Somewhere in the farmlands, a large family lived.
The nearby villages had heard many things and created rumors based on their imaginations of the family.
The carriage driver, Yu Mao, on his way to the capital, stopped at a nearby village for another escort.
This time it was a group of farmers and elderly that wished to sell their produce to the capital.
Since they had seen Yu Mao come from the direction of the Guang Family, the grannies that had gathered started whispering in discomfort.
"Did you hear, the carriage came from the direction of 'that' family."
"Its a family of puppets, created by a great evil practitioner with particular fetishes."
"No, you got it wrong! its a family of man eating demons that lure out young men and women with their beautiful faces!"
"What nonsense are you all spouting, its clear that they are a forsaken branch of the imperial family."
One of the young farmers couldn't help but sigh at the absurd stories these old hags came up with.
His appearance was extremely ordinary, with tan skin, brown hair and eyes, along with freckles covering his face and body.
Scrunching his eyebrows, he couldn't help but reprimand them.
"Why don't you old hags stop with the nonsense. If my aunty were to hear all your bullshit, then I and the village chief would be upset."
Hearing the insults hurled at them, the grannies gazed at the young teenager in scorn, before promptly looking away.
The teenager's name was Wuya San, the nephew of Wuya Ya, also known as Guang Ya, Rui's mother. Which meant he was Rui's cousin.
Wuya San was 14 this year and today was the day after the new years, so he had to travel to the capital to have his awakening test.
The previous day, their family had gone to the Guang manor to meet up with his sister and celebrated the new years.
New years was the date where everyone would pray to their ancestors and gods for a better future, and as farmers the Wuya family prayed for better quality crops and yields.
Wuya San had no hopes of awakening as a rune master, but he still found the concept exciting.
Since he could see how powerful his aunty had become, he couldn't help but daydream of a future where he was one.
As such, when the grannies said such things about his family, he felt insulted.
After a few hours of travel, Wuya San arrived at the capital and after paying his part, directly headed for the awakening area.
A large crowd had gathered like always, overseeing the situation.
As all the teenagers who were lined up were of poor background, not many awakened, but when one did, everyone would turn their heads to witness the spectacle.
After waiting in line for what seemed like hours, San's turn arrived.
Seeing the kind youth who patiently awakened all the individuals so far with a smile, San felt less tension.
However, the young man waved his hand and another individual came from behind.
His height was massive and he resembled a brown bear, both in figure and appearance.
"Little friend, do not be anxious. My name is Yu Lao, what is yours?"
"W-Wuya San."
Looking at the towering figure, San couldn't but stutter.
"Hmmm, Crow Third? What an interesting name. Well, lets be done with this quickly, you have to return back to your village afterwards, isn't that right?"
San looked on stunned, as the bear like figure slowly sipped energy into his body.
All of a sudden, he felt heat rising up, as his body and soul felt like their were separating.
"Wow, great little San! You have awakened with the berkana rune!"
Placing both of his hands on Wuya San's shoulders, Yu Lao awoke him from his stupor.
After realizing what Yu Lao had said, San's eyes opened wide in disbelief.
His blood started boiling in excitement, as he had no expectation of awakening.
He clenched his fists tightly and his eyes shone brightly.
"Okay, that's enough, you may go ahead now."
Said Yu Lao, while pushing Wuya San away.
Before San could even comprehend what had just happened, another person was being tested.
Two youths sparred at the center of a large room.
The room was specifically designed with sparring in mind, being built with extremely sturdy materials, so that the individuals didn't cause any damage.
Their speeds were incredibly fast, achieving feats that would normally be impossible for the human body.
Their bodies bent and exerted force so fierce that gusts of wind were generated with each thrust of their hands and legs, while after-images could be seen once in a while.
An elderly man, along with a group of teenagers looked at this scene with wrapped attention.
They all had bandannas wrapping around their heads, trying to conceal the so slightly glowing symbol on their foreheads.
The two of them used their bodies and a small amount of runic energy to exert the new techniques they had learned, clearly still being beginners when it came to mastery.
However, one of the two still had the upper hand, as his strength was recovering slowly, even as they were fighting.
After half an hour of intense sparring, one of the two collapsed on the floor, his body losing size in an instant, returning to its original state.
"Alright, that's enough for sparring today. Great job Rui, Liliang, take a good rest for the day. Tomorrow will be a hellish experience for the both of you, so take it easy."
Said the elderly man, while praising the two of them.
"Yes, sir!"
Answered the two of them simultaneously.
Xiong Liliang breathed heavily as his body couldn't take any more.
On the other hand Rui sat down cross-legged and meditated, trying to take in the battle he had just experienced.
As it was their first time fighting, they just fought like wild animals, barely containing any technique in their attacks.
Although grandpa Xin had taught them a few techniques, it had been less than a week since they started training.
His father had successfully awakened as a rune master and was currently being trained directly by Guang Tian.
Since his father possessed a unique physique, he would be able to catch up to Rui in breakneck speed, but considering that the foundation building stage was the most important, he was sure that his grandfather would take things step by step.
