Atlas, the most feared and respected man in the entire planet was all smiles as his daughter run into his arms to embrace him. His eyes were narrowed into slits of joy as he held on to the tender girl he had held as a baby only about two decades ago. Oh how she had grown.
"Haha. If anyone sees you now Father, they would be calling you Canyon's Mouth, not Sharon," of the three children, Shanxi was the last to reach the emperor's side. He laughed heartily when he saw how far his father's smile stretched. It was fascinating that the man many disregarded when it came to the parenting department, was this loved by his children. And they acted so freely around him that it was so impressive that the Emperor's lies had stood all these years. For the rumors remained the same.
"Indeed. Haha." Atlas laughed joyfully as he held his daughter. He was always excited to see his children because he didn't get to see them that often. And as a doting father, that was torture for him.
"Let go Shasha," Atlas laughed and slowly peeled his clingy daughter off him. It wasn't only Shanxi who called Sharon Shasha. Her father, Peter and Anna also called her that. As for Sarong, he called her Sharon. And that was because he felt he had to show her that level of respect at the very least. After all, she was the older of the two of them.
"One more minute," Sharon pleaded, her eyes narrowing in the pleasure of having her head stroked by her father. She was like a greedy cat seeking for more petting, and not letting go of the source of this petting.
"You aren't a child anymore," Atlas shook his head wryly and said. Yet there was still a large smile on his face. He clearly liked the attention he was receiving from his daughter. Finally he was able to get Sharon off him completely – well, not completely. For she still clung onto one of his arms like a koala. Once he had Sharon's attachment sorted with, Atlas turned to face the youngest of his five children, and arguably the most talented.
Sarong, the Reaper's Edge. One whose weapon of choice was the much unpopular heavy saber. Celestials preferred weapons like axes and hammers and spears. Yet Sarong had gone down an uncommon path. He had picked a blade. Because few used such weapons amongst the Celestials, there wasn't a worthy teacher for Sarong. And it was mainly because of this that the pampering Atlas had allowed Sarong to study off world. Sharon tagged along to protect her brother at the time. But who would have thought that both were so talented that they came back as legends in every single world that they visited. They had spread seeds of faith across the galaxies they traveled, and had put the Celestials in a position of fame even they didn't know. And even more amazing, sarong had picked up how to use daggers as expertly as he used a saber.
However, Sarong had recently hit a bottleneck. After all, the worlds he visited and trained in were lower worlds. There was no way Atlas was going to toss the boy into a Higher World when he was so weak. Because of this, the saber manuals Sarong had were now old. He couldn't use them for anything. And that is where the God Academies came in.
"Father," Sarong greeted politely and approached his father to give him a hug. Although he was just as happy to see his old man, he was much more composed. It was fascinating that the younger of the two – Sharon and Sarong – was the more mature.
"How are you my boy?" Atlas happily returned Sarong's hug. Although both Sharon and Sarong were introverted, Sarong was much more introverted than his older sister. Sharon got comfortable with someone when she grew close to the person. And that was why she dished hugs like pizza toppings. Sarong however, was still restricted in his treatment of those close to him. Even Sharon didn't get the chance to hug him much. And not even Atlas, could force a hug on Sarong. Unless he initiated it, they left him alone. So naturally, Atlas was very happy to have Sarong hug him without being asked to. And he knew why. Unfortunately, he could only return his son's hug with one arm because Sharon was still clinging onto the other.
"I am doing very well Father," Sarong replied. It wasn't a cursory reply. It was genuine. Sarong was doing very well, and that was because of the Emperor's recent edict, the edict that concerned the sudden and rapid emergence of God Academies on Planet Celestial.
"Thank you Father for Emperor Academy," Sarong smiled brightly and said.
"Anything for my children," Atlas chuckled in pride. As mentioned earlier, Sarong's sabre manuals were now too old and outdated – far below his wielding level – to offer any real support. Naturally, they had to be changed. However, High Class Saber Manuals weren't easy to find. And after scouring several galaxies, Atlas had only found a few. Even those few were so difficult to understand that he didn't dare let Sarong practice them alone. That was because High Class Manuals had grave penalties attached to them should a person fail to use them as intended. A fractured foundation was the meekest of penalties, and a crippled physique the harshest. Neither seemed attractive to Atlas, so he sought another solution.
God Academies
Planet Celestial had strict rules that forbade the entry of God Academies into the planet. These rules had existed since the planet was made into their own. And they had good reason to. For Celestials wanted to make sure that their rule on Planet Celestial was uncontended. Yet Atlas had allowed the God Roots to finally extended this far. And it was only because of Sarong that he did it. God King's Academy was famed for churning out powerful Battle Gods like they were desserts. King's Crown Academy's fame lay in their ability to teach so many arts so skillfully. And over the few millennia they had been around, they had produced some of the most talented Ascenders the world had ever seen. And in those numbers were gods who battled for supremacy in their heavens! Emperor Academy also had great prestige. But its prestige lay mainly in the sword.
When it came to the art of using blades, Emperor Academy was the place to be. Whereas King's Crown and God King focused on strengthening foundations and increasing the person's ability on a whole, Emperor Academy focused on raising one's affinity with their weapons. They were masters at lifting up complete novices into weapon specialists. And even the uncommon saber was common there. And that was why Sarong was going there. In fact, Sharon was merely, once again, a tagalong. If the people were to find out that the Celestial Emperor had allowed God Academies in just because of his son, they would have vomited copious amounts of blood in anger.
Here they were, trying to figure out the unfathomable ways of their Lord, wondering what their Head was thinking by inviting God Academies in. There were several theories floating around. And each of them was different. Yet they all carried one theme – the Emperor is magnificent and his thoughts are obviously so. They admired their King the more they conjured up their strange theories. Yet none of those theories was right. For the man had only done what he did as a doting father, not an Emperor. As for Max and the other talents who were sent to other schools, it was just a cover for Sarong's admission. However, there was something else in all this. But neither Sharon nor Sarong knew of it. For they weren't ready to hear of it yet.
"Are you excited to go to school?" Atlas asked once everyone was settled. Each one of them was seated on a comfortable chair. Well, all except Sharon who was seated within her father's embrace. It was quite comical that a girl of her age, showing development in every aspect of her physical body, was so childish. But the others ignored it, for they had long grown used to this kind of behavior from her.
"I am," Sarong admitted.
"I am too," Sharon added, as though she didn't want to be left out.
"I heard that Grandmaster Cairo is vastly talented and an excellent tutor. And I cannot wait to start studying under him." Sarong smiled modestly as he spoke. Yet the stars that glittered in his eyes portrayed the excited that he couldn't quite convey.
Atlas wasn't going to ship his children off to school without a sure plan. He had gotten tutors for both of them. Grandmaster Cairo was the tutor he had gotten for Sarong. The man was a powerful Ascender whose skill with the saber was renowned across several galaxies, and even the entire Universe. When the man read through Sarong's files, he was so impressed that he was more than eager to accept the Celestial Emperor's request to tutor his son personally.
"And Grandmistress Yue Lao is quite the woman herself. I heard that she singlehandedly enchanted an entire fleet of Battle Beasts once. And there were several Ascended Beasts within their ranks!" Sharon's eyes shone when she spoke of her new Mistress – Yue Lao.
Yue Lao wasn't famed for her battle prowess, but her gentle character and kind heart. However, she had a few legends of her own. Amongst those legends was the one Sharon had just mentioned. With no assistance or backup to speak of, Yue Lao had faced off against an entire fleet of Battle Beasts. Using nothing but her mind and her trusty weapons, she drove them back and killed their Leader!