Li Kuo arrived just in time to see a very somber looking Jian wearing a tattered black coak, the hood concealing his eyes, only letting him see two glowing chilly blue eyes.
'What the hell ? I went away for half an hour and he became a villain ?' Li Kuo thought jokingly. In fact to him it was most likely that Jian bought the cloak to conceal his identity as he was quite known in the sect and so he could be recognized by disciples of other sects. He then thought that he should do the same.
Jian was lost in his dark murderous thoughts, glaring at everyone that came too close to him, not even registering that he looked quite terrifying. He could only think about his new power. The only way to know if it was good was to kill someone. The sect was at war so he could kill a disciple from an ennemy sect, but he needed to wait for an occasion for that. That and he needed to prepare himself for it. He had heard from a few of his slaves friends that killing for the first time was a gruesome experience, one that turned your stomach upside down....Then again not all of his old friends were normal, and one of them described the experience as insanely joyous.
'Ah....That dumbass...Chimi....I miss her.....' Jian thought as he remembered the little girl who used to follow him everywhere he went, until she was executed for strangling a noble to death.
They were a small group of slaves at the time, Jian being the latest addition to the bunch. They always thought that Chimi wanted to look tough to impress....Until they realized she was actually a demon in human skin. A being obsessed with bringing pain to everyone it met. Jian was perhaps the only one who was actually sad she died, but then again he had never suffered at her hands.
' I should....I should visit her tomb on the way back. It should be around the village she was born in.....The guards put her there under the orders of that kind noble.' Without even realizing it, Jian was once again lost in his memories. He remembered his old friends, the cold yet fair guards whom he always stole food from and also the only kind noble he had ever met in his life, Zhi Youmei.
"Jian !"
He turned around at the sound of Li Kuo's voice and deadpanned when he saw the man wearing a cloak matching his own.
" It's a good idea to wear cloaks to hide our identities ! We are no Jin Wang or Zhao Shu, but we are still quite popular. So enemies could recognize us." Li Kuo said smiling at Jian who let out a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, a....A great idea !" Jian said, giving Li Kuo a thumbs up. They then left the building, Jian having totally forgotten to ask Li Kuo what he had come here for.
They both walked towards the palace, Jian having no idea as to why exactly, but Li Kuo seemed to know what he was doing. Plus nobles were supposed to gravitate around royalty at all times so maybe Li Kuo's parents were in the palace at the moment.
However a little something happened as they neared the gigantic palace. A middle aged man approached them all of a sudden. He was an extremely tall man with long raven black hair, eyes as red as blood and a growing beard that he suddenly scratched as he looked at them while smiling. He was wearing some sort of brown leather armour with a large sword strapped on his back. He also had some sort of long sash covered in silver feather over his belt.
"Hello there kids ! Sorry to mess with ya at this hour, but I can't find my way around this city ! I have to go to an inn called the Flaming something, no idea where I can find it though." The man said, smiling once more. Li Kuo was about to answer when Jian got chills from looking directly into the man's eyes. Li Kuo may not see it, but this was a man who considered them too weak to even be on his guards. He was completely relaxed, looking at them as though they were entertainment.
'This guy....He must be crazy strong...System !' He thought as he actived his buddha eyes at the same time.
[ Name: Zhigang Wukong.
Age: 65
Race: Human
Rank: Law Realm, 2nd Law.
Talent: 150
Martial Spirit: Ancient Diamond Fanged Wolf ( Rank: Law Realm, 4th Law )
Soul Heritage: Kinto ( Seen by the All-Seeing Eyes of Buddha )
Unique Technique: Non-Existent
State: Excited
Energy: Qi, Holy Qi, Nature Qi. ]
'WUKONG ?! Isn't that...Zhigang Wukong....That's the emperor of the Wukong Empire !' Jian thought in panic. Zhigang recognized the look and so put a hand on Li Kuo's shoulder before he turned around and saw his friend have a heart attack.
" Well thank you for the help young man. Get to the inn tonight if you have nowhere to sleep. I'll pay a room for you and even the dinner if you get there before I already ate. I eat early though." Zhigang said, winking at Li Kuo before departing.
Jian had calmed down since he understood that the emperor wouldn't exactly want anyone to know of his identity and he couldn't afford to have Li Kuo ask questions about his panicked look.
