Errol stood silently on the stone altar prepared, his eyes closed and soul prepared for anything that was to come. Behind the boy, the Shrine Maiden took several deep breaths in before placing her final preparations. By her side, there was a bucket filled with sacred water from the Celestial River. Typically, as per the Lantis Republic's tradition, those that underwent their Spirit Awakening Ceremony would be blessed by the water source that was closest to their Spirit origin. For the Sovereign Koi, that would be Longyu Lake. For the Jingyu Clan, the Shrine Maiden would harvest the water from the Celes Ocean.
Generally speaking, not many would awaken their Spirits using the holy water from the Celestial River. One, it was too wasteful, particularly since no one knew when the Empyrean Wonder would dry up. And two, receiving the baptism of the Celestial River was the highest honour one could achieve. Only martyrs of the Lantis Republic, those that had done a significant amount for their nation, could allow their children to awaken their Spirit using the exalted water.
For Shin though, that prerequisite was a non-issue. Even if the High Elder Council were to reject his ask, all Shin needed to do was bless any water source with his Celestial Aura. If he so wished, Shin could even create a hot spring of Celestial Water for Errol to awaken his Spirit. Of course, there was no real need to do that since all the Shrine Maiden needed was a few drops of Celestial Water to cleanse Errol's soul.
Shrine Maiden Yibai reached into the bucket, dousing both her hands with the glorious Celestial Water that Shin had provided. Her mana was running rampant, after feeling the primal power within the bucket, but she was experienced enough to hold her ground. Still, with closed eyes, Errol eagerly waited for the Shrine Maiden to begin the ceremony. He tried to remain calm, but there was no helping the chills that ran up his spine ever so often.
"Brother Errol..." Cassiel grasped both her hands together as she watched her brother's Spirit Awakening Ceremony. By her side, Luciel similarly had both his eyes glued onto his brother. Though they knew that the Spirit Awakening Ceremony was mostly safe, it was the first time that the two were witnessing the deed.
Shin and Kanari were a little less worried, although their faces did betray a hint of anxiety. Who could blame them? Their eldest son was about to awaken his Spirit, marking the first step he would take to adulthood. Now, they understood how their senior first felt when they themselves took the plunge into their nascent spiritual body.
"Look at you, worried about nothing. There's no way that Errol would fail to awaken his Spirit, given how much you've trained him over the years!" A chirpy voice whispered into Shin's ears. Glancing over his shoulder, Shin saw a white-haired woman, who looked no older than twenty-five, staring him down. Her height had remained mostly unchanged, and the woman was still a head and a half shorter than the Prince of Water. However, from the way she acted, one might think that she was actually the taller one. So who would dare speak to the Lantis Republic's most dominant figure so callously?
Who else but the resident imp of Guardian Sword, the Hall of Gold's Master, Elrin Zedcris?
"Elrin, you wouldn't understand..." Shin shook his head. "You're still unwed and childless, so there's no way that you can comprehend a parent's anxiety."
"Hah… You're right..." The woman sighed before wrapping her arms around Shin's neck. "Poor old childless me… Already thirty-three but still no spouse in sight."
"A-ah… I didn't mean it that way, Elrin!" Thinking that he accidentally stepped on a landmine, Shin waved his arms flusteredly. He was blessed with four children and a happy family. However, not everyone shared his luck. Elrin remained unmarried throughout her young adult life and was still single at her age.
Furthermore, it was not due to her lack of interest in men. It was just… Elrin had been experiencing a string of bad apples who only latched onto her for money and influence. In the end, Elrin had been through ten failed relationships, all in the span of ten years. Even if she wanted to have kids, it wasn't smart of her to bear one out of wedlock.
"Hehe, just joking." A sly smile crept up Elrin's face as her despondent expression quickly turned upbeat. "I'm not really that bothered about it. Hah… Most men are scum anyway. I would rather stay at home with Chubby, Pickles and Harpy." The white-haired woman thought about her three kittens that she'd rescued from an animal shelter after her last breakup. Now that Elrin was living far away from her father's control, she'd started to take control over her own house, purchasing whatever she wanted to decorate it. Her latest splurge was the three kittens, and it didn't seem to stop there…
"Though Harpy is the only female cat that I have and she seems to pair quite nicely with Pickles… Maybe I should adopt another female cat to pair with Chubby? Ah, then I can name her Flabby! Chubby and Flabby… They'll be the perfect couple!" Lost in her delusions, Elrin didn't notice Shin and Kanari's sour look. The two gazed into each other's eyes, and a firm determination was transferred from one mind to the other.
'We need to set Elrin up now!'
'You look for some people in the Himmel Empire, I'll scour the entire Lantis Republic!'
There was no way that Shin and Kanari would let their bosom friend turn into a crazy old cat lady!
While the husband and wife pair were going through the list of potential candidates for their bosom friend, another voice sounded out from the entrance of the hall: "Sorry that I'm late! Did I miss anything?"
A breathtaking man rushed into the chambers, his face red and his head filled with humid sweat. Glorious silver hair flowed down from his crown while his gorgeous emerald eyes glistened like the pristine lake of the eternal realm. Standing about five centimetres shorter than Shin himself, the man had a somewhat intimidating frame, much unlike his baby-face.
"Isadore… To think that you'll be late for your own godson's Spirit Awakening Ceremony!" Shin gritted his teeth, pretending to be infuriated by Isadore's tardiness.
