Chapter 21: Leto Vs Mujir (1)
Standing near the massive steel gates with lifelike intervening dragon engravings, Leto's heart thumped nervously.
It seems...this was it.
There weren't any skeletons left in his path...all dead.
Now, there was no going back. Beyond the gates was what he assumed to be the one who's been watching him.
He felt his presence...was near.
''Am I ready? Could I have done something more?'' He asked himself and instantly found his answer - no.
The food he had with him would only last him a couple more days and then, he could only starve to death.
Once again, he took a look at his full status.
[ Leto Lockhart
Cultivation: Body tempering, 2nd level
Cultivation Technique: Star attraction technique
Linked Celestial entities: Moon; Sun (3%)
Stardust: 400
Cultivation arts: Moonlight Tiara
Daos: Motion (Low)
Bloodline: None
Skills: Shooting technique (Mortal, 1st level); Ripping Edge (Mortal, 2nd level); Elusive Tread (Mortal, 2nd level); Heavy weapon mastery (Mortal, 1st level);
Vitality Essence: 8113
Attributes:
Strength: 161;
Spirit: 179;
Internal: 16;
Qi: 310 ]
When his eyes met the word bloodline, his eyes shone. ''Ah, how could I forget?'' He almost smacked his head.
With vitality essence, he could awaken his bloodline. The bloodlines were divided into 9 grades, from lowest to highest: F; E; D; C; B; A; S; SS; SSS;
Their ranks were decided by their combat value. In earlier stages of cultivation, bloodline was a massive boost for the cultivator as it might help them skip levels in battles, but as their realms progressed, bloodlines could only help one display the top power of their realm.
There were exceptions, however. S; SS; and SSS rank bloodline users were true kings of this world as even in the relatively high realms, they could skip a level or two.
Not many people had bloodlines for a reason. The chances of one possessing pure bloodline decreased generation after generation.
Bloodlines were gifts from the ancestors, who have reached a high level of cultivation. Of course, not everyone had such fierce ancestors.
Leto hesitated. Trying to awaken a bloodline was a gamble. The amount of vitality essence it might take can't be measured.
In the end, after a long while of deliberation, Leto made a decision. ''Screw it! I'll go all in all or nothing at all!'' The temptation of having a bloodline at low level was too big. If he awakened even the lowest level bloodline, he could gain power, which would give him a precious higher chance of getting out of here alive.
He couldn't afford to be careless. He cautiously left the gates and sat down cross-legged near the lake. Soon, red particles could be seen dancing around him.
''Come on!'' He gritted his teeth as his blood boiled.
The immense surge of vitality gave his body a feeling of fullness. He felt as if he was about to burst. His blood veins wiggled like snakes as fierce energy pumped through them. Finally, as he was unable to bear the pain, he gave a bestial roar as he opened his bloodshot eyes. ''Roar!''
'Success!' He thought in elation. At the same time, he was a bit disappointed.
If he had had a higher rank bloodline, he wouldn't have awakened it so easily with a little cost of 500 vitality essence. This meant...he had trash, F grade bloodline...
'It doesn't matter. At least, my power can be boosted further for the upcoming fight.' He consoled himself.
Once again rechecking his status, he noticed two new lines emerging.
[ Bloodline: Heavenly Eagle Bloodline (F)
Bloodline Skills: Iron Grip; ]
As expected, for every realm, one bloodline skill would be available.
Knowing he was being watched, Leto didn't dare show off his bloodline skill. He only read its description in his head and stopped only when he thought he could be able to use it.
After being done with it, he reviewed his other information. Before falling into the black cavern, he had cultivated a star attraction technique and started linking with the sun.
Compared to the moon he had linked within a day, establishing a connection with the sun wasn't as easy. Not only is the sun much larger celestial entity, but its energy is also more volatile, hence the difficulty.
As he hadn't linked with it, correspondingly, he was unable to obtain cultivation arts from the sun, however, his Stardust number increased, which in turn increased the time duration of usage of his current cultivation arts: Moonlight Tiara.
Cultivation arts were valued much higher than normal skills, as no matter which level cultivator reached, the level of cultivation arts rose correspondingly to match the user's power.
Though cultivation arts aren't divided into levels, the value of fierce cultivation arts didn't need to be mentioned.
''2nd level of Body Tempering...'' Leto muttered. Evidently, it was still low, but in such a short time, he was unable to raise it further. His strength rose as he forged his bones using Bone Dust.
Forging bones was a painful process. Integrating alien material into the body was a risky move. If things went wrong, his body could become crippled. Unlike many, Leto had no reason to be fretful. With the guidance of internal energy, things went much smoother for him, but time was running out. He couldn't continue his practice and starve to death.
''The best of all, my spirit increased by that much...'' His talent, soul power, and perception almost doubled from absorbing couple hundred soul essence flames of 1st realm lesser demons.
