Swish Swish, rustle rustle…. ….
The sound of the leaves rustling across the courtyard could be heard. It produced a certain mellifluous sound as if the wind itself was whispering. From time to time, it could be heard a yell of a young man followed by the swinging of a saber cutting through the air.
"Ah..." Jen gasped for breath as he laid down on the courtyard. It was a spacious but tattered courtyard which seemed to have already passed the vicissitudes of life. There were plants growing under the stone slabs that covered the floor, occasionally shadows of small animals flashed around the corners and gaps of the broken tiles from the buildings surrounding the square.
Jen placed both hands on the floor and gently stood up, he picked up his saber and just as he was preparing to continue training a hard knocking sound was heard and almost immediately the door was opened with a "bang".
The figure that appeared was slightly muscular, with long black hair cascading down his robes. His features were average but there was a trace of arrogance in his eyes which indicated his noble status. He smiled and said: "I figured out you were here, Cousin. Grandfather is looking for you, he wants you to come to the Ancestral hall." Even though his words seemed polite, it couldn't be hidden the contempt in his voice.
Jen seemed to not be bothered about this and without the slightest ripple in his expression he replied: "I'll be right there."
He sheathed his meter long saber in a black case covered with green jade embroideries of mythical beasts and proceeded to walk toward the Ancestral hall.
A trace of envy flashed through Su Huo's eyes but it quickly disappeared and he regained his previous smile. He walked next to Jen and said mockingly: "It's such a pity that you didn't awaken your Dahl cousin, without dominion energy it will be impossible to truly utilize the power of Grandfather's battle saber."
The expression of disdain from Su Huo and his mocking remarks were not something new to Jen so he chose to ignore them. While walking in the direction of the Ancestral hall, Jen sighed and thought to himself: "If only I had awakened my Dahl..." He then remembered the words of his Grandfather during his 15th birthday.
"Child, Is it worth it? You have been practicing 10 hours a day your saber arts for almost 12 years now. You have also been studying for 8 hours every day without rest, I don't even recall a memory where you are not working hard. Why are you so stubborn? You know perfectly that despite being a genius and being nurtured with precious resources from the clan, without a Dahl you will never be able to match an Awakened. Why don't you just become the accountant of the Clan? With me here you will be able to live your life without worries."
Jen knew that his Grandfather only wanted his well being, but this could not stop the feeling of disappointment welling inside him each time he thought about it.
In little to no time, Jen arrived in front of the Ancestral hall and then he continued walking forward.
The Ancestral hall was not very big, there were pictures of dragons and phoenixes in the walls. The floor was made of Spirit marble which helped in calming the mind and enter an ethereal state perfect for cultivation. In the back of the room, there was an altar and some shelves with the martial heirloom of the Renia clan.
Apart from that, there was a painting of the founder of the Renia Clan. His appearance was that of a middle-aged man with strong features, however, an inexplicable coldness seemed to radiate from his eyes as if it wanted to freeze everything around him.
There was an elderly man standing with his hands behind his back and looking in the direction of the painting. It is unbeknownst when but he started speaking, his voice was not vigorous but it seemed to carry a certain harmony as if its very action was connected with the will of the world
"Jen..." He paused momentarily and then continued: "As you already know, my battle prowess is not what it used to be. The clan has decided to start nurturing your uncle for the position of clan head. They have decided to transfer all of your resources toward him due to your lack of value."
He breathed deeply and said: "Jen listen to me, you need to escape from the clan. Pick up all of your things and leave, for now, I can control the situation but once I... there will not even remain the option of you becoming an accountant. Your uncle will try every mean to extinguish your father's bloodline so that they can become the sole heirs of the clan."
At that moment Jen was exceedingly calm. He knew that the path ahead was going to be anything but easy. Despite everyone always discouraging him, he never gave up. There were moments where he truly felt desperate, he had no one to rely on but himself. Nevertheless, he still continued pushing forward, wouldn't all he had gone through be for naught if he just simply surrendered to his fate?
...
The night was slightly chilly, however, the sky was full of the radiance of the stars. The light cascaded down upon the figure of Jen creating a picture as if an Immortal God had descended from the heavens.
"Be strong Jen. Don't lose faith, I am certain you will reach greater heights." Despite the seemingly encouraging speech, his grandfather's eyes seemed to betray his words.
"Thank you, Grandfather. You have been always like a father to me, and most probably you will be the only person I will miss." Jen hugged his grandfather and then turned his back and said: "Goodbye."
His silhouette quickly sped forward and then disappeared into the darkness of the night. The only thing it could be heard was a soft murmur: "Go, child, Go and live well"
...
Without noticing when tears started streaming from Jen's face. Even though his memories in the clan were not that good, it was his home after all. The place where he had gone through 15 years of his life. Despite being always alone he now felt as if there was something empty inside his chest. There was a sense of insecurity invading him, it was easy saying that he would pursue his dreams but the feeling of imminent failure pressured him. This was the exact same feeling that had followed him for the past 11 years since his inability to awaken his Dahl.
But this was just a fleeting emotion, he needed to survive and become stronger. He thrived to unveil the mystery of his parents' disappearance and the reason for not being able to awaken a Dahl even though he possessed the Renia's Bloodline.
He then remembered the lessons in his clan that had been haunting him all his life.
"The Dahl is a dominion energy tattoo which allows the user to absorb and manipulate the dominion energy. This energy originates from the stars and its what allows the Dahls to possess their prowess. Naturally, each Dahl has its own distinct ability depending on the heavenly image and bloodline.
However, the star from which you absorb the dominion energy is the key component to determine your potential. The longer the time taken to awaken, the stronger the user will be. This is because the child absorbs energy to communicate with a star and create a bond. Therefore, having more energy will allow you to communicate further. If put into perspective the body of a child is a recipient, and the higher the capacity the bloodline has to absorb dominion energy allows it to expend more energy to communicate with stars which are further located.
The reason why the stars further located are stronger is unclear to this day and is known as the most mysterious phenomena in our world.
The method of classification used for different awakenings is age as it is known that a child's limit for awakening is at the age of four. Stars further from that are impossible to establish contact with. Therefore, if the child has not awakened at the age of four the only reason is that it's unable to absorb dominion energy.
At the same time, if the child manages to awaken it's impossible to hide the tattoos that appear over the body. The tattoos will first appear on one of the 6 regions of the body namely: Head, Torso, Right arm, Left arm, Right leg and Left leg."
Jen then looked at the sky and whispered softly to himself: "It doesn't matter, whatever is in my path. I will clear it."
They will give an unprecedented strengthening in that region. These are the so-called Awakened Dahl warriors. In order to cultivate to the next realm, they need to refine the 6 different regions of their body with the dominion energy and then merge them into their own body.