"Yes we understand, Holy Lord", the disciples echoed
"The rewards will be distributed as promised. It was two times the previous rewards before, now it's ten times the reward. And everyone who participated in the competition will be compensated too", Qin Bailong continued.
"All Hail Holy Lord! All Hail Holy Lord! All Hail Holy Lord!"
The disciples rejoiced. Now they couldn't be bothered about spreading rumours. In this world, personal strength is king, this much they know. So, they'd take up any chances to improve themselves. Now with the promise of the Holy Lord, they can become stronger in a very short period. So they are happy.
While those who participated rejoiced, those who didn't were depressed.
"Why was I cowardly? Isn't it just some injuries? Why was I even afraid of that? Now I can't even enjoy the benefit of participation!"
"Me too! I thought it was too early to participate in such a grand event, now such an opportunity eluded me"
…
Inside Grand Elders Cave Mansion. In the side-room, Jiang Hou lay on the bed. In his unconscious state, there was a bit of awareness that still remained, and he could feel two presence in the room with him.
The first, he is most familiar with. His Master, Jian Wushuang, the Great Elder of Scarlet Heaven Holy Land..
The second figure's aura however, was completely unfamiliar. Not only was it unfamiliar, but it was also suffocating. He could feel his soul trembling in the presence of this figure.
"You mean he lost his mind during the Grand Competition of the Holy Land?", that figure asked.
"Yes, my Lord. He seemed to be too excited by the Holy Maiden's provocation along with her childhood sweetheart, so the Devil Seed quickly went out of control and was activated", said the kneeling Jian Wushuang.
Jiang Hou who heard everything was greatly shocked. But no reaction was seen from his unconscious body. 'That.. wh.. What happened was actually the Master's handiwork? Why did he do that to me? When was the seed planted in me?'
Looking down on the kneeling elder, the figure spoke again, mockingly, "You're the first Swordsman I've seen bending and kneeling like a spineless dog in front of a greater power"
Jian Wushuang didn't mind that he was compared to a dog, he simply replied, "A solder chooses his Master, and a dog will always recognize its owner"
The figure laughed
He then looked at Jiang Hou, "You don't have to worry, the Seed is still in him. What happened before was like cutting the tree without burning the roots. He has practised that technique, he can never break loose from the grip of the Devil Seed. Others will see it as Cultivation Deviation, but it's actually being slowly taken over. Once his cultivation is enough, he will be ultimately sacrificed"
"It is his great honour to contribute his life to you, my Lord", Jian Wushuang flattered.
"You're quite the master. If he knew all you did to him, he'd probably curse you to death", the figure said amusedly.
"But he'll never know until he dies, so there's no need for anxiety", he replied.
"Guide him closely. Don't let anything happen to him. He must be ready in 5 years. You know the consequences otherwise"
"I will not disappoint you my Lord"
After waiting for a while and hearing nothing from the figure, Jian Wushuang tried to take a peek to see the situation. Seeing nothing, he raised his head and looked around, the person was gone.
"Whmpphgh! He's gone. That Lord is really powerful. There is not a single thought of recklessness or neglect or spite before him. He must be from the Upper Realm", he thought out loud.
Looking at the young man lying on the bed, he sensed the situation around, and quickly noticed how soaked his back was with sweat. He was really nervous.
"Don't blame me kid. There's nothing I can do than to give you out. I'm powerless against that Lord. Anyone in this world will be powerless against him", he murmured.
Then he quickly left.
Jiang Hou was left alone in his despair. Who would have thought that the Master he respected the most was actually a pawn in the hands of another man, a chess piece that could be discarded at any moment.
It holds true to the saying that, "All schemes and calculations are useless in the face of absolute power" and "There is no brotherhood in the face of interests". The two wise sayings are absolute in this world of Cultivation, and they hold true for Jiang Hou at this moment.
It seemed that the sun had lost its light, and the moon plunged into utter darkness. But he couldn't move now. He could only recuperate. He didn't understand how he came to be conscious while he was meant to be totally unconscious.
Perhaps fate made it so that he can witness this moment in Space-Time, and have to fight for a chance of survival.
…
Time passed. Every once in a while, Jian Wushuang would come to him, feed him healing Pills and Recovery pills. His condition improved everyday. He woke up only after 13 days. For the rest of the time, he stayed indoors, he still couldn't move around. He just laid on the bed.
Another 10 days passed, it has been almost a month since the Grand Competition of the Sacred Land. The disciples who participated were handsomely rewarded, true to the words of the Holy Lord, Qin Bailong.
Ye Chen, who was also seriously injured on the final day of the competition, has now recovered. He can move around now. His injuries, though not fully recovered, are much more stable compared to the Holy Son. He woke up 8 days after the Grand Competition, and after another five days of recuperation, he can move about.
During the time he was unconscious, Lin Qing'er would visit from time to time. Staying most of the day at times, reminding him of the reasons why he needs to recover faster. She also made sure that she was the one who prepared his medical soups.
Medicinal Pills are not the only things used for Cultivation, Medical Soups are gentler with recovery and healing, only taking longer time to take effect. Medicinal Baths are used for Body Tempering, with the same advantage and disadvantage as Medical Soups, taking longer time but the tempering is more thorough.
In one sentence, Lin Qing'er meticulously took care of Ye Chen throughout his days of recovery. As for the Holy Son? Who is that? Is there someone like that in this world? That would be her reaction.
In his cave abode, Ye Chen was sitting at the table. Two people, or you can say one person and one silhouette sat together with him at the table, Lin Qing'er, who was sitting opposite him, and Su Yaoren, his Master, who was in a soul form, floated above the Head Seat.
…
Su Yaoren was an Alchemy Powerhouse in the past. But he fell and what was left of him was the current Soul Remnant. When he fell, his Soul Remnant was bound to his treasure, Soul Nurturing Jade, fell asleep and was lost in time.
The Soul Nurturing Jade was then found in a Secret Realm by Ye Chen's Ancestors. They didn't understand its use, so they put it in the Treasure House. At the Coming of Age Ceremony of the Ye Clan years later, Ye Chen entered the Treasure House to choose a treasure.
It happened that the Soul Nurturing Jade chose him. When the Ye Family was facing annihilation by enemies, the Soul Nurturing Jade absorbed all of Ye Chen's Cultivation, and then Su Yaoren's Remnant Soul Awakened from his long years of sleep because of the excess Spiritual energy.
After understanding the situation, the Soul Remnant went on a killing spree by taking over Ye Chen's body. But he couldn't save Ye Chen's father and the rest of the Older Generations in time.
And so begins the endless pursuit of the Ye Family's survivors. The younger generation that survived the crisis finally fell by the endless pursuit, leaving only Ye Chen and Lin Qing'er as the sole survivors.
Lin Qing'er herself was adopted by Ye Chen's Father. She knew everything about Ye Chen, including this secret, Su Yaoren, who later became Ye Chen's Master.
The three of them sat together in the room, discussing something.
"Master, are you saying the one who attacked me, and severely injured me was not the Holy Son himself but his Inner Demon? But how can that be? He was talking to me in one moment, and then attacked me consciously in another moment. How do you explain it?", asked Ye Chen.
This is obviously their first meeting after the incident.
"Yes, we were obviously talking to him one moment, and then, he..he did that to Brother Chen. How can somebody like that be worthy of the position of Holy Son?", she still gets angry whenever she thinks of that moment.
Chuckling, Su Yaoren replied, "You are still naive and haven't seen the world. I can't be wrong. He was really under the control of his Inner Demon when he attacked you. In truth, this cannot be called Inner Demon. In the Upper Realm, it is called Devil Seed"