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…
“What nonsense are you spouting bastard!” Eren scolded as his nose flared, Leylin words and action of talking on equal terms are tantamount of disregarding his elders.
“Don’t be angry Grandfather, I am just being logical here. This is really a good opportunity for the Ashdown family and one that I, as someone who knows what this represents highly suggests to capitalize on. And since, I am also the only person available who can help you, aren’t I entitled to some benefits, isn’t that right Elder Ian?”
Ian rubbed his chin as he looked at Leylin very seriously, he couldn’t help but notice a sense of superiority, as well as confidence brimming from Leylin and nod his head in acknowledgement, “That is true, but why should I trust your words and promise rewards for something which might be useless in the end. With the amount of care your grandfather would be giving you as well as resources from Lenoir family, I am sure your demands would definitely not be easy to meet.”
“You are obviously correct, my demands are indeed steep but before this opportunity it’s akin to nothing. Time would tell, you would see and more importantly you are here and I am here. I won’t do anything to jeopardize the relationship of our two families over few things. Allies are much more appreciated than some benefits.”
“Then, why even ask for something in return? Shouldn’t you as an ally try to help your friends when you can? “Ian smirked as he asked, trying to twist Leylin words against him.
“Well, a transaction irrespective of who’s it’s being shared between should be based on fairness. I don’t believe in one sided relationship, only by indulging in a equal transaction of giving and taking would any friendship, alliance, kinship, even love would continue to prosper.”
“I see…” Ian nodded as he looked at Eren who was visually pleased with Leylin answering, even he was impressed with such a thing. What’s impressive isn’t Leylin answer but his tone and confidence which seem to indicate his firm belief in the ideology, a belief backed by personal experience.
“Tell me how beneficial is this thing exactly?”
“Very! I reckon that with her talent, your families resources and a bit of hard work. The Ashdown family would reach heights never thought possible before.” Leylin smiled as he looked at Neelam and said confidently.
“Oh, if it’s so amazing why not lie to us and keep this for yourself.” Neelam raised her eyebrows and asked, immediately after Ian glared at her with annoyance. To so blatantly doubt Leylin words is not giving him face which isn’t a good situation because both Leylin and her would be the future leaders of their families and their bond would determine the family’s allied status.
“The reason for that, you would understand later.” Leylin smiled mysteriously as he tapped the Turtle shell.
“Good enough, I promise as long as it’s as good as you claim it to be I would fulfill any of your request, of course they should be made under a reasonable limit.”
“Well my request is nothing much, it’s just that I have heard the Ashdown family has a great amount of old scripture and manuals earning Elder Ian his well deserved place as the most learned scholar of our Merchant Union. As an enthusiastic of ancient time, myself I would need you to let me have full access to all of them and I also want to enter the Martial Palace of the Ashdown family and have authority to read them, including the Spirit Martial Skill.”
“Berkan!” Eren shouted as he clenched his fist, asking for the Ashdown family’s secret Spirit Martial Skill so blatantly would incur fury, distaste and spite from them.
“Let me complete and listen to me, The final Spirit Martial Skill you don’t need to give me now but rather teach to Neelam who on the basis of performance of this opportunity would either agree to follow the transaction or reject it. Is that reasonable?”
Eren looked at Ian who thought for a while staring at Leylin and slowly nodded his head.
Leylin felt the surface of each character with his left hand, “So tell me do you wanna know?”
“Rustle! Rustle!”
“What do these eight characters mean?” Neelam’s eyes brightened, and she asked delightedly.
“Dragon Turtle Armor! Basalt Scriptures!” Leylin shouted with a deep voice.
“Hey!”
Neelam whispered, pointing at the turtle shell, and spoke in surprise, “The turtle shell is glowing because of your voice!”
Leylin wasn’t surprised, as he was already paying attention to it’s changes.
“A.I.Chip, record the symbols.”
The meticulous moire pattern on the turtle shell was indeed releasing a faint green glow. It was as if the eight ancient characters were brought to life, slowly shifting on the turtle shell, reforming altogether.
Staring, All three were stunned.
The eight ancient characters, after shifting for a while, formed a hand-shaped indent.
On the turtle shell, there was a light green glow that was swirling, and strange continuous pulses escaped from the turtle shell. The air in the room seemed to be attracted to the turtle shell, as it quickly flowed into the shell, making it hard for others to breathe.
Leylin looked at the audience and then said, “The hand print that’s shown on the turtle shell should be the key to opening it. Just place your hand onto it and you should be able find out the secret of the turtle shell.”
“Can you guarantee her safety?” Ian wondered aloud. At this moment, he was a little unsure of what to do.
“She won’t be hurt.” Leylin shook his head, ” Why are you worried, since you’re all here, even if the turtle shell turns out to be dangerous, you’ll be able to stop it.”
