Chapter 36: Family |
As Alvaro narrated, the expressions of the Patriarch and the elders gradually shifted from fury to something strange.
Good heavens, not only had he directly killed a Transcendent-level Shadow Guild president, he had even chopped off the claw of some unknown Legendary undead?!
Even Caitlin, after hearing her own younger brother’s exploits all over again, could not help clicking her tongue inwardly in amazement.
“This brat… every time he came back, he brought us a little ‘surprise’!”
Elder Alec·Aiven gave a dry cough, breaking the brief silence in the hall.
Patriarch Rayleigh·Aiven gave a slight nod and turned his gaze to Caitlin. “Take Kyle to the Silver Moon Ancient Pool first and let him sleep there. The Silver Moon essence there should be the best thing for restoring his origin.”
“Yes, Patriarch.” Caitlin respectfully accepted the order, then carried Kyle and turned to leave, disappearing into the depths of the corridor along the dark red velvet carpet.
Only after watching the siblings leave did the ancient beings in the hall refocus their attention on Alvaro.
“Alvaro, take out that severed claw and let us have a look.” Patriarch Rayleigh’s voice echoed through the empty hall.
As the sound of heavy metal hitting the floor rang out, a huge ‘metal cocoon’ appeared before everyone… and every ghost.
A chorus of exclamations immediately rose throughout the hall.
“Alvaro, has your rune mastery already reached this level? You could actually completely suppress the severed limb of a Legendary creature without letting even a trace of its aura leak out!”
The scholarly Fifth Elder, Irlton·Aiven, observed every rune line closely through his monocle crystal lens.
“It was Lord Kyle who designed the runes. This subordinate was only responsible for carrying out the seal.”
Alvaro could not really understand his lord’s rune design either. It was far too profound, but that did not stop him from imitating it and using it.
“This boy is incredible! He had never shown this before. Even I would need time to crack these composite spatial confinement runes.” Fifth Elder Irlton·Aiven kept simulating them in his palm, trying to reproduce and break them.
“Is that the only trick that brat has never shown?” another elder said, taking up the thread, with a hint of pride that was hard to detect in his tone. “Now he has even reversed and dismantled a Legendary domain. It probably will not take many more years before he advances to Transcendent!”
“So fast…” one elder sighed. “How old were we when we advanced to Transcendent again? Five hundred, or six hundred?”
“Don’t forget, Kyle was not walking the old road of the blood race, but a road that belonged solely to himself!” Patriarch Rayleigh·Aiven’s voice carried heartfelt praise.
“Perhaps he really could break the bloodline shackles of the blood race, surpass a Prince, and reach that height no blood race has ever attained!”
“Let’s hope so.”
Elder Alec·Aiven stroked his meticulously groomed brown beard, and a trace of worry flashed through his eyes. “It’s just that this boy’s talent is matched by his ability to cause trouble. Who knows how long we can keep protecting him.”
“Alec, you are overthinking it.” Patriarch Rayleigh said steadily, “That boy is sharper than anyone. He would never do something he was not confident about. At the very least, he did take our words to heart. In these past years, he was clearly no longer as radical as before, and he understood how to proceed step by step.”
“Otherwise, with that ‘short-lived species’ kind of impatience in his bones, how could he possibly have cultivated quietly for decades? He has already improved a great deal over the years.”
“‘Short-lived species’! Right! That damned short-lived-species way of thinking! I have no idea who he learned it from. It was as if he would die if he did not improve for even a single day!” Elder Alec·Aiven got annoyed just thinking about it.
“Haha, I still remember how that boy looked at us old fellows like we were ‘antiques,’ saying all sorts of things about wasting time and wasting life. He angered you so much that you stuffed him into a blood coffin and made him sleep for a full ten years!” another elder immediately said with a laugh.
At the mention of old memories, several elders revealed expressions that were both helpless and amused.
The family was not weak, but in the end, it was only a hidden family, and the resources it possessed were limited. After each member passed their three-hundred-year coming-of-age ceremony, they no longer enjoyed the family’s free supply. All resources had to be exchanged for family contributions. The number of core family members was also always kept strictly within one hundred.
Every day these old fellows remained active, they consumed quite a lot of resources. In order to nurture the younger generation, they needed prolonged sleep in large amounts, so that resources could be given priority to the growth of the young.
Even when they did not enter dormancy, they still moved as little as possible. Yet in the eyes of a fledgling brat like Kyle, that had turned them into old antiques who lacked ambition and wasted their time. Who would not be angry?
“Speaking of dormancy,” Elder Irlton shifted his attention away from the runes and looked toward the Patriarch, “Kyle overtaxed his origin quite severely this time. Although the Silver Moon Ancient Pool has excellent effects, I am afraid it will still take quite some time. How long do you estimate?”
“At the very least, three years. Damage to the origin is not easy to recover from.” The Patriarch thought for a moment before answering.
“Looks like this boy Kyle will miss the centennial blood race gathering again. I had wanted to bring him along to meet the other clans and show him off a little. Now we can only wait for the next one.” Elder Irlton sounded somewhat disappointed.
“Time passed that quickly? It is already time for the clan gathering again?” the Great Elder said in surprise.
“It is not too bad. Mainly because you have slept a few too many times.” Patriarch Rayleigh looked at everyone. “Since the elders have rarely all gathered like this, we might as well settle the candidates for this trip. Who is willing to go?”
“Don’t look at me!” Elder Irlton hurriedly waved his hand. “I was the one who dealt with that bunch of old foxes last time. If Kyle were there, I would not mind going again. But now… forgive me for declining.”
“Then I will go.” the Great Elder said. “This time just happens to line up well, and I have not seen those old fellows in a long time either.”
“Mm, that works. This is the list of the family’s outstanding younger generation over the years. Take a look and decide who you plan to bring.” Patriarch Rayleigh took out a magic crystal that recorded the younger generation’s information and handed it to the Great Elder.
The Great Elder sent his spiritual power into the crystal and carefully examined the recorded information of the people on the list. After pondering for a moment, he said, “This time, let’s bring the siblings Ruhr and Joanna. Those two children have been diligent and steady, guarding the family’s border mineral veins for many years, and they have contributed greatly. It is time to let them go out and broaden their horizons.”
“Mm, their parents fell back then during the Blood Moon trial for advancing to Marquis. It was truly a pity. I wonder whether the road ahead for those two children will be a little smoother.”
“It is not just their parents who were unfortunate. There were only a few core descendants who could advance to Intent and become Marquis.”
Although the family had its own small secret realm, which could ensure that family members advanced safely to the rank of Viscount, anything beyond that had to be fought for with their own lives. Either they went out for training, or they took part in the blood race’s major secret realm trials. Every single option was full of extreme danger.
The family’s prosperity had been paved with the fresh blood of countless geniuses!
“Yes.” Great Elder Alec nodded with deep feeling, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness. “After all, not every descendant was as monstrous as that boy Kyle, breaking through again and again on his own without going through trials, and forcibly catching up to the pace of us old fellows.”
The elders fell silent.
In the blood race’s long lifespan, they had witnessed the rise and fall of far too many geniuses. Kyle did not even need to be mentioned; he was an exception among exceptions.
And someone like Caitlin, who had truly been willing to accept ordinariness and set aside the pride of being a pureblood direct-line blood race member, choosing to live in seclusion in a remote little town, was likewise an exceedingly rare exception in the family’s long history.