"I am one of the Core Disciples, Thorin El Thunderbane. Are you the Lucifer Morningstar who dared to raise his hand against a Thunderbane?" Thorin asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I am," I replied, before turning toward the Martial Hall.
"H-hey, wait!" Thorin called again, a mix of shock and anger clear on his face.
"Show so respect to them, Lucifer," Rowan whispered in a low tone. "Unlike Cedric, they truly are of higher seniority than us. Not to ntion, Senior Thorin is the direct disciple of Master Robert and the successor to beco the next Sect Master. You will be punished severely if you disrespect them."
"Next Sect Master, huh?" I murmured inwardly, as the man before piqued my interest.
"How dare you not greet us and even turn your back on us?" Thorin muttered. "Do you not wish to stay in the sect?"
"Vivi, activate Voice of Tranquility."
"Skill: Voice of Tranquility activated."
"Oh, I apologise, Senior Thorin," I said, my expression turning innocent as I slightly bowed. "I am from the northern part of the continent, so I am not familiar with the customs of sects."
My voice sounded so calm and free of deception that Thorin’s irritated expression instantly lted.
"M-make sure to adapt quickly, or you might get into trouble," Thorin retorted, though his voice no longer carried the sa sharp edge.
"Well then, see you again," I said with a grin, waving my hand as I turned back toward the Martial Hall.
"Hehehe, Junior Brother Lucifer sure is bold, tricking Brother Thorin with a mind-calming spell," an amused female voice ca from behind.
"She detected the skill?" I gasped inwardly, turning my focus to the black-haired woman. "Not even that examiner could detect that I used Voice of Tranquility on him, yet she noticed imdiately."
"M-mind-calming spell?" Thorin exclaid. "You dare use tricks on ?"
"Tsk."
"R-rude brat! Did you just click your tongue after getting caught?" Thorin shouted, clenching his fists.
"Hehehe, you are so funny, Junior Brother Lucifer," the woman laughed, clearly enjoying the entire situation.
After giving a side glance at the black-haired woman, Thorin’s face turned crimson with anger, as though being tricked in front of her bothered him even more.
"You will pay for disrespecting your seniors!" Thorin shouted.
After a brief pause, he continued, "I was only here to give you a warning, but now you have truly crossed the line. We will et again!"
With that, he flew away, leaving behind a trail of blue lightning.
"Heavenly-class lightning?" I murmured inwardly. "So he truly is the successor for a reason."
"See you again, Junior Brother Lucifer," the black-haired woman said with a wave of her hand before flying away as well.
"Done...done...We are both done for," Rowan exclaid, completely drenched in sweat. "I knew you had a screw loose, but I didn’t know it was to this extent. Following you was a mistake!"
"So you did stalk ?"
"Is that really what matters right now?" Rowan snapped, veins bulging on his forehead.
"What are you getting so worked up for?"
"Oh right, you wouldn’t know about that," Rowan sighed, facepalming himself. "To beco a Core Disciple, an inner disciple must, after defeating the other participants, hold a duel against a Core Disciple for ten minutes."
While he continued explaining, my mind was already elsewhere.
"What is the na of that black-haired Core Disciple?" I asked, barely listening to half of his babbling.
"Brother Lucifer," Rowan said calmly, tapping my shoulder. "You are truly a brave man, setting your sights on Senior Sister Lyra."
His voice suddenly rose as he continued, "You do not just have a screw loose, you are a complete madman!"
"You misunderstand my intentions, Rowan. I am only curious about her as a cultivator, not as a woman. As a matter of fact, I already have a fiancée," I said, showing him the ring on my finger.
Before he could respond, an old, fiery man appeared at the entrance of the hall and shouted, "Stop blocking the entrance if you are here only to quarrel!"
"Greetings, Martial Hall Master," Rowan said, giving a ninety-degree bow to the fiery man.
"Greetings," I repeated with a slight bow.
"We are here to register for the Core Disciple Selection Competition."
"Tsk. Co inside," the old man retorted, turning away.
---
After registering for the competition, the two of us returned to our respective chambers. She had already fully grown into an adult, so I did not recognise her at first. However, when Rowan ntioned her na, I instantly realised who she was.
Lyra El Thunderbane was the daughter of my mother’s cousin, which made her my sister by relation.
She was born with the Omni-Soulforce Perception Body, a rare constitution capable of sensing all kinds of Soulforce in nature. That was the reason she imdiately detected my use of Voice of Tranquility.
It was a relief that her realm was not too high. Otherwise, she might have recognised the spells U cast on to conceal my Soulforce.
Although I had only t her once or twice in my younger years, she was a kind woman with a playful personality. Unlike most mbers of the sect, she did not treat as a prince but truly as her younger brother. She even forced to call her Elder Sister and would pull my ears whenever I refused.
"Sister Lyra... she has grown into a beautiful woman," I murmured, a faint smile playing on my lips as I finally saw soone of my own blood.
For the next six days, I spent my days in ditation and my nights outside the mountain, using Vyaghra’s blessing to gather intelligence on the current condition of the Hundred Sky Mountains.
My investigation aligned with what Nyria had told in the Forest of Gumiho. Father Aurelion had beco the King of the Hundred Sky Mountains after the incident at the Sentinel Line. The Flabanes had declared independence, while the Rockbanes had submitted to the Empire.
Those two families were also my primary suspects in leaking information about the body constitutions of Father, Nyria, and myself, which ultimately led to the poisoning attempts against us.
As for my parents, in the book titled The Legend of the Mythic Bloodline, which was taught in the sect as mandatory historical knowledge, both of them were recorded as...
Dead.
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