A few villagers had come up to Jin's house to check up on the cause of the storm before quickly noticing Luca's actions and leaving in silence.
A rural village such as this did not have many powerhouses. There was not a single cultivator above the body enhancement stage who lived at this village outside Luca. Even in the nearby villages, the total number could be counted on one hand.
This was mainly because of the fact that the majority of the cultivators seeked to enter a sect or if they were extremely talented, they would attempt to enter a prestigious family.
This caused a large concentration of powerhouses in certain areas centralized around certain sects and the majority of the locations of these sects were in strategic points within the territory of the prestigious family.
This was mainly because the four families were sponsored of the majority of the sects as they held absolute power within the region. And even though the Zak family were the ruling family, it didn't not necessarily mean they were stronger than the other three families at this moment.
Of course, this information had been unknown to Jin until Luca actually had sat down and explained various things to him including his own past.
Jin sat before Luca as he gazed at the countless wrinkles and light scares that covered Luca's face as Luca gazed at the stars above.
"There once was a man whose dreamed of reaching the stars and had ambitions higher than the guardians themselves. He was born as a bastard to the Ho family's main branch between one of the elder's daughters and a leader of a small platoon from the Tiger Army." Luca spoke as he continued to look up.
"His father had been stripped of his position and sentenced to leave the army alongside his wife, who had been exiled by her own father to a remove village alongside her man. This is a simple story of your grandparents Jin." Luca turned towards Jin before he smiled.
"Thankfully, their son had a strange talent that allowed him to eventually become a powerhouse to make a name for himself but it had been too late at that point." Luca's eyes turned sad as he continued. "The war called for all sorts of desperate measures and the man had been recalled back to the army in an emergency where he sacrificed his life for the family that had once abandoned him. And the wife... She returned to the main branch in despair and agony only to face the cold shoulder of her own father and her birth family and eventually died from depression."
"Is...Is this the story of my grandparents?" Jin asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." Luca nodded. "It was a perfect backstory for a revenge plot for their son."
"So what did the son do?"
Luca, gazed into the distance as his eyes became cold. "He endured."
"... Are you still enduring?" Jin asked with a hint of fear. As much as he enjoyed learning more about his mysterious father, the tone of Luca implied something dark.
"Haha." Luca chuckled as he stood up. "Jin. In this world, the sound of your voice is equivalent to the strength of your fists. And your father's fists aren't quite powerful enough for his voice to be heard."
"I...I understand." Jin had subconsciously deduced this fact already as he thought to himself.
Though it has only been around a decade or so in this world, it wasn't hard to realize that this was a world where power ruled supreme. And though Jin did know this already deep inside his heart, it was always good to have confirmation regarding this thoughts and deductions.
"Father." Jin then looked at Luca. "You aren't in qi condensation right?"
"Haha, did you deduce that too?" Luca smiled at Jin. "You know Jin, sometimes it feels like I'm talking to another adult when I'm talking to you. You're right. I'm not. But for now, just think of me as being in qi condensation. Go sleep now, I still have a lot of work to finish before my friend arrives."
Jin frowned at how Luca had brushed his question aside but assumed it was for a reason and didn't inquire any further as he quietly went into his room.
Luca gazed at Jin's bedroom door for a bit longer before resuming his infusions.
And the storm continued.
-----
"So, whatcha think?" A playful tone of a girl rang out from a large sofa within a exquisitely decorated hall.
"Lady White, you still have to prepare for the meeting with the three oth-"
"You felt it too right?" Baek, rolling around with a cusion upon the sofa, stared at Ahn who she basically used as her 'secretary' and kept around her at all times.
"...Yes." Ahn responded with a sigh.
"Thoughts?" Baek asked.
"He is dangerous, I'm not sure if giving him those eyes was the rig-"
"You're right! I should've brought him with me, dangit. I should go back and pick him up!" Baek jumped up from the sofa with bright eyes before Ahn hurriedly reasoned with her.
"Lady White... He's Luca's son." Ahn spoke in a solemn manner.
"Luca? Who's Luc...Oh." Baek seemed to have remembered something as she fell into thought. "How strong is he now? I did sense his aura a few days back but it didn't feel that powerful."
"...I believe we shouldn't underestimate his speed of growth. Though I'm not entirely sure about his motives, the fact that he isn't entirely on good terms with some members of the main branch may cause some issues in the future. And bringing Jin over here may amplify that situation or perhaps even recreate the events of the past."
"Ugh, boring. You know I could just go and snatch Luca ove-" Baek stared to speak with an annoyed tone, only to be quickly cut off my Ahn.
"Using force against mortals is against the rules, Lady White." Ahn reminded her.
"...Humph! What do you want me to do then?" Baek pouted as she spoke. "It's been hundreds of years since someone with blood so pure has appeared within the family, do we just ignore his talents because of the potential of his father's danger?"
"..." Ahn fell into thought as well.
He had felt it too.
Maybe it was because of the primal blood flowing within their veins, the members of the same family could roughly sense the concentration of another member's primal blood from a feeling of suppression.
A member with very concentrated amount of blood exerted a kind of venerable and oppressive aura against those who didn't.
This was one of the reasons why the members of the Ho family felt veneration towards Lady White through hundreds of years of separation. They felt it every time they were in her presence and it was likely the same for the other three families as well.
But if what Ahn felt was veneration and a need to worship before Lady White, the only thing he felt from Jin was... Darkness. When he had first approached Jin from the shadows, it was as if his entire body had been dunked into extremely cold and deep abyss.
It was a form of primal fear born from deep within his blood.
"I believe he'll make his way into the main branch regardless of our actions. I suggests we try to appease the situation with Luca first as this is an internal turmoil and an issue that will need to be settled before it erupts into something bigger." Ahn, after a long thought, suggested.
"Hmm, what about the boy then?" Baek slumped back onto her sofa and asked in a lazy manner. "Do we just leave him be? He might become a bigger issue than Luca."
"Jin... Is an issue. But it'll be a decade or even more at the least before he reaches a level where he would become a threat. And even at that point, our family's roots should be strong enough to withstand the worst case. But if these roots are shaken and loosened apart by Luca... I'm not sure if we'll be able to handle the worst case scenario." Ahn spoke in a worrisome tone.
"Ugh. All these limitations annoys me. I could've just killed them both if not for this and then everything would be resolved. Can the family perhaps handle them?" Baek asked in annoyance.
There was an agreement between the four guardians that was made during the first war. It was that they would not be able to interfere with force in regards with the matters of mortals and that they could not fight against each other unless absolutely necessary. This was mainly because they, if they so wished, could easily massacre every living being on this entire planet that has yet to ascend with their own strength. And during the first war, a tremendous amount of casualties had been born just from the impacts of their battles.
"...We probably could. But without knowing Luca's exact strength I doubt the elders will agree to this decision. They value their lives over anything, even the family itself." Ahn responded.
"...What the heck am I supposed to do then!"
Boom!
Baek shouted out in frustration as the shock wave almost smashed apart the entire hall, even causing Ahn to recieve some damage.
"Lady White, please calm down. It took weeks to repair this hall the last time you leveled it." Ahn quickly re-approached Baek and attempted to calm her down before letting out a suggestion. "I believe you should continue to interact with Jin... I'll try to convince the elders to find a method to handle Luca."
"Ugh. Fine. Get out, I'm going to sleep." Baek, seemingly annoyed about the entire situation, waved her hands to send Ahn away as she rolled away onto a cusion.
"Understood. I'll call for people to clean this place up" Ahn mysteriously dissipated into various wisps of air and soon only Baek was left in the room.