Lian and Riria walked hand in hand through the clan's inner corridors in silence. Riria had a distant and pensive expression on her face. Even though it was considered a fight to the death, Riria believed she could intervene at any moment, fueled by her protective instincts. However, her fear began to rise in the face of Wunu's confidence, who seemed certain that he would be able to kill Lian.
At that moment, Lian broke the silence, interrupting her thoughts. "Thank you for enduring those provocations without reacting." Upon hearing Lian's words, Riria looked back at him with a melancholic gaze, understanding the meaning behind them.
Still, she waited for him to continue speaking. "You were taken in by my mother, yet your life continued to be painful. You had to endure so much in silence. You learned to carry everything and consider the consequences before yourself." Lian spoke calmly. Riria listened attentively and felt old wounds reopening in her mind.
"I am not the same as before. I will never allow you to endure everything in silence again. My mother will wake up soon, and then you can live your life free from fear." Lian spoke gently, looking into her eyes. He took a step towards her, conveying strength in his words.
Instinctively, the aura of a divine ruler emanated from his words, harmoniously merging with the Laws of the Universe. Although Lian currently inhabited a mortal body, his hegemony was still evident. "The cultivator's path is filled with mountains of bones. I will tread on the first bones in two days. After this battle, do not stay silent anymore. I will be here to address any grievances you have."
Riria fixed her gaze intensely on Lian's eyes. There were no traces of childishness or immaturity anymore, only a powerful presence. She felt an inexplicable confidence and security in his words as if they were a divine decree sent from the heavens. Though she didn't fully understand, something within her recognized the authenticity of those words.
A gentle and comforting warmth began to spread in Riria's chest. She realized she was close enough to hear Lian's breathing. Their hands were tightly intertwined. Awkwardly, she released his hand and quickly moved away, blushing. She timidly nodded, letting her worries fly away with the wind.
Lian and Riria continued walking until they reached their destination: a room located in the main facilities of the clan. The room was spacious, and in the center, there was a luxurious bed where Lianna Albedo, Lian's mother, lay unconscious.
In the safe environment of the clan's main facilities, Lianna would be protected. The clan had strict rules that prohibited the killing of its members, and even the patriarch was obligated to follow them. Additionally, the existence of counselors who didn't support the current leader ensured that if Lianna were to suffer any attack within the clan, a thorough investigation would be initiated. Formations capable of scouring someone's memories were common, making the identification of the culprit a swift task.
Lian felt a deep sorrow as he looked at his mother. In his previous life as Zeke, his parents had lost their lives in a battle against sea monsters that attacked the coastal city where they lived. At that time, he was too young and weak to help. Now, his father was already dead before his birth, and his mother was in a comatose state after nearly being assassinated.
As he looked at his mother in her coma state, an image overlaid Lian's vision. It was a vision of a younger Lianna, with tears of blood streaming down her desperate face. He realized that the dream he had before waking up was a glimpse of the moment before his reincarnation.
The image brought with it a sense of anguish and suffering, causing Lian to comprehend the burden and difficulties his mother had faced throughout her life.
After letting out a soft sigh, Lian placed his fingers on his mother's forehead. Although his body couldn't yet properly sense Qi, his powerful soul didn't let anything go unnoticed by his senses. 'Sure enough...' It was exactly as he had imagined. His mother had used up her life energy to survive, leaving only a small amount of life in her body. It was probably her will to live for the sake of her son that kept her alive.
Searching through his memories for a viable solution at the moment, Lian recalled his profound study of formations, forging, and alchemy during his past life as Zeke. He was a rising individual in the Mortal Plane, in the Divine Plane, and had no sponsor or special resources. Thus, he had to learn about various fields to survive and strengthen himself. Though he wasn't considered an expert in any specific area, Lian possessed enough knowledge and practice to consider himself a high-level connoisseur. It wouldn't be wrong to call him a Jack of all trades.
Soon, a demonic formation emerged in his mind, and after a few minutes of planning, a mischievous smile appeared on his face. It was then that an elegantly dressed man entered the room and spoke politely. "Young Lian, you have come to visit your mother again today," said Lemir Albedo, a distant cousin of his mother.
He was the only member of the clan council who supported Lian and maintained a close relationship with Lianna. As he recalled his memories of this life, Lian recognized Lemir as someone who probably loved his mother in the past. This connection became clear in his mind.
