"Heart of Killing?"
"Heart of Killing is a state that is only attainable when a person's killing intent mingles with his soul and the only thought their mind has at that moment was to kill anything and everything in their path,"
"It is pretty rare for someone to achieve that. You do not need to worry about it now. As you are, you are too weak to even harness its power. And the Heart of Killing in you is only at the nascent state now."
"The cultivation technique that I have chosen for you is especially aimed to nurture your nascent Heart of Killing. Combining this cultivation technique and your unique situation will give you twice the result of practicing a normal cultivation technique."
"I understand, master," Duncan said thoughtfully as he engraved the words Heart of Killing in his mind.
If time permits, he would try to read up on it in the scripture pavilion. As his master was saying, he didn't need to know much about it at the moment. Right now his priority was to increase his strength as soon as possible.
"Here, take this," Liang Tianye passed a scroll to Duncan, which Duncan took confusedly. "That scroll contains the cultivation technique that I have chosen for you. Make sure you don't misplace it or let someone else gain access to it. Leaking a cultivation technique without the sect's permission will result in your death. So, be careful."
Liang Tianye warned causing Duncan to nod hastily.
"Then, you can leave now. The servant will take you to fill in the formalities," Liang Tianye said dismissing Duncan. "You have two weeks, after that, I will personally oversee your cultivation. Get settled by then."
"Yes master," Duncan said hastily and bowed toward Liang Tianye.
Liang Tianye had already looked away, not paying any attention to Duncan's actions. Duncan hurriedly pocketed the scroll and left the yard. He found a servant waiting for him outside the yard.
"Hi, my name is Ming Wan. You can call me Little Wan. I will serve you to the best of my ability. If you need anything, I mean, anything, you can call me," the servant said fastly.
Duncan was taken aback by the attitude shown by the servant for a second. He had never seen anyone be as subservient to him like this man was now. However, he felt that the name Little Wan was a huge misnomer.
Little Wan stood around seven feet tall. He was also fat. Contrary to his name and guileless smile, Little Wan looked nothing like a harmless guy. If Duncan had run into him outside the sect, he would have probably stayed away from him on principle.
And it wouldn't be in vain either. While Little Wan's face was smiling, the smile failed to reach his eyes. There was a coldness to his eyes that sent shivers down Duncan's spine.
Duncan composed himself and replied.
"Thank you,… um Little Wan," Duncan said a little hesitantly.
But the big man in front of him beamed like he had been given the biggest compliment. Duncan felt that it would be better to stay away from such a guy. However, he wasn't sure how this would work out either as most of the people in this sect were hardened killers.
"Can you bring me to the registration desk? Master has asked me to finish the formalities needed to become an official member of the Heavenly Demon Sect. And can you also show me the way to the scripture pavilion?"
Duncan asked adopting a smile of his own.
"Sure, it will be my pleasure," Little Wan nodded seriously. "Follow me."
Saying that Little Wan turned and started walking away from him. Duncan looked around for a second before letting out a huge sigh and following the huge man that was walking in front of him.
*****
"So, can you tell me a few things about the sect and the general conditions here? I am rather new around here and I don't want to make a mistake because of my ignorance," Duncan asked Little Wan as they began walking toward the outer regions of the sect.
"Well, the Heavenly Demon Sect is obviously a demonic sect. I think you would know that by now. However, what you might not know is that we are the strongest demonic sect on this entire continent," Little Wan said proudly as he lead Duncan onto a cobblestone path.
"You mean the world, right?" Duncan asked in confusion.
Little Wan stopped for a moment and turned to look at him.
"No, the continent. I am sure you at least know what a continent is, right?" Little Wan asked hesitantly.
"Never heard of the word. Until a few months ago, I haven't even stepped out of my town. And the only city I have ever visited until now is Starmist City. Even that looked pretty big to me," Duncan replied without any hesitation.