Other than the overall improvement of his status, he was now fully equipped with rare grade equipment.
Leto gave the last look at their properties before once again approaching the steel gates.
He raised his hand, about to check whether he could open it or not, but before he could touch it, the gates started opening on its own with a heavy sound. The dust accumulated on the gates shook and fell as it opened with grating sounds.
Leto's full attention was on the room, lying ahead of him.
It was a large hall. Grey color dominated the room. The stone statues of lifelike gorgons and all sorts of demons were spread all around the edges of the hall, giving one creepy feeling.
All kinds of intricate decorations were curved from the walls, but they all gave similar kind of feeling: Demonic.
Leto squinted as he focused on the middle of the room.
An emaciated man dressed in large yellow Buddhist monk robes could be seen sitting on the praying mat, smiling at him. The old man appeared to have dried up, wrinkled skin covering his bones. He looked like a corpse, which dug himself out of the grave.
''So you finally made it...'' The dried up man smiled from ear to ear as he laughed good-naturedly, but his smile looked worse than a crying demon.
Leto didn't know how to answer. He just stood there, cautiously scrutinizing the man, while neither retreating or advancing.
''Haha, you don't need to be so watchful. C'mere, child. It's been a while since I've had a guest. Let's drink to our heart's content.'' The old man lifted up his dried up arm, motioning him to come over.
Smiling, Leto started walking over in the old man's direction as he said. ''So you're the master here?''
There was no change to the old man's expression as he answered laughingly. ''Yeah, I am. Classy, right? Haha.''
''Sorry, old man. I'm lost. Can you tell me how can I leave here?'' Leto asked with a smile.
''No hurry. Take pity for this old man. I've not talked to someone for ages. Sigh, do you disdain to keep this old man a company that much?''
Waving his large sleeves, the jug of wine appeared in the old man's hand from thin air.
''Let's drink up.'' He said as he poured the wine in two bowls while Leto approached him.
The strong smell of fragrant aged wine spread in the air, causing Leto's nose to twitch and mouth to water.
Leto sat down cross-legged in front of the old man, appearing at ease. In truth, he didn't dare let his guard down.
Taking a bowl of wine in his hand, he secretly appraised it. Unexpectedly, it wasn't poisoned, but he still smiled as he said. ''Sorry, old man. I'm still underage. I can't drink this, but I can still keep you company.'' He couldn't afford to be drunk in such tense circumstances.
''Ah, oh, I understand. Thanks, little buddy. You just being there is more than enough for me. Cheers!'' The old man said as he downed the bowl of wine.
''Puaaah~'' He emptied the bowl in one go as he wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeves. His dried up hawk nose reddened a bit.
''So, little buddy, tell me about yourself.'' He asked.
''Call me Leto. How about you?'' Leto replied with a question as he smiled.
''Oh, haha, this old man is called Mujir, the patriarch of The Undying Demon sect. Yeah, look around, this is what's left of it...and me, nothing and...nobody else.'' The old man's lively eyes shone with nostalgy.
''So you're master of this place?'' Leto asked, surprised, while secretly thinking whether to attack or not. In the end, he decided not to, as not only did he want to know more about his and the old man's circumstances, but he had a feeling, making a move now was a bad idea. He trusted his intuition.
''What else could it be? Did you think I was locked in here to rot away? Nah, who do you think this old man is? Mujir was never bullied in his life.'' The old man boasted as he rubbed his reddened nose.
Leto was a bit skeptical about this, but he still nodded.
''How did things end up for you and your sect this way?'' He asked.
''Ah, you don't need to mention it. This old man was only a little careless. In the end, all will be worth it.'' The old man's eyes shone with a peculiar glint, while Leto's expression slightly changed.
''So you were the reason behind the downfall of your own sect?'' Leto still decided to press on and ask directly.
The old man's eyed him with a complicated expression. In the end, he sighed.
''What? You're not gonna be friends with me anymore? Sigh, why did you have to be so clever and courageous? It's too soon. Alas...sigh, at least, it was good while it lasted. Well, give or take. It doesn't matter. Soon, I can...'' Mujir mumbled to himself, while Leto got up, firmly clutching the greatsword, which appeared from his spatial ring.
''Tell me, the fact that I'm here...that's your fault, isn't it? Why did you do it?'' Leto asked, appearing ready to battle.
''Sigh, alright. You caught me redhanded. I'll tell you a secret, but before that, answer my question.'' Mujir looked at him with a serene expression, appearing different from his previous jolly self.
''Go ahead, then.''
''How do you think you can become the most powerful?''
Leto's expression changed as he noticed a naked obsession of power in his tone. Thinking for a bit, he answered. ''I don't know.'' He had his answers, but he didn't care about going with the flow. He wanted to know what the old man was thinking.