“So you’re saying that we can give it a try?” Neelam’s eyes brightened. ‘Dragon Turtle Armor’ and ‘Basalt Scriptures’ were obviously connected to secret treasures and martial skills, so no wonder they grabbed her interest.
Leylin smirked, and said lightly, “If you don’t want to, I would take this risk in your behalf.”
“I’ll do it.”
Neelam heard what Leylin said, and without asking for Ian’s opinion, held out her glistening hand and pressed it into the deep indent on the turtle shell.
“Boom!”
A low, exploding sound came from the inside of the turtle shell.
Five thin needles shot out and embedded themselves into her five fingers that were placed into the indent.
Bright red blood immediately dripped out of Neelam’s fingers. Like rubies, the blood rolled around in the indent as if it was solid, and was finally absorbed by the turtle shell.
Bright green light suddenly burst out from the turtle shell, and the blazing green light was blinding to everyone’s eyes.
Strange ancient symbols formed by the green light suddenly flew out, went along her arm, and it flew straight into her head.
…
In the stone tower.
Ian and Eren looked serious, their eyes glistened in the light, as they stared intensely at Neelam, who was pressing one hand on the turtle shell.
As the head of the Ashdown family, Ian actually felt excited, his fingers kept clenching together, and the corner of his lips occasionally twitched.
Neelam was the future hope for the Ashdown family. Whether The Ashdown family could rise to power in the future, and whether they could hold their status in the business league, was directly connected to how strong Neelam became!
If Neelam were to become strong, the Ashdown family would keep their powerful influence. If she was weak, the Ashdown family might decline.
There were countless families whose rise and falls were tied to an important figure. A family had to have a powerful central figure in order to keep their remarkable position.
The reason why Crystal Family put Aaron and Harold ,the two Nirvana Realm close to Kyle’s side, was to prevent any mishaps that may happen to Kyle before he became powerful. Their main objective was the future prosperity of the family.
A strange green symbol flew out of the turtle shell, and disappeared into Neelam’s body.
Neelam’s eyes were now closed, and there was a thin layer of green light covering her delicate face.
Tiny little spots of light jumped across her face, like lively fireflies, passing their thoughts to her.
Ian’s expression changed, and nearly exclaimed out loud. He instinctively wanted to step forward and protect Neelam, afraid that she might be in danger.
“Halt!”
Leylin waved his hand and held back Ian, and spoke lightly, “Wait for a moment, it’s fine. ”
Ian stared for a second, then looked at Leylin in surprise, “Are you sure?”
Leylin nodded with certainty, “The little strange lights in the turtle shell should be a type of memory communication. If I guessed correctly, it could be the way to cultivate the Basalt Scriptures, so you don’t need to worry, this is just a memory transfer.”
“Brat, don’t speak nonsense, this is very serious!” Eren shouted with a straight face.
Eren was also unsure, he was scared that Leylin’s careless plans might cause harm to Neelam If that happens, the Lenoir family and the Ashdown family could turn against each other!
Ever since the Ashdown family was connected to Ben because of Neelam, they secretly began to have what it takes to compete with the Crystal family. To the Lenoir family, having such a strong ally could only be to their benefit, no matter if it’s against the Crystal family, or the Dunn family.
Eren doesn’t want to become enemies with the Ashdown family.
“It’s okay, She will definitely be fine, you can relax.” Leylin said, and comforted Ian “Congratulations Elder Ian, this time Neelam will surely gain a great benefit.”
“You.” After hearing his words, Ian tensed body actually loosened up, and he laughed, “If it really turns out to be like what you said, I’ll owe you a big favor little brat.”
“Grandpa, you really do owe him a big favor.”
Neelam suddenly opened her eyes, and smiled, joyfully she said, “Those strange lights are the cultivation info of the [Basalt Scriptures]. Now in my mind, I’ve obtained the complete cultivation method of the [Basalt Scriptures].”
“What level of Martial Skill?” Ian impatiently asked, he was so excited he could jump.
Shaking her head, Neelam said, “I don’t know. All I got was the cultivation method of the [Basalt Scriptures], and it didn’t say which level of Martial Skill it is.”
“The writing’s on the turtle shell are very ancient! This should be a Martial Skill cultivated by prehistoric warriors. At that time, the skills were not as meticulously ranked as ours are.” Leylin joined his hands behind his back and smiled, as casually explained, “But the Martial Skills of that time are much more mysterious than the ones we have now.”
“Haha!”
Ian laughed, delightfully patted Leylin shoulder, and said, “You little brat, I can’t help but like you! The Lenoir family has such a clever boy as you. Why worry about rising to power in the future? As for our arrangements, I would agree for that but obviously the last request would remain as we agreed upon.”
Eren’s eyes brightened, he glanced over at Neelam. Thinking of something, his face brightened up into a smile.
