Secret realms appeared a hundred years ago when vicious demon beasts came through cracks in the sky. Since then, many cracks have been found all over the Nexus planet. To obtain more cultivation resources, many warriors venture deep into these secret realms. Within these realms, warriors found evolution stones, which were not discovered outside of them.
Through research, they learned that evolution stones exist outside secret realms, but they are much rarer. This scarcity is why they were hidden from low realm warriors.
The most interesting thing Lu Shen learned was that when a warrior refines the demon core of a demon beast, there is a chance of acquiring the beast's skills. This was shocking to Lu Shen because he realized there were other people with more skills in the same warrior realm as him. It also brought him relief because he no longer needed to rely on a single type of skill. He could now fight with all his strengths.
However, there was a drawback with absorbing skills not compatible with one's natural attributes. For example, if a person had awakened a fire attribute bloodline but recklessly absorbed other types of demon beast cores, they might gain skills of that attribute, which might causing a clash their skills.
Some might even die due to clash between their skills.
Although the chances of gaining skill from demon core were very lower than finding an evolution stone, the higher the demon beast's core rank, the higher the chance of gaining a skill.
Thus, evolution stones were more valuable due to their safer usage.
Evolution stones also have a drawback, they must match the warrior's attribute to evolve their bloodline grade. For instance, a warrior with a fire attribute bloodline must use a fire type evolution stone to evolve their bloodline.
....
"But I don't have to worry because I can evolve my bloodline and possess many attributes without any problems, unlike others" Lu Shen thought.
He could evolve his bloodline as he had done from Fire Serpent to Dual Headed Serpent, while others could only upgrade their bloodline grade, not their bloodline.
"So, that was the case" Lu Shen nodded in understanding.
Finally, Lu Shen understood why he had not seen all the information about that rank 5 demon core and why he did not get any skill from rank 2 demon beast core.
(Note: demon core refined by Lu Shen were all fire attributes)
"Well, if you understand, let's get to why I called you here" Aman stood up and suddenly releasing spiritual energy to form powerful aura.
Whoosh!
Aman's aura pressed towards Lu Shen's body.
Crack!
The chair Lu Shen was sitting on began to crack and eventually break. Swiftly, Lu Shen jumped and landed a meter away, he also releasing all his spiritual energy to form a shield made by spiritual energy that defended against Aman's aura.
Boom! Boom!
Their auras clashed, the room began to shake, and some furniture broke. Cracks appeared in the room's walls.
Whoosh!
Aman suddenly increased his spiritual energy output.
Puff!
The pressure made Lu Shen cough up some blood, that forcing him to be on one knee. Lu Shen felt the pressure of a 10,000 kg boulder pressing on him.
He could do nothing as Aman's aura was definitely stronger than what a peak Integration Realm warrior could handle. Lu Shen knew he could easily fight a peak stage Integration Realm warrior.
Crack! Crack!
The ground beneath Lu Shen began to crack. He felt the pressure increasing as time passed, and his vision started to blur. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Aman withdrew his aura, causing Lu Shen to kneel on one foot.
"Good, good. My brother chose the right man. He can handle an early Spirit Core Realm warrior's aura" Aman laughed, he slowly walked toward Lu Shen and patted his right shoulder.
Lu Shen felt his spiritual energy slowly recovering.
"Thank you" Lu Shen said, he knew Aman was just testing him. That's why he didn't fight back. He also wanted to see his limits after his breakthrough to the Integration Realm.
He realized that he was stronger than most early Spirit Core Realm warriors because his basic attributes had increased so much, but he knew he couldn't win in an actual fight against a Spirit Core Realm warrior.
He looked for Bimala and he saw that she was not injured in any way. She was protected by a spiritual energy shield protecting her. She was looking at Lu Shen with wide eyes, looking him as a monster.
"Haha, I know what you're thinking. The reason I did this is that I want to invite you to join the Warrior Association, not just as a registered member" Aman laugh and said.
The Warrior Association was established by a powerful warrior, Association had strength equal to the other four kings of the four continents of Nexus World. It was created to control loose warriors and maintain balance between the four continent kings.
All warriors had to register with the association to receive a license or ID proof, allowing them to move freely in society. Unregistered warriors were considered criminals and denied entry to strongholds and cities.
In the Warrior Association, there were different membership levels: registered members, outer members, inner members, and core members.
Registered members were from other clans, families, or those without any connection to the association, registered to earn money or do business.
Outer members were workers in the Warrior association who received internal information, some cultivation resources, and protection.
Inner members were similar to soldiers for any organization or elders of clans or noble families, they were raised to completed tasks to earn resources and gain some power and information. They were cultivated by the association's higher ups for future use.
Core members were true masters of the association, controlling everything. Only direct descendants and family members of the founding president could be core members.
"Um, but I don't like being controlled by others" Lu Shen said after recovering and thinking about Aman's offer.