Despite being married currently, Lemir never felt anger or ill will towards Lianna. He was a gentle and elegant man whose appearance reflected his personality. "I heard through the corridors that you challenged Wunu to a fight to the death in two days," Lemir expressed his concern.
"Don't worry, sir. I won't lose. I have confidence that I will take care of my mother and Riria," Lian responded with apparent ease, leaving Lemir momentarily speechless. The Lian he knew had completely transformed. There was something about him that screamed that the clan was about to undergo a radical change.
Lian didn't linger any longer, though. He politely bid farewell to Lemir, leading Riria out of the room.
***
On the way back to their home, Lian asked Riria to sit down for him to examine her cultivation with his soul. He knew that elves were beings of pure energy who cultivated by absorbing the natural Yin Qi from the forests. Qi, in normal environments, contained a stronger presence of Yang in varying proportions, so the elves were quite special. In Riria's case, she possessed incredibly powerful elven blood, which meant there was a large amount of pure Yin runes in her body. For her, cultivating as a human was extremely inefficient and challenging.
At the time of the "Great Upheaval," only a small group of elves still lived in the forests of the Purplecloud Continent. However, the continent was mysteriously displaced to another location by an unknown power.
After the continent's displacement, the natural Qi of the forests underwent a drastic transformation.
The continent and its living beings were no longer in their original location, possibly not even on the same planet. The connection to the land weakened, becoming almost imperceptible. Young elves struggled to cultivate properly, while the older ones tried to adapt their cultivation methods to save their bloodlines.
However, the forests became dangerous, and the people were constantly engaged in wars against demonic beasts. Unfortunately, these efforts ended in failure. Within just one generation, the elves were forced to join the humans in the cities. Initially, they were protected in exchange for their unique skills and knowledge, such as mastery of bows, healing magic, and wood Qi-related abilities.
Elves were known for their beauty and pleasant nature. However, it didn't take long for them to be completely subjugated by humans, used as slaves, and exploited. Such is the nature of humanity. Back when Riria mentioned that she didn't know her parents, Lian knew that it was common for half-elves to be born to elven slaves who were forced to engage with humans and then abandoned.
Carefully examining Riria's lineage, Lian was now certain that her mother was a high-bloodline Elf. Or perhaps her father was, although the other way around was a lot more probable due to the higher libido of males. In any case, Lian could see that Riria's elven blood completely dominated her human heritage.
In Zeke's previous life, he had a close relationship with the Elves. He was saved and healed multiple times by them, and his deputy leader in the sect and his closest friend was a High Elf called Laswen. Unlike other sects, Zeke's sect allowed the entry of human disciples, Elves, and other races, and this was made possible thanks to the work and influence of Laswen.
Naturally, there were divine arts available to the Elves. As the sect leader, Lian had once read about the divine art used by Laswen, called the "Forest of No Return Divine Arts."
Lian was not afraid of being betrayed by the Elves because he knew that as creatures of pure energy, they knew how to repay kindness with kindness. Furthermore, Riria had a determined mind for cultivation, and despite the difficulties, at the age of seventeen, she had cultivation above the average within the clan.
He decided that in the future, he could increase Riria's cultivation realm through the use of pills. Additionally, he would teach her the divine art of the realm of gods so that she could live and protect her mother peacefully.
Finally, he took a decision before speaking, "I will teach you a Divine Art that I found in the ancient clan books. However, you can't let anyone know I found it. Close your eyes and focus on learning it in the next two days," he said, gently placing his finger between her curious eyebrows and directly transferring all the knowledge into her mind.
Riria entered a trance, and Lian stepped back, preparing to officially return to the world of cultivation. With a deep and steady breath, he drew Qi into his body and circulated it through all the acupuncture points.
However, his eyebrows furrowed shortly after as he concentrated. Only one-tenth of the Qi circulated correctly, while the rest was obstructed. Now he understood the reason for the blood tears shed by the previous Lian. This was not a natural occurrence; at some point, he had been sabotaged.
Yet, Lian smiled ironically as he thought about the possibilities. No, he was certain of them. "You must have had fun killing my father, humiliating and nearly killing my mother, not alone sabotaging my cultivation. Whoever they were, don't worry. I won't spare any of those involved, and I will repay it in the worst possible way."