" You alright there Jian ? You're sweating an awful lot."
"Yeah, yeah.....I just.....Let's just continue, okay ?" Jian said. Li Kuo just nodded and left it at that. But for some reason he had a huge smile on his face after that, and Jian wouldn't get why until they met the man's parents.
They finally reached the palace after walking for a few minutes. Li Kuo went to talk to the guards while Jian marvelled at the number of people waiting in front of the gates. Apparently the king was holding some sort of party. Jian was now certain he had no way of getting in. Li Kuo might get in since he was the son of a noble, but Jian was just a random orphan. And a suspiscious looking one at that.
He was baffled though when Li Kuo came back and lead him inside. Jian felt quite weird as they entered the palace while the nobles at the front looked at them with great interests, the most imaginative minds inventing scenarios that would involve two teenagers hiding behind cloaks and hoods entering the palace right before a massive party thrown by the king. It was quite the strange sight, but the guards seemed to find that normal for some reasons.
Li Kuo had to literally push Jian around to get him to move at all. The 12 years old child stopping every second or so to take a look around. The palace had intriguing drawings on the walls, depicting glorious scenes of battles, all involving a monstrous looking woman and a barbaric looking man both covered in blood, with thousands of corpses at their feet. While the drawings were gruesome, they were quite beautiful still, but not as beautiful as the statues that laid in front of the door that lead to the throne room.
One was a statue of a muscular humanoid creature with fangs coming out of it's lower gums. The other was of a feminine humanoid creature with a huge floating circle on her back pointing at the door.
"Doesn't look creepy at all." Jian whispered. Li Kuo let out a quiet chuckle before he removed his hood and showed his face to the guard standing in front of the door. The guard nodded and opened the door.
"Queen Li Yao, your son has come to visit you !" Announced the guard, as Jian slowly turned his head towards Li Kuo who smiled at the woman sitting on the throne.
"Mother, I've come to visit after all that time." Li Kuo said while bowing his head. Jian who was beside him bowed his head as well, while trying to understand what was going on. Li Kuo wasn't just a noble....He was actually a prince. The crown prince to be more exact, since the king only had two children and one of them has already died.
"Son....Step forth and let me see, if you have changed at all during that time. " The Queen said in the coldest voice Jian had ever heard. And yet Li Kuo stepped forward, his smile remaining fixed on his face.
He put a knee to the floor and kept his head low. The Queen stood up, and slowly walked towards him, demonstrating on her way all the grace a woman of her standing had, making Jian gasp in awe. She was one of the most magnificient thing he had ever seen. Even though she hid her mouth with her sleeve and kept her eyes shut for some reasons.
She then kneeled in front of Li Kuo and touched his forehead, before going to his hair and ruffling them as he chuckled.
"Still a child, huh ?" She said, as Jian saw her cheeks move to show she was smiling, though he couldn't quite see her mouth.
Li Kuo looked up, tears in his eyes for some reasons, and his smiled slowly faded away.
"Mother, I am sure you already know of this....But the sect...." He said, looking away a bit as if ashame to even ask for help, for that was what he really wanted.
" Speak no more about this matter. The Raja Sect has upset quite a lot of people over the years, it's only normal a war would happen at some point. And with the number of our allies the sect has as it's enemies, we cannot afford to act. This matter is settled. " The queen said as she turned around and returned to her throne. Li Kuo looked afraid to speak for a moment, even looking at Jian with what the young boy considered guilt, before he steeled himself.
"I should have asked for this a long time ago, but I was always a coward. No matter how much you tried to reassure me, it's the case. I am weak, I am not very smart either, courage is something I severely lack. But I am determined. I have always been. You know this better than anyone mother....I am the most stubborn prince on the continent at this point...." He said, getting a laugh out of his mother and the guards in the room. But what came next stopped all kind of laughter and left even the queen shocked.
"Which is why I humbly ask.....For your permission to meet the Zero King through the means that are described in the Zero King Sutra....So that I may be trained by this monster, even If I end up scarred for life from this.....I want to become stronger....No matter the cost."
The matter was set in stone.
They would both become stronger, no matter the means, no matter how much they had to sacrifice for it. They had no real purpose for this strengh at the moment...But then again....monsters needed strenghs only to dominate others, and nothing else.