“Crack crack crack!”
Once Neelam removed her hand from the turtle shell, it cracked open, separating into pieces of turtle armor.
These turtle armor pieces turned very thin, and shone with a strange green light. One of the pieces showed the shape of a dragon head, and another piece had the shape of a dragon tail. They looked like a pair of shoulder armor, and were very strange.
In the middle of the armor, there were three walnut-sized medicinal pills, shining with green light. These pills had a silly Dragon Turtle shape, with a dragon’s head and turtle’s body, as if it was alive.
A refreshing medicinal aroma spread from the three pills. The scent was very strong. Just by breathing in a little bit, everyone suddenly felt alert.
“These three are the Dragon Turtle Pill, especially made to go with the cultivation of the [Basalt Scriptures]. This set of armor is the Dragon Turtle Armor, supposedly it has very strong defense abilities.” Neelam reached to pick up the three Dragon Turtle Pills and pocketed all of them, and said, “When cultivating the [Basalt Scriptures], I will need the Dragon Turtle Pills. Three of these are just enough to help me cultivate this skill.”
Ian’s expression brightened even more, and he clapped and laughed in excitement.
It was Eren who actually felt slightly low spirited. He saw Neelam taking all of the Dragon Turtle Pills, pressing his lips into a line, he finally couldn’t help but think that probably Leylin took the shorter end of the stick, he didn’t actually get the Spirit Martial Skill and it might not be his in the end either.
“You can have the Dragon Turtle Armor.” Neelam lightly kicked the set of armor on the ground, adorably she furrowed her brows, and chuckled, “I don’t want to wear this heavy-ass Turtle Shell! Take it as you please.”
Eren jolted, and impatiently stared at Leylin, urging him to take the Dragon Turtle Armor.
“Is it okay to do that? Everything is a full set.” Ian clenched his teeth, looking reluctant. Although he liked Leylin, he still didn’t want to give away the Dragon Turtle Armor because he thought the rewards given are already very satisfactory, obviously he knew that except for Spirit Martial Skill all else were rather sub-par.
Leylin stood still and nodded his head, “Actually I have some intrest towards this piece and would like to study it but since the Lenoir family specializes in defence itself, I don’t actually need it per say so, I would borrow it for now and you can take it later when you want it. ”
“I don’t want it!”
“You might in the future.”
“Nope, I won’t wear something so ugly.”
“Only ugly thing in this world is weakness when you need strength. This ugly thing would then be the most precious and beautiful treasure to you.”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Something that you cannot understand now.”
“You! Are you calling me an idiot!?”
..
“Cough cough, Neelam, alright then, we should get going.” Ian smilingly looked at Eren, and said, “Don’t worry, people from our family are going to keep watch by the Dark Forest. If there’s any news on Kurt, I’ll send people to tell you. Same thing with you guys, communicate with us once something comes up.”
“Of course, sigh, I can’t believe a figure as little as Master Kurt can steal the treasure map of Eren Katz. Now Misty Pavilion has another piece, whoever is able to get both pieces of the map would be able to open the ‘Gate of Heaven’ with no difficulty, it’s really unfortunate…” Eren’s expression was full of lament.
Leylin listened to their conversation without any intention to interrupt as Neelam ignored them glaring at him.
….
In the inner garden of the Misty Pavilion, in a quiet room.
The Misty Pavilion was a mysterious power which primarily held auctions, selling all sorts of rare training materials for warriors. It had opened its only shop in Temion City in the Merchant Union.
It was rumoured that the Misty Pavilion was supported by warriors from the Endless Sea. The Endless Sea, a vast ocean, was located to the east of the Merchant Union.
There were thousands of islands in the Endless Sea, which were scattered like stars. Some large islands were even vaster than the Fire Empire and the God-blessed Empire combined.
Warriors from the Endless Sea rarely came to the Grace Mainland, for they looked for higher things. There were numerous experts there, and they all had a powerful family or power behind them.
It was said that there were even expert warriors who were above the Spirit Realm.
On that day, at the entrance of the Misty Pavilion, stood the manager. Gabriel was a warrior of the First Sky of the Nirvana Realm, and had been in charge of the Misty Pavilion for many years.
For many people, Gabriel was the master of the Misty Pavilion but currently he was standing respectfully as a women sat before him.
The women in the black gown sat down on the seat at the center of the room, which was prepared for the Master.
Behind her were two huge men who found their positions to stand behind her, she waved her hands, “Gabriel stays here. Everyone else is dismissed.”
“Leave us alone.” Gabriel announced to those men loudly.
Gabriel was the manager of the Misty Pavilion, so after his announcement, they quickly left the room.
Gabriel entered and gave a salute to the woman, then quickly took out an account book from his chest pocket, handing it to the woman with two hands, “This is the accounts for the past ten-some years. Miss, please check.”