His great-grandmother on the other hand wanted to take him in as her disciple. Rui agreed, since she seemed extremely powerful, but he had to first go through the standard family training before she would start teaching him.
However, Rui couldn't care about such things at the moment. What was currently on Rui's mind was what had transpired after the new year's celebration.
He had learned that his cousin, Wuya San had a awakened as a rune master, and with the berkana rune at that.
Since his mother's background was extremely ordinary, possessing only a mortal lineage for hundreds of generations, his cousin possessing a spiritual root of the spectral grade and above was literally a miracle.
What had shocked Rui however was not the fact of his awakening, but the status his cousin possessed.
As he had no expectations of him awakening to begin with, Rui had never thought of using his skills on him.
But looking at what the system status displayed, he couldn't help but get shocked.
[Waya San, 14
Cultivation level: Initial awakening stage (Archaic spiritual roots)
Physique: Soul Immortal Physique
Combat Power: 100
Character Personality Path: Sage of the end
Luck 230]
Let alone his spiritual roots that were of the Archaic rank, the rest of his stats were absurd as well, that included his character personality path.
He clearly remembered asking the system at the time if his luck was anywhere close to his.
The only response he got from the system was silence.
As he had no prior knowledge of the 'Soul Immortal Physique' and the academy records had no knowledge of it, he had to ask for permission to enter the family library.
Thankfully he was let in with little restrictions, mainly being not to get into the second floor and above, since there were antiques there.
With the assistance of Yue, he was able to find the description of the physique.
"The soul immortal physique, is an archaic rank physique that functions differently from other physiques. Rather than strengthening the body, its main focus is in strengthening the soul, making it essentially immortal. The holder of such a physique holds great spiritual power and is able to attack and defend using their soul alone."
However, that wasn't all.
Based on what the system had computed and analyzed from the data it had gotten, it was even possible to transfer ones soul into another body without any repercussions.
That alone was an absurd ability, which essentially made the user into a ghost being able to take over other peoples bodies.
Having found of San's talent, he informed his family of the matter and they made proper arrangements with the academy.
Unlike Rui, who had already entered the academy, since San had not yet entered, they were able to erase his record before it was properly recorded, making him essentially an unregistered cultivator.
Since he would be trained by the Guang family however, he had nothing to fear, as he would be in a different class of individuals.
Rui and Liliang ate a hearty meal and rested their bodies inside medical baths.
The herbs used were really expensive, but they needed to be to bring about the effectiveness of the days training.
Thankfully, being a hidden clan had its own benefits, making such baths easy to achieve and with no drawbacks for the family.
However what cost the family a lot was the expensive yang attribute herbs he had requested.
His elders had accepted the request, even at his refusal to state the reason why he needed that many expensive herbs.
Rui browsed through his inventory and inspected the golden egg.
[Golden Crow egg]
[Owner: Guang Rui
Incubation rate: 21%
Trust: 28%
Pet Item
An egg of the mythical beast 'golden crow' also known as the 'three legged crow'.]
Despite the expensive materials used, Rui found it worth it. Although the materials were expensive, they were materials used for second rank rune masters and not of a higher stage.
After all, you were given resources based on the cultivation level, since absorbing stuff that was of a higher grade would usually result in cultivation deviation.
The increase of incubation and trust was steady and the time needed was considerable.
He had to talk to the egg on daily basis to increase its trust towards him.
Rui had successfully entered the middle stage of the energy gathering stage and was close to reaching the late stage.
Since he was absorbing energy even in his sleep, at the same time possessing a physique that refined and expelled any impurities on its own, made him have an incredibly fast progress when it came to cultivation.
His combat power had reached 11200, making his strength much stronger compared to others of even a tier higher than him.
Having an extremely solid foundation had made him quite formidable.
After reaching the peak energy gathering stage, he would then have to convert his bowl into a core, essentially forming his rune and successfully enter the second tier of rune masters.
The rune forming stage was essential to progress ones cultivation further. Rui couldn't help but imagine the form his bowl would take after becoming a core.
Since a bowl and a core were fundamentally different, both in quality of energy and structure.
The higher ones cultivation stage reached, the weirder and harder it was to form new methods to hold into the energy.
The training he had done so far was extremely basic, and today was the first time he had fought another human as a rune master.
Of course he had been in multiple brawls before he awakened, but that was different from a fight between rune masters, where your life was at stake.
Xiong Liliang had used his war god physique to fight at Rui with all his might, despite that, he lost due to exhaustion.
What Liliang needed to train was his output and combat method, no longer acting like a wild animal, controlling his strength and body to his will.
After a while of recovery, their bodies felt fully rejuvenated and they decided to spend the rest of the day resting and goofing around the family estate.
It was a time where they acted like children, being free of any responsibilities.
Rui felt heavy, as his body felt like it was rocking around in mid air.
Puting all his strength just to open his eyes, he looked around, disoriented.
The room was pitch black and he didn't know the angle he was at.
Looking down, or rather, up, he found himself suspended from the roof, while his body rocked all over.
Placing strength on his libs, he ripped apart the membrane like material that was tying him up.