"Sorry, sorry! I didn't realise how much time has flown by while in my office. If not for Fionn, I may have missed it entirely!" The silver-haired man scratched the back of his head, shyly looking back at the woman with cornflower blue hair. She was smiling like a radiant peach, but no one could fathom what malicious insults were floating within her mind.
Apologetically, the woman bowed down to Shin and Kanari: "Sorry, I misjudged this idiot's ability to tell the time. If I had been a little more aware, I could have dragged him out even earlier."
"No issue, the Hall Master didn't miss much." A sapphire-haired young woman tapped on Fionn's shoulder, trying her best not to break out in laughter. "However… Tardiness isn't really an admirable trait for a Hall Master… I wonder what punishments we should enact on him?"
"Two strikes with your dagger and one strike from my scythe should be enough."
"E-Elyse? F-Fionn? D-Do you really need to go that far?!" Isadore stammered as the two girls ganged up on him.
The Hall of Whispers led by Isadore had quickly grown to become one of the world's largest information networks. Due to his previous experience in the Himmel Empire as well as his further exposure to how the Mercenary Guild worked, Isadore had morphed the Hall of Whispers into an organisation that was universally feared throughout the world. And a significant reason why Isadore was so successful was because of his trusted aides, the Twin Daughters of Death, Elyse and Fionn.
Fionn was widely considered to be the incarnate of the Grim Reaper herself as her Wind-Elemental Scythe danced through enemies as if she were slicing a cake. The Rank 54 Spirit Lord could shroud herself in the wind, masking her scent and presence on a whole other plane. On the other hand, Elyse had used her Cinereous Cyclone Dagger and improved her assassinations skills to a terrifying degree as well. Although she was still a Rank 57 Spirit Lord, given the right resources and time, the master assassin could easily take down a Rank 70 Spirit Emperor without much hassle.
Of course, since they were still relatively weak as compared to the upper echelons of the cultivation world, the pair's talents were mostly concentrated on intelligence gathering and socialising with High Society. In terms of status, although they weren't fit to become the Vice-Masters of the Hall of Whispers as of yet, the women were widely considered to be the third and fourth in command of Guardian Sword's sister branch.
Even Isadore couldn't brush off the remarks of his number three and four without bearing the consequences.
"Haha, cut him some slack. I'm sure he'd learnt his lesson." Unable to bear with the charade no longer, Shin broke out in laughter and threw his friend a lifeline. "Don't worry, the Spirit Awakening Ceremony has yet to begin. We're still in the preparation phase."
"Phew, thank goodness!" Isadore slammed his weight down on one of the empty chairs waving his arms to cool his hot head. Fionn subconsciously took the spot next to the silver-haired man while Elyse took her place alongside the other orphans. It was odd to see Fionn so detached from the orphans, her 'main family,' but given the circumstances, not a single soul questioned her decision.
Fionn had spent years under Isadore's wing, and gradually, she'd begun to foster some emotions for the young unmarried man. Furthermore, seeing all of her fellow friends and family pairing up started to trigger a sense of urgency in the young woman's heart. Shin wedded Kanari long ago, and unsurprisingly, Lia paired with Ryner. Max found a sweetheart through his work in the Hall of Gold while even the youngest among them, Jacob, got married to Kesyl, Shin's junior-apprentice sister and the 'heir' of Lady Seph's healing arts.
Ella remained unmarried as her heart was still ice-cold since the loss of Shizen while Emma couldn't find a single man that fit her standard. Elyse was primarily the same as she focused entirely on improving the Hall of Whispers and Guardian Sword as a whole. Therefore, almost half of the orphans had found the love of their lives, and Fionn felt that she was lagging behind.
Well, it wasn't like Fionn didn't have a person in mind. She had feelings for Isadore, alas their relationship wasn't going anywhere. The man in question knew of Fionn's feelings but feared that their circumstances would lead them to nowhere. After all, even though Isadore was the Hall of Whisper's Master, he was first and foremost, a Prince of the Himmel Empire. The shield that would protect his nation from any outside harm.
Isadore's marriage wasn't decided by him, but by the Himmel Ancestor. And it was hard to believe that the elderly man would allow Isadore to marry a girl who wasn't loyal to the Himmel Empire.
However, that didn't mean that Fionn would just give up. Taking notes from Kanari, the maiden continuously tried to erase the division that separated Isadore and herself, hoping to secure the man's heart before anything.
"Guys, be quiet… The ceremony is starting," Ella's voice coldly sounded out, bringing the chatter to an abrupt halt.
Errol, who had his eyes closed the entire time, suddenly felt something cold reach into his soul. The Celestial Water was doing its trick, and Errol's body was feeling stronger than it ever did before. In terms of overall resistance, Errol could most definitely endure the awakening of his Spirit, no matter how potent it might be.
And…
CLANK!!!
A resplendent light burst forth from Errol's soul at that exact moment. An azure aura wrapped the young boy like a taco, and a mysterious wreathed mist emerged from every single pore in his body. Instinctively, the boy raised his supple right arm, and a beautiful azure glow congregated itself into one point. At that moment, the azure aura turned sharp as its power was dialled up to eleven. Opening his eyes, Errol gaped in wonder as he gazed into the light of his Spirit. It was a hiltless sword with a river source flowing through its blade. It wasn't turbulent, and neither was it too gentle… It was just… Beautiful.
As expected…
"So he really did awaken the Azure Water Blade..."
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