He hesitated because, although he would gain a powerful background as an inner member, he had many secrets he didn't want the association to discover.
Aman knew that talented people wouldn't join an organization without proper benefits, but he sensed that Lu Shen was not the type to seek many benefits. Aman believed Lu Shen had a huge secret, given his strength equal to the peak of the Integration Realm.
(Note: Aman thinks Lu Shen has peak Integration Realm warrior strength because Lu Shen only endured early Spirit Core Realm pressure and did not actually face a Spirit Core Realm warrior.)
After some thinking, Aman offered a different proposal.
"Then how about becoming an outer member? With my power, you only need to help us when the Warrior Association is in danger. Besides, it's unlikely to happen anytime soon. You will also receive a rank 2 demon beast core of any attribute you want."
Aman tried to win over Lu Shen because he knew that Lu Shen would definitely become a powerful warrior in the future. His family's rule was not to harm or pressure any geniuses, but to try to make friends with them.
Additionally, his sworn brother, Li Lan, had asked him to take care of Lu Shen. Therefore, he decided to take care of Lu Shen. For him, a Rank 2 demon core was just a small piece of dust from his collection.
"Hmm" Lu Shen was tempted by the rank 2 demon core and thought it might not be too dangerous.
"Okay" Lu Shen accepted Aman's offer.
"Ah, I almost forgot. If you can be selected in the Elite Vanguard Selection , you can become a core member of our association without needing to do much, just swear loyalty to the association" Aman offered another proposal.
"What's that?" Lu Shen asked, he have never heard of the Elite Vanguard Selection.
"It's a test for all students from Nexus World between eighteen to twenty years old. The best ten people will be nurtured by all the powerhouses of Nexus Planet" Aman replied seriously.
"Why?" Lu Shen questioned, he felt their must be major reason behind this move.
"Cough, cough,It's a major secret, so I can't say much. But this is a great opportunity, if you can, you must grab it." Aman patted Lu Shen's shoulder, suggesting seriously.
Lu Shen nodded. If Aman was this serious, then it must be very important.
Suddenly, Aman thought of something and asked, "Do you know about the history of the Warrior Association?"
"The Warrior Association's history?" Lu Shen responded.
"Yes" Aman nodded.
"The Warrior Association has a long history. The first head of the association was born in a landlocked country. When monsters began to flood through cracks in the sky, destroying everything in their path, many people began to awaken their bloodlines. The head of the Warrior Association was one of them. His bloodline weapon was the blade you saw in front of the Warrior Association gate. Its name is Khukuri."
"His country was small, and you might not know, but that country soldiers were famous for being brave and never backing down, even in the face of death. he coming from that country, he awakened the most respected weapon bloodline of his land. With the Khukuri blade, he ran wild and began to kill the demon beasts destroying his country. He was the most powerful warrior of his nation, fighting the demon beasts until he had eradicated all demon threats in his country. He battled demons for at least a month straight without taking a rest."
Lu Shen's eyes widened. How could a man battle demon beasts for an entire month? And he did it just to defend his country.
"That blade..." Lu Shen murmured.
"Yes, that blade" Aman confirmed.
"With it, he battled countless demon beasts, he bathed in demon beasts blood to protect his homeland. Even when his life was in danger, he stood firm like an unbreakable pillar, fighting the demon beasts day and night."
Lu Shen could almost see the scenes in his mind, a fearless warrior wielding the Khukuri blade, he cutting down beasts left and right, he determined to kill them even if it meant his own death.
"But that's not all" Aman continued.
"Even after he battle with his life in the line , he was only single person and how can he defend demon beast number humder and millions. so he can only save few thousand people. After some time passed he saw that many warriors were becoming lawless, killing their own kind. To restore order, he created the Warrior Association. He wanted to ensure that warriors protected their countries, not destroyed them."
Lu Shen nodded, absorbing the legendary story that he had only read about in novels but could now hear in real life.
Aman paused and looked at Lu Shen with a seriously gaze, his eyes filled with a killing intent.
"So, Lu Shen, joining the Warrior Association is not just about gaining strong background. It's about upholding the values and rules of our founder. If you, as a member of the Warrior Association, found harming innocent people, I will definitely kill you myself."
"..."
Lu Shen was intimidated by how Aman could change his tone from laughing to intimidating in an instant.
What kind of family must he come from to value their rules so highly and follow them to the death?
"Yes, yes" Lu Shen hurriedly nodded his head, he not wanting to be stared at by Aman any longer.
...
After talking with Aman for a while, Lu Shen learned that he didn't have to do anything special for the Elite Vanguard Selection. It would be held alongside the graduation exam, and he would receive a notice from his academy soon.
With that, Lu Shen bid farewell to Aman and Bimala. He made his way to the third floor of the market and sold all the demon beast corpses for $100,000.
After that he rented a house in the core area of Azura Cloud Stronghold. The process was easy since he could do it all through the Warrior Association.
Lu Shen made his way to his new home.