Chapter 2: The crippled child

Within the vast Jiao country, one could see an intersection of varied landscapes intertwining with each other. It was a hub of various powers, both guilds and clans, all under the rule of the royal clan of Jiao.

The morning time was marked with a lot of activity. One could see both cultivators and commoners roaming throughout the place. It showcased the liveliness of the kingdom.

As one moves towards the eastern part of the country, one would hear the name of the Long Clan. Being a vassal of the royal clan, they gave it jurisdiction over a large stretch of land. 

A massive signboard, with the words LONG, welcomed visitors to the grand clan manor. One could see the disciples training, fighting, and gaining insights among themselves. Several people gathered on the grounds spoke about the power it holds in the area.

Within the center section, there was a vast building near the north side. This was the clan lord's mansion. Within it, one could see a pair of men and women lamenting about something.

"Is there still no news of Tao'er?" Tears could be seen in the eyes of the lady. Do you have to be so heartless? Does our son mean nothing to you?"

"you don't have to cry like that. I will search heaven and earth to find our son. We have already organized the search team. I assigned only the best men among the mansion guards the duty to go search." The clan lord Long Shen said with a heavy heart.

" I may be a father, but there is a tremendous burden on my shoulders. It comes with the title of clan lord. I can't waste much of my time on waste." He then exited and commanded all his guards: "Gather all the elders for a meeting.". The guard bowed in response and.

The young master of the Long clan, Long Tao, recently went missing. But the response of the clan members was almost non-existent. This could all be attributed to the fact that he was an infamous cripple.

Long Tao was a very dazzling star of the clan, born with a heaven-defying talent and easily built his base to the 8th level of Foundation forging realm. The whole clan had a huge expectation from him.

But an unfortunate event, which could be related to the feud between the Long and Bai clan, crushed all his dreams. Long Tao lost his cultivation base and was crippled by a sneak attack from the enemy.

"Can anyone clarify as to where my son is?" Long Shen razed angrily. "answering to the clan lord, due to the incompetency of this old man the young lord seems to have gone missing on the way back from the Ti village." one of the guards replied.

"All the guards of the young lord have been found dead and the carriage in which the young lord was traveling was found burnt to the ground." Nervousness was visible in his tone.

"Form a search party fast. Search for every nook and cranny of the whole range. I don't care about the procedure, but I want my son found alive. Otherwise, all of you can accompany him to your deaths.". The guard's countenance paled as he bowed and left.

Another man clad in blue robes approached the lord and said, "Why pit them with a crime that they have not committed brother? We all know that the incident was caused by the Black dagger hall. The Bai clan is behind it."

All the men present lowered their heads. Rage could be seen in their eyes. "I have gathered you all here, to inform you that the 5-year disciple selection event of 6 sects will soon be held. Only 1 and a half years remained for that event. The clan needs to emphasize the training of our next generation. we need to have at least 3 people crossing into the Qi disciple realm before the commencement of the event".

.......

Ti Mountain Range-

A body lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the forest is present in the valley of the mountain range. This range was called the range of death, due to the mysterious atmosphere present here. All those who have dared to venture into the valley have never returned, turning it into a specialized danger zone.

Long Tao was lying surrounded by grass dyed red with his blood. Due to the previous encounter, Long Tao had lost consciousness. One could see a black-like fluid slowly surrounding his body, mending his injuries and his features turning demonic.

Just as the black fluid was about to wholly turn him into that of a demonic being, a white resplendent of light shone from Long Tao's body slowly countering the effect caused by the black Ki. The process of conversion and cancelation continued.

His body was healthy and a faint rosiness slowly arose on his face. As time went by the body's aura kept rising. In Long Tao's consciousness, he could see multiple fragments of memories.

The first one is a desolate world. A man of medium stature was silently cultivating. A feeling of deep reverence emerged within Long Tao's heart. He was feeling tiny in front of the power radiated by this man. The man suddenly opened his eyes.

A dark gleam could be seen in them. Long Tao's mind was dismayed. The figure got up, practiced a set of arts, and sat down again. One could hear the crack of bones from his body, the expression turning unsightly but the cultivator persisted till the end.

The scene continued until Long Tao eventually broke out. The figure opened its eyes, looked at Long Tao, and threw a punch in the air towards him.

The scene in Long Tao's mind changed. He was currently in a beautiful domain, greenery all around. Upon a nearby hill, a man clad in white stood and was practicing a set of weird movements. 

One was a monkey, a crane, a tiger, a turtle, a leopard, an elephant, a rhino, a bear, and gradually unrecognizable animal outlines were formed. The final was that of a Dragon as it howled and went up the sky, dominating all existence. Long Tao couldn't bear to hold himself up to the roar and was ejected out of the scene.

With a sudden start, Long Tao got up. His whole body was covered in sweat as looked around gradually coming to his senses. He tried to organize his thoughts. How did he end up here?

As he engrossed himself, he could feel some memories forming in his brain. " Hell forger art" and " 99 stances of beast god". There was another painting flowing in his memory space and upon close look, he saw golden runes floating up saying" Omnipotent soul art".

He was busy making sense of the memories. He didn't notice drips of his blood falling on the pendant he wore. The blood was absorbed, and the pendant shone.