Violet Serpent Clan...Armored Lion Clan...Four Element sect and the Silver Wind Empire. From what Samael has learned from the Princess these four are the true superpowers of this world, standing on top of the mountain. They are the most powerful entities in the whole land, they can be found at the central area of the continent.
Meanwhile, the situation in the middle classes has always been chaotic, there are many powers who want to excel above others, and the best way to prove their strength is to battle. Some want to completely annex a whole kingdom. This is the situation that the Crimson Sky Empire is going through, their neighboring empires are constantly trying to weaken them via war and other plots.
"I fell to a lower realm, the lack of purity and abundance is Heavenly energy makes it harder for me to advance quickly in my cultivation. But more than that, without a place to call my home or somewhere I can start and build my name and foundation it will be hard for me to endure the storms that I will cause in the future."
Samael contemplated, gazing outside from the other side of the mirror. The light of the moon shines on his face. "If I'm going to stay here...then I'm going to have to protect it." He turned, his back facing the night sky, and Samael laid down to rest.
The next morning, Samael woke up seeing the young maid called "Aya" placing a tray of food down on the table beside him. The girl was still a bit scared of him but it was not the same as the first time. Although she was still a bit vigilant about him.
"Good morning!" Samael greeted.
"Humph!" But the maid just harrumphed, not facing Samael, she went out to call for the Princess. Samael just shrugged it off and waited for the princess to arrive. Soon after the Princess arrived and they greeted each other before sitting down to talk.
"So, how was your sleep?"
"It was good. yours?" Samael asked back.
"Same"
After some casual talk, Samael finished his food and seriously looked into her eyes. "Lina, I want to practice martial arts...can you help me?" This left the princess quite shocked and there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
She sighed "Samael, you're already 17...you're way past the prime time of your life for practicing martial arts. Other people of our age have longed to reach either the elementary stage of the Foundation Building realm or the Intermediate stage. Even I, who started cultivating at the age of 8 have only reached the 3-star Foundation Building stage...It's far too late for you to catch up."
The princess finished speaking her mind and from her facial expression you could see pity and worry but before she can say anything else. She had spoken terms that were all too familiar to him.
"Foundation Building realm..." This is a term used for one of the realms in cultivation.
Qi-Gathering is the first realm in cultivation. Where practitioners will gather energy to temper and strengthen their body, for it to be ready to build a stable cultivation foundation.
Every realm of cultivation is divided into nine minor realms or stars, with every 3 stars being the definite distinction, most call these distinctions as the Early, Middle and Late stages of a cultivation realm.
From gathering Qi or energy to nourish and temper the body before building a stable Foundation to form a Core, then using that Core to give birth to a Nascent Soul before finally severing the mortality of one's soul and attaining the so-called "Immortality"
Knowing that he was at a disadvantage in terms of the starting point didn't discourage Samael
He stood up from his seat and walked to the window where he saw the city with all its inhabitants and said.
"I...had my whole clan slaughtered, not even a single one remained...parents, elders...not even children were spared. From the fire and the screams of my ruined clan, my parents saved me and used everything in their power to send me away. The last thing I ever saw was my mother's crying face...I don't even know if they survived but even if they didn't...I want to properly bury them."
The princess, who listened the whole time slowly teared up, she didn't expect the stranger she rescued to have such a tragic story behind him. When she thought he was done, Samael's voice entered her ears again as she lifted her head to see him staring at her eyes and she could see...
Determination...
Hatred...
and Pride...
"I have nowhere else to go but you have given me a new home. I want to do everything I can to help you protect it, it's the least I can do."
Then Samael bowed and he thought to himself "Yes, it's the least I can do before I leave. I will eventually leave this place to do what I must... I will have my revenge!"
"Very well." The Princess stood up, her eyes red with tears falling down her cheeks. She wiped them and while sniffing she said. "I will answer your determination with my own and help you as much as I can...but the path ahead of you is gonna long and hard, I hope you won't give up." With that, the Princess walked out of the room.
"I am never going to give up...let my soul be dammed if I do..." After the princess left the room, Samael spoke this to himself.
A few moments later, the young maid, Aya, knocked. "Hey, punk! The princess is calling for you. She said to go to the training ground." right after saying this, she darted out of his room and slammed the door shut.
There was silence in the room and Samael had one eyebrow raised. "Did she just call me punk?" no one else was in the room so it was just Samael speaking to himself.
He left the room and went to the training ground where he saw the Princess with two old men beside her, standing in front of a large clear crystal. Samael knew what this crystal was for and he was surprised that he hasn't thought about this thing.
The crystal was an Elemental crystal used for assessing the Elemental affinity of a person. Generally in the cultivation world, cultivators can freely train in any element they choose but each person has a particular element that they are more skilled in. Training in elements with which they have an affinity saved them the struggle of training in elements which they are not. So, after creating a system that can assess the elemental affinity of cultivators. More and more of them opt to train in elements in which they are more aligned.
Though it was a fast way to gaining strength, Samael didn't agree with the norm and notion of solely training in elements with which the practitioners have an affinity. From his memories of his clan's library, he had read about heaven-defying experts who wielded four of the elements. Fire, water, wind, and earth but had only one which had an affinity and that was the Earth element. Most people knew of this so his rise to power and famed surprised many and showed that hard work pays off in the end.
"I heard that you are called Samael, well boy listen here. What is in front of you is a-" One of the old men who stood beside the princess started speaking when Samael cut him off "An elemental crystal, I know. I've seen one before."
The old man who spoke glared at him for interrupting but cooled down once he reminded himself that who he is talking to is just a child to him but was also a friend of the Princess. "Very well then, I believe you already know what to do."
Samael lightly nodded and walked towards the crystal, placing his hands on the surface. The crystal lit up before black lightning started to flicker then it become larger, dancing inside the crystal. Then it started to get even more violent as it crackled inside.
"Lightning element! This kid actually has Lightning element!" The other old man was surprised.
The princess also stared at the crystal with widened eyes. Lightning element is a very powerful element but only a handful of people have an affinity towards them. There are only a handful of powerful cultivation arts that exists for training Lightning element, even within sects that are established solely for lightning users.
Just as their surprise was beginning to die down, all of them gawked and saw the black lightning that danced around suddenly froze. The lightning literally froze!
"By the heavens...dual elements," the two old men said at the same time. Even with their age, their body straightened as they saw what happened in the crystal.
"That punk is actually this special?" The maid at the side finally spoke, she was shocked as well but didn't forget to express her displease towards Samael.
"Quickly! Inform his majesty!" One of the old men commanded and the other took out a talisman to send a message.
"Samael has an affinity with dual elements?" The princess had her hands on her mouth. As someone who could be said to be an expert among her peers, she knows all too well that Dual elemental affinity is rarely seen and whoever successfully trains their dual element to a high level is all leagues above their generation!
While the princess, the two old men gleamed with shock and smiles. Samael appeared calm on the outside but inside...he was shocked as well. Not because of the dual elements thing but rather because of how he saw the elements interacted. The lightning coursed and then froze, then the lightning broke free of the icy cage and froze again a bit later.
Samael had an inspiration on how he could use these two elements and now he is raring to go and start training. He had a smile and muttered, "Now it begins..."