“Well, put it away. I haven’t come for the accounts.”
Then she leisurely waved her hand and took off the bamboo hat. An extremely beautiful face appeared. She frowned with her pretty eyebrows, and said softly, “Show me the fragmented map.”
“Yes.” Gabriel immediately took out the fragmented map of the Sky Gate from underneath his clothes and handed it to her respectfully.
She picked the map with her jade like fingers, glanced at it once, and nodded softly, “Good, from its old look it seems to be authentic.”
“Miss, there are also three Nutrition Pills and one Blood Magical Crystal, which were sent by the Immortal Alaister Family through Empty Strategy. They said it’s for you.”
Gabriel took out those things mentioned before and handed them respectfully to her, “Miss, it’s enough for you to handle the situation here with the three Nutrition Pills. You will be heavily hurt every time you operate the Incarnation Martial Spirit; but with these, you will be fine.”
“Well, the Alaister Family is literally generous, and pretentious!” She grunted, “The Misty Pavilion doesn’t belong to the Omega Family exclusively. The Alaister Family is also a heavy stockholder. They don’t even send a man here but three Nutrition Pills? Haha. They trust me so much.”
As she spoke, She put away the three red longan-sized Nutrition Pills. Stroking the Blood Magical Crystal, she asked, “And what about this Blood Magical Crystal?”
“The Alaister Family has requested you to look for a person. The family head of the Alaister Family, Abaddon Alaister, said his grandson is still alive in this place, as he perceived through the [Blood Search] skill. So he has asked you to find him. The three Nutrition Pills are payment.” Gabriel lowered his head as he answered in a low voice, not daring to look at her.
“What?” She exclaimed in indignation, and she said coldly, “Hehe, I wondered why they were they so generous! They want me to do this difficult thing for them for three Nutrition Pills? Too bossy!”
Gabriel kept his head lowered, not daring to say anything.
“Miss Ordell, fifty years ago, Abaddon Alaister and his experts entered the Fourth Demon Area, where his son, Vikas Alaister, died in a battle. Moreover, His wife gave birth to an infant there. After Lord Abaddon killed a Demon King in the Fourth Demon Area, the other three Demon Kings allied to chase him out, and his daughter-in-law died soon after. Abaddon Alaister assumed he was about to die, so he broke the space with [Blood Escape] skill and threw that infant out of the Fourth Demon Area.”
One of the huge men explained with his rusty voice.
“And then?” The women named Ordell frowned slightly, and asked nonchalantly.
That huge man paused, thought for a while, and continued, “After he threw out that infant, Abaddon stayed in the ‘Fourth Demon Area’ for another twenty years, encircled by the other three Demon Kings. But luckily he escaped and came out of the Fourth Demon Area alive, though he was badly hurt. Recently, Lord Abaddon finished his secret training and came out as a Spirit Realm Warrior. He had saved one drop of blood from the infant when he threw him out of the Fourth Demon Area, so he perceived through [Blood Search] skill that his grandson is in the Merchant Union. That’s why he sent the three Nutrition Pills as the payment. He cares about the Alaister descendent.”
“The three Demon Kings in the Fourth Demon Area seemed to have a big plan recently, so I guess Lord Abaddon has been too busy to search for the infant in person.” The other huge man added.
“Yes, they sent a message that one of the three Shura Kings, Yamaduti, had already set off from the Immortal Island with fifty Shura escorts. They will arrive in at most one month, and hope that you could find the infant before they arrive.” Gabriel said slowly with deference.
“Shura King, Yamaduti! Fifty Shura escorts!” Ordell Omega sneered, “Seems like Abaddon Alaister really cares about that infant!”
“The Alaister Family is so domineering in the Endless Sea, thus they offended a lot of people. For the past few years, they were busy fighting with the Fourth Demon Area and lost a lot of descendents who possess the Immortal Martial Spirit. That infant is Abaddon Alaister direct grandson left by Vikas, sure enough, he takes it to heart.” One of the huge men responded.
“Gabriel, from now on, I will take charge of the Misty Pavilion, and you will go look for his grandson discreetly. The Shura King, Yamaduti is coming. I can’t take the three Nutrition Pills if we can’t find Raymond before he arrives. You understand?” Ordell Omega looked at Gabriel indifferently.
“Yes, I got it.” Gabriel nodded.
“I will keep the Blood Magical Crystal. After you find all those men called Raymond, bring them to the Misty Pavilion and then with Abaddon’s Blood Magical Crystal, we will know who is the Raymond we want.” Ordell said with an indifferent face as she stroked the Blood Magical Crystal.
“Okay, I will go right away.” Gabriel bowed and left, while sighing to himself bitterly, “The five big families are looking for someone, and I have to go look for Raymond. It’s so boisterous in the Merchant Union.”
