By nightfall, all of the slis and non-slis had gathered in the central square of the Sli Kingdom. There used to be a big boulder with the Millennium Peach Tree on top of it, but Viola had destroyed it. A temporary stage was set up in its place. The Sli Kingdom was full of buildings made of shining stone, making the place as bright as day.
Everyone sat at the tables surrounding the stage. The tables had all kinds of food and beverages laid out on top. No matter what dishes Sila tried, they all tasted amazing. There were more than ten different kinds of grilled at, each with their own distinct flavor, and they all went well with the sli races special dipping sauce. As for the beverages, they seed to be fruit juices that Sila had never seen before. He tried a blue drink and found that its taste was a mix between a waterlon and a cantaloupe.
Chatting and laughter rang out with no signs of stopping. anwhile, the sa old orange sli ascended the stage. Glancing around, he found that no one was interested in his presence.
Ladies and gentlen, please kindly give so of your attention, ya, the orange sli tried to shout, but his voice was like a drop of water in an ocean.
Sila was about to stand up and tell everyone to pay attention to the stage, but Polukwho was sitting next to himlaid a hand on his shoulder as he said, Just watch.
Despite feeling doubtful, Sila obediently remained seated and observed Orangey (Sila personally gave the orange sli a na since he had yet to see another sli with the sa color).
The small sli tried to gently divert everyones attention to him two more tis, but his attempts ended in vain. Being certain that no one would obediently listen, he cladded himself with psychic power reinforcent.
Racial Skill Slis Roar.
EVERYBODY, LISTEN HERE!!! Orangeys shout reverberated like thunder, making all of the slis flinch. Considering his small body, it was totally unexpected that he could make such a loud noise.
Sila hadnt prepared for it, so he felt his ears hurt for a while.
After the thunderous roar, the silence that Orangey desired finally ca, although it was coupled with the combined gazes of everyone present, making him feel slightly embarrassed.
Orangey coughed once to clear his nervousness before his lips began to move, yet no sound ca from them. Curious, Sila circulated qi to his ears to strengthen his hearing sense, but it didnt work. Orangeys speech lasted for a minute yet Sila did not hear a single word. The unusual silence caused him to feel restless. It wasnt until Orangey said Begins Now!!! that the sound of the wind, forest, and insects returned.
Clap, Clap, Clap.
The Sli King applauded while the rest of the slis remained silent. No one could tell if they were too shocked or simply lacked the hands to clap.
Poluk said in a loud voice, It seed your speech was remarkable. Still, did you forget that your Slis Roar will make people around you beco deaf temporarily?
Orangey was at a loss for words. That ant no one had heard his speech. In order to beco the perfect host of this celebration party, he had even prepared a script in advance and rehearsed a hundred tis.
It was a pity. His speech just now was perfect. Still, it would be strange and not magical anymore if he had to repeat it again. In the end, he left the stage dejectedly while saying, Err... in any case, welco the first one, ya.
A red sli, with a single horn coming out of its forehead, hopped onto the stage and showed its fire-breathing skill. Seeing the scene, Sila was surprised. He knew slis could change their magic elents but he had never known they could breathe flas.
He turned to ask the Sli King who sat beside him, What was that just now, sir?
The Sli King placed an empty glass on the table. Thats our racial ability that was sealedWay of Slis.
Way of Slis? Co to think of it, Sila recalled that his skill, Way of Sli, was sealed after he accomplished the quest.
Mn. Actually, in the unsealed state, every sli originally had only one skill, Heart of Sli, which could be promoted to Way of Sli. In a sense, you can say that we slis only have one skill while other races have fourincluding the ultimate skill of the strongest mber.
Sila opened his system window and checked his skill list. I have Formless Soldier, Moon Reflecting Mirror, and Orbiting Cosmos though.
The Sli King didnt find it surprising. Thats because our race has the ability to teach our own Way of Slis to others, though the learner has to et so criteria in order to learn them. Understand? The skills you have are Poluk, Viola, Divines Way of Slis. Your previous Way of Sli, the one with the ability to alter your power, belongs to . I could lend it to you only until the quest completion. My power shares the sa foundation as the Marvelous Bible, my familys heirloom. According to my familys regulations, I cant have an outsider inherit it. You will have to find your own Way of Sli from now on.
My own Way of Sli?
It may be difficult. Way of Sli is sothing born from within. It can be influenced by experience, profound arts, things that you have a strong impression or anything. Its mainly about understanding yourself. For example, my older brotherHu Xianwas originally a sli, yet his Way of Sli was Chaos Devourerthe ability to gain strength from creatures he ate. As he continued consuming, his existence mutated to keep up with his ever-increasing strength. In the end, he beca a complete dragon. Actually, Way of Sli is like what players call Rhythm, though the result of the skill is more obvious. You can call it sli-styled Rhythm.