''Haha, of course, you don't. You're still so young. I'll tell you then. The greatest power comes from unity. See, the world appears to be controlled by some kind of laws, but the strongest of them come in pairs.'' Mujir stood up and with hands behind his back, spoke with a distant expression.
''Life and death, Yin and Yang, Light and Darkness...do you get it?''
''...''
''Sigh, you still don't get it, don't you? Look, this old man's already bested death. Take a look at me, if you don't believe me. Darkness, death...I've treaded upon the demonic path, but that...isn't enough. It's not enough to reach the ultimate. I need to master the secrets of life, the power of light, but that...is far from my reach...I tried, I tried hard, you know? But look at me...I failed.'' Sighing, the old man became silent. A small while later, he looked at him with his lively green eyes which shone from his sunken eye sockets.
''I've been waiting for someone like you to come. You're special...I can feel it. I knew the god of darkness wouldn't abandon me. I knew I wouldn't vanish just like that.''
''What do you want from me?'' Leto asked coldly.
''Everything.'' Mujir smiled.
Leto understood. 'He wants to possess my body.'
''My plan came to fruition. Now you're here and that's more than enough.'' The old man cackled as he grinned.
Leto knew the only reason the other side wasn't already going at him was that he had been lonely for far too long.
''Impressive.'' Suddenly Leto smiled.
''Right? I even placed that stalagmite there in case some beast followed my chosen one. Who knew my foresight was so spot on? Heh heh.'' Mujir said excitedly.
In his heart, Leto was seething in anger as he understood everything. The collapse of the ground was no coincidence. The red-furred ape was killed by the trap set by this old demon. The stronger beasts generally had bigger bodies, so he knew in case they fell along with his chosen one, they wouldn't have a chance to avoid certain death. Meanwhile, the body of human was small and there was just too low a chance he/she would get skewered.
The question was...why did the old man set up that trap? Leto easily saw through it.
If smaller and weaker beast fell here, the old demon would have easily beaten it, but if relatively strong one came...
'He mustn't be that powerful, then.' He came to a conclusion. The passage of time must have worn out the old man, who was neither human nor demon, dead or alive at present.
Of course, there was also a chance the old man was just being cautious, but he wouldn't do that if he had absolute faith in his power.
However, the fact that he wasn't attacked earlier meant the power he had revealed didn't threaten him.
Leto understood everything. He understood the most part the moment he saw the skeleton warrior turn into bone dust. This phenomenon occurs only when the source of something's creation was...the dungeon.
Leto was 100% sure the old demon was in possession of the dungeon core, which allowed him to manipulate even nature to some extent. After all, that stalagmite couldn't just pop out from the surface of the water conveniently in that place.
As the old man wanted to possess his body, his original body would die and the link he had with the dungeon would be gone. As Leto himself was too weak, in case Mujir really possessed his body, he couldn't once again link with the dungeon core until later.
There was one problem with that. Leto's potential was too low. In order to raise it, the old man generated the skeletons from the dungeon core so he could absorb them and increase the potential of his future host, so when he possessed it, his cultivation would be faster and smoother.
In case Leto was unable to guess the essence flames' use, Mujir must have had another method to make him realize.
Everything had been set up.
The death of his friend, the red-furred ape hadn't been a coincidence.
Leto had been schemed against.
Mujir was staring at Leto like a hungry wolf.
Now it was time for the old man to reap his harvest.
There was nothing else to say.
A heavy silence descended.
''Pfft...HAHAHAHAHAHA~'' Leto suddenly burst into laughter, causing the old man's expression to change.
''What are you laughing about?'' Mujir asked solemnly.
''HAHAHA, what I'm laughing at, you say? I'm laughing at ya, you old coot. Do you really think you can kill me, old fart? Look at you, dirty old beggar. You look like you've not eaten for years. How can you even stand? Kill me? Pfft, I can kill you with a sneeze.'' Leto continued laughing recklessly.
The old man's expression twisted in anger. ''You dare look down on this elder? Arrogant!'' With a wave of his hand, a black shadow stretched from his dried up hand and smashed into Leto, who flew through the air and crashed down heavily.
He raised his head from the ground. Wiping the small stream of blood trickling down the corner of his lips, he outstretched his trembling hand and screamed hoarse with a disbelieving expression. ''H, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!''
Mujir laughed in his heart in disdain while slowly approaching the terror-stricken youth.
At the same time, Leto also chuckled in his heart. He believed his acting wasn't bad. If it came down to age and experience, he was also an old monster. He believed in his skills at deception, which would result in the enemy underestimating him.
Deception, however, was only a bonus. He had his few trump cards he hadn't shown yet.
Unfortunately, he still wasn't completely confident in making out of here alive, so he had no qualms over playing dirty.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
silverwolfcub
silverwolfcub The truth comes to light...
I think every chapter needs a serious rewrite to make it look exactly how I intended to be, but...well, I'll leave it at that for now.
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