บท 23: A Memory From The Past and Elder Dong's Involvement

...…

Elder Bin wasn't the only one who was astonished by the facts presented before him; all the Outer Sect Deacons shared similar reactions.

None of them could believe that someone so astonishingly strong had suddenly emerged from the ranks of the Trial Disciples!

"Did this boy get assistance from one of the Sect's Ancestors or something??" Elder Bin asked with a raised brow.

He had heard rumors of cultivators in the Peak Stages of the Tempering Marrow Realm that were capable of guiding trash and making them reach a spot where even the weakest disciples could turn into rising stars. However, neither he nor the other Outer Deacons had ever heard of a master with such a specific skill set within their Yang Sect…

"An Exterior Force…?" Elder Yong speculated.

If his suspicions were true, then it could spell a serious number of troubles for their jurisdictions and the Yang Sect as a whole.

"Should we report this?" Elder Bin asked, his hand tightly clasping a transmission talisman.

All of the Outer Deacons of the Yang Sect were only at the Bone Forging Stage, with a rare few at the Early Pulse Condensation Stage. With such weak cultivation bases, there was no way that any one of them could handle a master that stood on par with the leader of the Yang Sect!

"…"

All three Outer Deacons thought this matter over for a second before Elder Dong broke the silence by saying, "I think we should let the boy continue as he was and see where this leads from there. It's not like we can't do something about him if it turns out that he's a spy sent from an opposing force, am I right?"

"…"

Elder Yong and Elder Bin understood the underlying meaning behind his words. Who didn't know how troublesome it was to report something for the Yang Sect!?

Especially when considering that they were merely Outer Sect Deacons…

"Judging by the faces you two are making, I assume that we can let his existence slide for now? After all, there is still the Black Tiger Family who is on his tail, so I'm sure he has enough hurdles he needs to leap over even without our interference," Elder Dong remarked.

"You are correct, Brother Dong. Let's not even involve the other Outer Deacons in this matter and keep this strictly between the three of us. Is that okay with you, Elder Bin?"

Elder Yong agreed with the points made by Elder Dong as he turned his head in the direction of the still-shocked old man who was sitting beside him.

Elder Bin thought the options over for a moment before he replied, "I also second the decision to keep this under wraps and let things play out however fate wishes it to."

"Well, then it looks like we're all in agreement on this. So from this point onwards, not a single one of us will report our suspicions about the origins of the power possessed by the boy," Elder Dong said with a tone that indicated the conversation had ended. The others followed suit as they all came to the silent consensus that no one was to talk about this anymore.

After which, Elder Dong's face, tinged with a hint of melancholy, turned in the direction of the young boy in the arena. 'This is the least I can do for you, boy,' he thought. 'In the end, your title as 'The Most Trashy Cultivator in Existence' was all my fault...'

'Your Spiritual Roots, not of this world, were never meant to be on Prometheus in the first place, and having your parents seal them before they left for the Starry Expanse was what had to be done for the good of us all…'

For a brief moment, Elder Dong's aura surged with power that was far beyond something a mere Body Refinement Realm Cultivator should possess, nearly breaking free from its shackles.

But before it could reach a point where it was noticed by the others, he quickly reigned it in and refocused his attention back on the black-eyed boy who sat in a meditative position in the fighting arena.

_____

Meanwhile, back down in the middle of the large battle ring, Azmodeus had started cultivating in the middle of a free-for-all, trying to absorb his gains from the Super Strength Trait as best he could.

'It looks like I acquired more than just physical prowess from this new trait,' he thought. 'I feel like my personality has been slightly altered…'

'Almost as if something has changed within me after acquiring Super Strength and subsequently leveling it up…'

He could feel something telling him to train and train and never stop training!

As though something within him wanted him to become stronger! Something within his very core existence wanted him to become the strongest!

'These Traits are definitely like double-edged swords.'

'Although the boosts they allot are insanely good and some of the side effects are beneficial for my evolutions and adaptations, there is also this daunting feeling that tells me I'm being changed…'

'I am being changed with every Trait I acquire, and that change only hits harder each time I level up the traits…'

There was something that Azmodeus had heard from what he thought to be the only memory he had of his parents. In it, there was a mirage where the shadowy silhouette of a beautiful woman spoke softly.

This was the only memory he had about his parents…

She spoke in a soft and soothing voice, "In life, everything has a price. Even if something is free, it will still have a price somewhere down the line," she said. "And what I'm trying to tell you, my lovely little boy, is that there's nothing without a cost. You will have to pay it if you wish to achieve everything you are destined for…"

Her voice grew a little sad and gloomy, but after this part, the memory suddenly cut off. What followed was nothing but radio silence in Azmodeus's memory department…

He didn't have anything before that memory, and nothing came after it until many years later.

It was almost like he wasn't allowed to glimpse into his past…

Like something, or rather… someone was preventing him from remembering…

Nonetheless, Azmodeus believed that all of this was mere speculation on his part — a mere figment of his imagination that likely formulated inside his brain in order to cope with the reality that he was abandoned.

That was the cold, hard truth, and if he wished to adapt and evolve, he needed to accept the irrefutable facts presented before him.

But for now, there was still a Competition raging on, and eight or so competitors, ranging from fifteen to eighteen years old, still stood in the battle ring…

...…