Sila frowned. He couldnt even activate Rhythm, which was said to be a basic for elite players. The reason must be because his power was too everchanging. He had never truly mastered his power before it changed form. As such, the identity of the core of his power was faint and couldnt be asured. This trait was the prominent point of Flaming Cloud Qi, but it worked against him when he tried to create his own Rhythm or Way of Sli.
The Sli King continued, Normally, for you to learn another slis Way of Sli, you would have to approach them and complete the conditions that the chosen sli sets for learning the skill. The troubleso part is that you can only learn one skill at a ti. Once the conditions are t, you will have to co back and et the skill holder to obtain the skill before you can learn another one. However, since you have the Slis Record in your possession, you can ignore this process. You will acquire the skill imdiately as soon as the conditions are t. The only prerequisite is that you have to witness the said skill first. In fact, this celebration party, where each sli is displaying their skill, was set up specifically for you.
Hearing so, Sila quickly took the Slis Record out and found that the number of pages really increased. With each display, one more page would be added to the Recordshowing the skills na, an illustration, its basic information, and the conditions for acquiring it. Still, the very first page remained the illustration of twin slis with no description.
That page is for your own Way of Sli. When you have created it, it will show up there.
My Way of Sli...? Sila muttered to himself while igniting qi fla on his palm, trying to understand the characteristic of his own power. Regardless, no matter how long he stared into the pitch black fla, he got nothing.
Those who know others are wise while those who know themselves are sages. Sila, you will have to understand yourself first, Divine comnted.
Poluk placed his glass down, looked at the Sli King, and said, Well, even without such a skill, Flaming Cloud Qi is already one of the Five Crown Jewels. You are already so capable despite your young age. Give yourself a dozen more years and you will be undefeated under the sky like the two brothers from the Tiger Family.
Even we lost once, and to the sa opponent at the sa ti as well. The Sli King gave a dry laugh, though everyone seed to ignore his statent, thinking that he was just being humble.
Sila, however, was more interested in sothing else. What do you an by Five Crown Jewels?
Everyone at their table stopped talking and locked their gazes on Sila. Asava was the first to speak, asking, Sila, dont you know the aning of the Five Crown Jewels?
Sila shook his head while Viola let out a sigh. You are a mber of the underground world yet you are this oblivious? Even if Mora didnt tell you anything, you should have at least heard the term from soone else.
Before Sila lost any more face, Asava hurriedly explained, The Five Crown Jewels refer to the five supre profound arts recognized by people in the martial world, though this can change from generation to generation. They are like the topmost jewels crowned on the coronet. In the current era, no one is unaware of Most MysteriousMarvelous Bible, Most BizarreFlaming Cloud Qi, Most ProfoundOcean-Surrounding Dragon Technique, Most UnfathomableHeavenly Reservoir Qi, and Most UnequalledBlossoming Lotus Art. They are the Five Crown Jewels of the present generation.
Seeing that Sila was interested, Asava continued, Most Mysterious refers to the Marvelous Bible of the Tiger Family, passed down through their bloodline only. It is the art of making the impossible possible. Most Bizarre is Flaming Cloud Qi from the Hells Gate Islands, representing a demon and a god coexisting in a human body. Most Profound refers to Elder Sanons Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique. Just a single display of power shook the entire martial world. Most Unfathomable is Heavenly Reservoir Qi from the Sky Tower Clan. The purest form of bottomless inner force. Lastly, Most Unequalled is Blossoming Lotus Art from the Serene Temple. Win without fighting. Dismiss enmity without taking offensive actions.
Divine added, That ans the Flaming Cloud Qi you are using is one of the five greatest arts of the current era, Sila.
Going over what he had just heard, Sila wondered. Hmm? One of them belongs to the Sky Dragon Dojo?
Everyone exchanged glances, feeling surprised that Sila was oblivious even to a certain tale. Even the youngest one here, Vlad, had heard about it.
Such an impactful and important event... Hasnt Mora told you? asked Poluk.
Sila shook his head again. He hasnt. This is my first ti hearing that the Sky Dragon Dojo has such a strong art in its possession. In this case, there is a possibility that Montra has
Asava interrupted, Sila, you heard wrong. I didnt say the Sky Dragon Dojo has one of the five greatest arts. What I said was that one of them belonged to Elder Sanon.
Sila was confused. Are they different?
Divine explained, Yes, they are. In fact, he displayed the art only once, yet it has been considered a legendary feat ever since. The event is one of the reasons why we suspect he might be the traitor.
The tale was an old one. Vlad had listened to it at least ten tis already, so he lost interest and stared at the shows on the stage. Only Sila beca attentive to the story.