Landing his body gracefully, he put his full attention at the situation at hand.
The room he was in had no light source, so he couldn't even comprehend the layout of it.
Trying to be rational, he remembered that he possessed both Yue and the system.
"Yue, where am I and how did I end up here?"
He whispered, making sure that his voice didn't leak out to the surroundings.
"You were transported in the middle of the night by your family members. As for the specific location, I'm not sure, since my senses were dulled after we entered a certain perimeter."
Rui frowned, as the information he had acquired still didn't answer his queries.
"System, do you have a way for me to see in the dark?"
╓ Positive, however there are two ways. The elixir of sight and the skill [All seeing eye].╖
"Which one is the most viable at the moment?"
╓ Using store currency to buy an elixir of sight. With user's current amount, it should be no issue, however the cool-down for the elixir is an hour. ╖
"Purchase the elixir of sight."
[1000 Ѻ has been used to purchase 'Elixir of sight']
[Item 'Elixir of sight' has been deposited to your inventory]
Hearing the system prompt, Rui quickly opened his inventory and pulled out a bright blue elixir.
Energy that he had never felt before was surrounding the elixir, making him use [Identify] and [Understanding] subconsciously.
[Elixir of sight]
[An item generated based on the cultivation world "Atlas".
It uses Ether energy as its catalyst.
Gives the ability of true vision for an hour.]
[True vision]
[Able to see in any environment and even interact with spirits]
Due to the time constraints, Rui didn't have time to process the information he had just received, downing the bottle as fast as possible.
The liquid itself tasted horrible and had a slimy texture to it, making Rui almost vomit out its contents.
Forcing himself to drink it, he found the results quite worth it.
He was now able to see the room clearly, realizing he was inside what seemed like a prison cell.
The walls were covered in moss and many bones were sprawled on the ground, making the scene more eerie.
Rui gulped as he slowly walked over the bones, making sure not to touch them by accident, as the sounds they would make would alert any living organism that could be living here.
He steadied his actions, constantly looking around, making sure he was safe.
After exiting the cell, he found himself in a large hallway that led to multiple other cells similar to the one he was in.
It looked like an abandoned prison, or dungeon used to incapacitate and torture criminals.
Countless rusted chains and blood marks strewn the walls and floor, as if hundreds or even thousands of individuals had perished inside this prison.
Rui explored the area for a few minutes, finding nothing of significant interest, even while using his identification skill.
Reaching the end of the hallway, he found a rusted gate with holes all over it.
Placing his eyes on one of the holes, he found a light shining behind the door. A humanoid shadow could be seen moving around, clearly performing some actions.
Rui slowly pushed open the door and pulled out the ancestral knife from his inventory.
Making as little noise as possible, Rui approached the figure from the shadows.
After getting close enough, he could finally see his appearance.
Rui almost stepped back out of surprise, due to the horrifying appearance of the man in front of him.
Scars covered his entire body and he was missing an eye. The thurisaz rune sporadically glowed on his forehead.
He held a giant cleaver on his hand, as he aggressively chopped at what looked like his future meal.
The poor creature had become minced meat by the constant barrage.
Rui could almost make out its previous appearance, being similar to that of a sewer rat.
Deciding to first see before he acted, Rui activated his inspection skills, seeing the status of the individual in front of him.
[Lai Gu, Age 53
Cultivation level: Rune forming stage ( Spectral spiritual roots)
Physique: Bone Physique
Combat power: 13000
Character personality path: Manic Serial killer
Luck: 3]
Rui frowned as soon as he read his description.
This was a cultivator of either the evil or demonic path. It was clear, that the moment he saw Rui he would attack with all his might.
Reasoning with an individual possessing the thurisaz rune was impossible after they had gone completely insane and with the character personality path this guy possessed, it was clear he was not good news.
Rui's hands trembled, as he had never attacked anyone with the initiative, since he was not someone who would attack others.
Although he had a cold heart, fighting against a cultivator with similar combat power as him was not an easy feat.
Since he had no idea if Liliang was in a similar predicament as him, he had to finish with the current situation as fast as possible.
Deciding his course of action, he threw a rock at the corner of the room.
Hearing the sound, the man looked at the direction the sound came from with delight.
"Is it another rat? How great. Since I wanted to take out my anger earlier, I ended up turning into paste. Big brother wouldn't be happy with such a catch."
Hearing the man speak, Rui frowned, as what he had feared had become a reality.
Just as the man picked up his light and headed towards the direction of the sound, Rui jumped out of the shadows and slashed at his back, clearly trying to paralyze him, rather than kill him.
However, at that split second the mans cleaver appeared before Rui, causing him to block and get blown away by the force.
Clicking his tongue, the man spoke as if he was looking at an idiot.
"Did you really think I didn't notice you? But looking at you now, little boy, you sure seem juicy… After I beat you senseless I will make you my toy!"
Saying so, he swung once more, directly cutting the wall that Rui was standing.
Despite that, he was nowhere close to hitting Rui, as he slashed the now transformed ancestral knife at his arm, subsequently cutting it.
The man screamed in pain, as his fell arm on the floor.