. Unlike Alexis, she hadn’t talked with Ryan via Mental-message transmission orb. She’d been holding herself back from that all this time, as she wanted Ryan to be in front of her when she talked to him for the first time. Julia had cuddled him for half an hour after Emilia introduced her to him. Ryan could tell how happy his grandmother was after seeing him which made warmth surge in his heart.
“These are your Third Uncle Alwin and Aunt Sheena,” Emilia said as she introduced Cris’s parents to Ryan. Ryan’s eyes brightened upon seeing them, and he quickly took out Cris’s letter from his Spatial pouch.
“It is a very good thing that I’ve met you here. Now, I don’t have to make a trip to Eternity Family Clan to deliver Cris’s letter to you two,” Ryan said as he handed it to them. Everyone in the living room was stunned for a second on hearing Ryan’s words, but Sheena was the first one to recover as she took the letter from Ryan’s hands with shaking hands.
The entire Living room was instantly pin-drop silent, because sorting out Cris’s situation was also one of the priorities of Ryan’s paternal family during their visit to Heaven Sundering Family Clan. Emilia had a stunned expression too before a smile appeared on her face, as she could tell that this was most likely Ryan’s idea, as Cris was not yet mature enough to understand the feelings of the people around him. Emilia and Oscar had been trying to send him back to the Eternity Family Clan as they could understand what Sheena and Alwin had been going through all these years, but Cris was adamant about not going back.
Sheena slowly opened the letter and start reading it. Tears were already flowing down her cheeks, and Alwin had a weird expression as he was trying to keep his emotions under control. It didn’t take them long to read the contents of the letter. Sheena slowly folded the letter and she wiped her tears, but soon a smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you for being a good elder brother to Cris and please continue to take care of him,” Sheena said as she gently patted Ryan, who just nodded his head.
In the letter, Cris had refused to return to the Eternity Family Clan. On the contrary, he had asked his mother and father to move to Oscar’s place. He’d called the Estate in the Forest of Darkness a fun place, and he’d also told them that he was having a lot of fun with his two elder brothers.
“Aunt Sheena, where is Shana? I don’t see her,” Ryan asked. He’d heard from Cris that he had a big sister named Shana, who was also Oscar and Julia’s eldest granddaughter.
“Shana is little ill because of which she is resting in her room,” Sheena said as a sad expression appeared on her face. Ryan’s facial expression changed upon hearing this, as he could tell from Sheena’s expression that Shana was in quite a bad condition.
“Can I take a look at her later? I can then consult my Master to see if he has any solution for treating her illness,” Ryan asked.
“OK,” Sheena’s expression brightened a little. Shana had suddenly fallen ill a few years previously. A number of doctors had examined her but none was able to pinpoint the reason for Shana’s illness. She’d heard a lot about Raymond’s medical skills, but she was never able to get an appointment with him, as he rarely treated anyone even though he had exceptional medical skills.
Emilia then continued with Ryan’s introduction to rest of the family members including some of his Ancestors.
Ryan got to meet all his cousin-brothers and cousin-sisters except Shana. Ryan had ten cousin-brothers, excluding Blake and Cris, and six cousin-sisters including Shana. Most of them were less than the age of ten, while the youngest was only six months old. Ryan couldn’t help but cuddle them, and he again thanked the heavens for giving him a family in this life. A smile appeared on the faces of Julia, Emilia and the rest of the people in the Living room on seeing Ryan’s reaction when he met his cousins. Sheena and Alwin finally understood why their son was so attached to him.
“Mother, where is Uncle Shawn and company?” Ryan couldn’t help but ask his mother, as his maternal uncles hadn’t shown up even though it had already been quite some time since his arrival. He had been patiently waiting to meet them.
“They were sent on a secret mission by the Family Clan. They will come back within a month or two if they finish their mission on time,” Emilia said with a smile. Ryan just nodded his head.
Alexis prepared a feast to mark Ryan’s home coming. Ryan was extremely happy that day. He had happy conversations with his family during the feast, and even introduced Caius to the rest of his family. Many of family members of the Senior generation were alarmed upon seeing Caius as they could sense his terrifying toxicity. Even they felt a little envious of Ryan’s luck, as they knew Ryan was bound to become an exceptional Poison Attribute Martial Artist with Caius by his side. It was very rare to find a partner like Caius that could help a Martial Artist move forward along the Martial Path.
The feast ended on a happy note. Alexis showed Ryan his Cultivation chamber, which was no different from the ones in the Estate of the Forest of Darkness and Divine Martial Sect in terms of its facilities and the quality of Elemental Energy provided by it. Ryan liked it, and he thanked her before entering and sealing it.
Ryan had decided to enter a Closed-door Cultivation session as he’d just now received a number of challenges for the ownership of the Hell Mantis egg. Most of the challenges were from top geniuses
of both Family Clans in Mortal Lord Realm who were expected to perform exceptionally well in the Divine Trials. Ryan chose to fight Gabriel’s brother first.
He intended to advance his Soul Cores to Mid Mortal Lord Realm before the day of the duel which was to be in two days.
--------------------------x--------------------------
Meanwhile, it was unknown to the members of the Grandura branches of the Eternity Family Clan and the Heaven Sundering Family Clan that their respective Main branches were under attack by a powerful enemy. The Main branches of both Family Clans had established themselves on a Divine World named Radiant Divine World.
All the Divine Worlds are situated in Divine Universe, while the Low-grade worlds, Mid-grade worlds, and High-grade worlds are situated in the Mortal Universe. Both universes are connected but very far apart. Radiant Divine World is at least ten times bigger than Grandura in size, but this is an average size for a Low-grade Divine World.
Divine Worlds are graded as low-, mid- and high-grade. The purity of the Elemental Energy increases exponentially from a Low-grade to a High-grade Divine World. The purity of the Elemental Energy is only one of the aspects that determines the grade of a Divine World, the others being the size of the Divine World and the strength of the creatures living on it.
The entirety of the Radiant Divine World was controlled by the Main branches of the Heaven Sundering and the Eternity Family Clans, but at that moment, it looked desolate due to the destruction caused by the war. Before the war, however, it had been an Abode of Gods, but now the godly palaces, estates and mountains were all in ruins. The entire world was covered in dark clouds as if patiently waiting for its demise. The war had also wiped out one-third of the total population of the Main branches of both Family Clans, which was the biggest loss incurred by both Family Clans since their foundation.