The event took place at a yearly conference several years ago. At that ti, Poluks teacher and the Demon God Zenga were the only remaining Island Masters of their generation. The Earthbound Reaper had a hot-headed personality, so he stord into the eting and demanded fair treatnt for Kimon. Their argunt soon escalated into a fight. Both of them possessed almighty strength and they didnt hold back in showing their ultimate moves. The situation was very dire. If the Demon God died, the people in the association would claim justice by slaughtering Kimons mbers. On the other hand, if the Earthbound Reaper died, Kimons mbers would start a massacre in order to take revenge. Still, the level of battle was incredibly high. No one dared to interrupt as they would et their demise the second they ca into contact with any of the twos moves.
It was none other than Sanon, still in his twenties at the ti, who intervened between the two. He bared his chest against Flaming Cloud Qi while using his back to receive Vajra Qi. Miraculously, he ca out alive despite taking the two hits simultaneously, though the injuries on him were serious. Seeing that even the Demon Gods youngest disciple could achieve such a feat, Poluks teacher decided to withdraw. It could be said that Sanon was a hero who had successfully prevented a civil war. All the people in the conference applauded and roared in celebration.
Sila could hardly swallow his saliva. Flaming Cloud Qi and Vajra Qi were formidable and fierce in different ways. He knew he would be incapable of replicating the feat. It was amazing, and even scary, to think that Sanon could do it when he was not that much older than Sila was right now.
So thats Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique, right?
Thats right. However, the tale didnt end well like you might be thinking. The Demon God Zengas character was as wild as a fla. He asked Sanon what art he used to intervene previously, to which Sanon answered by saying that it was Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique, an art he had invented personally. Hearing this, the Demon God beca enraged, scolding Sanon and saying that he was disrespectful by showing off that his strength was superior to his teacher in front of a crowd. Then, he exerted Flaming Cloud Qi to burn Sanons inner force and profound veins. With that being done, Sanon would forever be unable to build up inner force further than a negligible degree. He would be unable to practice high-level arts for the rest of his life. The Demon Gods anger didnt stop there. He declared that in the future whoever uses Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique will be classified as public enemies, subjected to execution on the spot. Thus, there is no way Sanon would have imparted the art to others. You can be sure of that.
Sila listened to the tale with bewildernt. W-Why...? Why did the Demon God have to do that?
The Demon Gods character was quick-tempered. That was to be expected. Sila, you still dont understand how the martial world functions. Sanon made his teacher lose face in front of people from the association. Being made crippled could be said to be a light punishnt already. In any case, the Wulin Lords order was absolute, aning we must all follow it without missing a single letter. The order remained without being retracted even on the day the Demon God died. Therefore, Sanon is considered soone whose hatred toward the association must be intense. People still respect him though. That is why they crowned Ocean-Surrounding Dragon Technique as one of the Five Crown Jewels despite it only being displayed once.
That was too cruel. I now understand why Montra would want to beco the Wulin Lord. I guess he must want to cancel this order.
That is possible. Or, Sanon can be a traitor who aims for Montra to beco the Wulin Lord and will take revenge against the association once he has acquired enough power. Dont look at things too optimistically, Sila, Divine warned.
But... I heard that Mister Sanon opposes the decision to make Montra the Wulin Lord. Isnt that right?
Viola opened her mouth. Sanon is a smart guy. Its possible that he is pretending, sending a false signal.
Poluk added, A story from the past belongs in the past. As for the present, what that becos will be up to the people of the new generation like you. This is your era, Sila. Use our past actions as lessons to help you decide what choices you want to make and what path you want the association to walk in the future. We all make mistakes. They are inevitable. Its what you can learn from them thats important. You can think of them as another heritage from the older generations.
Sila took every lesson he learned today to heart while enjoying the shows prepared by slis. The party continued smoothly and rrily, not counting the ti when Orangey got drunk from Night Grape Juicethe specialty fruit from the Illusion Forestand used Slis Roar two more tis to make everyone listen to him.
Several slis ca to greet Sila one after another and offered efficient thods to acquire their Way of Slis while thanking him for setting them free and granting them the happiness they felt today.
Sila continued listening to experiences, warnings, or even Monster Souls legends from the Sli King, the Sli Guardians, and Asava with excitent. He didnt get a wink of sleep and before he knew it, the sun had risen.
Finally, the party was over. The peaceful and joyful ti had eventually co to an end. Sila bid everyone farewell as he planned to join Bluebird in the Magic Kingdom like he had planned.
The night was morable. However, it might be the last happy mont he would ever feel before the war event started. Thus, Sila tried to subrge himself into the atmosphere as much as he could. He then left the place along with the flash of teleportation. There was a high chance that visiting the Magic Kingdom would lead to difficult situations, so he went back to Belacia City first in order to make preparations, including inviting Julia, Sebastian, Lookhin, Mamon, and Clute to go with him.
If he was lucky, nothing would go wrong. However, based on his experience, Sila was aware that things never went according to plan when he was involved.
Reviews
All reviews (0)