During his stay in the city, Duncan realized that he was living a pretty ignorant life. From the tales he had heard from the drunken men over the wine, he knew that Starmist City, despite being huge in his opinion, was actually not that big of a city compared to several of the cities out there.
Ever since then, he had adopted the policy of being frank with his ignorance. He didn't think it was a big deal if someone mocked him over it. After all, gathering more information was more important than some foolish pride.
Also, the men who usually mocked him will then proceed to tell him a lot about the wider world in the form of insulting him. If he tuned out the insults they threw and their snide derisions, the information he would obtain from them would be worth their weight in gold.
So, Duncan had already been inundated by the variety of looks he would get when he exposed his ignorance. That was why when Little Wan's eyes bulged comically in surprise, Duncan didn't mind it one bit. He waited patiently for Little Wan to speak.
"You are serious," Little Wan asked in surprise.
"Yes," Duncan replied succinctly. "That is why I am asking you to know more about these things."
"But… but… these are all common knowledge," Little Wan said speechlessly.
"Maybe to you, but to me, these are all new information. You should have also learned it from somewhere right? So, I see no harm in learning this stuff from you," Duncan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
Little Wan looked at him in surprise.
"I have never seen a direct disciple who is both ignorant and willing to expose it like you," Little Wan mumbled.
"Hey, I was just a miner a few months ago. My entire life revolved around mining spirit stones, drinking wine, and chasing after women. So, it is only natural that I don't know about it. As for all this stuff about direct disciple and all that rot, I have no clue regarding them as well," Duncan said casually shrugging his shoulders.
"Now that you have reminded it, do you know where I can get some wine? Any wine is fine with me. I just need some to quench my thirst," Duncan asked Little Wan a little eagerly.
"The first thing you need to get rid of is your ignorance. I can't believe you joined this sect without even this basic knowledge," Little Wan said a little disturbed.
"Didn't have much of an option. I fought a demonic beast and fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was here and I was told that I am a member of the Heavenly Demon Sect. They told me that the only way to leave is as a dead body. So, I figured why not join, and now here we are," Duncan told his backstory in simple sentences not willing to dwell much on it.
He specifically downplayed the battle with the demonic beast and the wild beast horde. He knew what he did might not be considered a great achievement here amidst cultivators, so didn't feel like bragging about it much.
"What!!? You only fought one demonic beast and they let you join. That too as a direct disciple!!! How could such a thing happen? Even those who enter the outer sect are capable of killing several demonic beasts. In fact, one of the essential tests to qualify to be a sect disciple involves killing at least ten demonic beasts," Little Wan said agitatedly.
"Hey, don't ask me. I am as confused as you are. If you have questions, you can go and ask my master," Duncan shrugged his shoulders.
"You are joking right!!! Me, a mere servant disciple, go and question the Vice-Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect!!! Are you looking to get me killed? I don't have a death wish," Little Wan snorted.
"So, my master is the Vice-Sect Master of this sect. Nice," Duncan said thoughtfully.
"How come you didn't know that?"
"Well, my master never told me what his position in the sect was. But, I figured he must be a higher-up to directly enroll me as a disciple. Never thought he was the Vice-Sect Master," Duncan said shrugging his shoulders once more.
Little Wan looked as if he didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this moment. His entire brain shut down as he tried to process Duncan's explanations. It was obviously hard for him to wrap his head around such a strange situation. He stood there silently not knowing how to react.
"Hey, don't freeze on me. If you don't want to explain that's fine as well. I will go and ask someone else. Just take me to the enrollment center, so I can get things done," Duncan said patting Little Wan on the shoulders, trying to rouse him from a state of shock.
Little Wan turned and looked at him strangely. The next moment, his eyes rolled up and he passed out completely shocking Duncan.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
Make sure to add this book to your collection and vote with your power stones to show your appreciation for this work.
You can also check out my other book [Booking Glory] and see if it is to your liking.
Reviews and comments are truly appreciated.