Journey Towards Dao

The Five Profound Elements Sect was one of the Three Major Sects that co-governed the entirety of the Eastern Empyrean Continent. Composed of 16 mountain peaks, the Five Profound Elements Sect boasted a long and storied history, spanning well over 20,000 years.

The Sect was well known for their exhaustive library of Cultivation Methods and Martial Techniques. Additionally, they held the achievement of accommodating the largest number of disciples at any given time among all the sects within Dhara, with a total number exceeding 500,000 true disciples!

During the autumn season of each year, The Five Profound Elements Sect would host a Sect Entrance Examination, attracting countless aspiring talents to the Eastern Empyrean Continent. The Examinations were held in five separate locations spread across five massive cities that surrounded the perimeter of the Sect, each of which being controlled by one of the five Outer Sect Peaks.

…

The wooden airship slowly descended through white clouds, flying in line with several other airships of varying sizes as they were carefully navigated, one after another, above a sweeping city, with the help of dozens of levitating, navy-blue-robed cultivators.

Auslen, Vincent, and Nathaniel were all huddled together near the large window at the bow of the ship, foreheads nearly kissing the glass as they gazed upon the bustling city below.

What a sight…

Unlike the rough, textured stone that was popular in the Western Empyrean Continent, the city below was universally constructed with colorful glazed bricks, shimmering with a jewel-like shine.

Pilasters looked to be commonplace, instead of the familiar cylindrical columns that Auslen had grown used to seeing, and well-placed recesses decorated the buildings’ intricate facades.

Foliage of various colors was spread generously throughout the city, seeming to be integrated directly into the majority of the architecture. This helped to provide the busy city with a clean and enlivening ambience.

As the city grew closer, Auslen couldn’t help but notice the incredible density of people that filled the winding streets. Although, he could not yet tell if this sea of people was an ordinary scene, or if it was mainly attributed to the Sect Entrance Examination.

Soon, their large, wooden airship fully descended into the city below, landing silently onto a tiled plaza beside several other grounded airships.

Within the wooden airship, Cedrick grabbed onto Auslen and Nathaniel’s small hands as he turned to lead them and Vincent back towards the gradually opening hatch.

When the four of them slowly floated downwards onto the sparsely populated pavilion, they were welcomed by five older men and women, all of which wearing the same navy-blue robes.

“Greetings, Sect Elder Cedrick!”

When they saw the crowned, black robed figure descend from the airship, they bowed together in respectful greeting.

Sect… Elder? My father? The King of the Bright Forest Kingdom?

Despite suddenly becoming aware that he was missing considerably important information, Auslen kept his astonishment hidden underneath his smiling expression.

On the opposite side of Cedrick, Nathaniel’s head swiveled constantly towards the city around him in ignorance, not seeming to understand or care about what was just said. However, Vincent’s silver eyes widened noticeably as he glanced at Cedrick’s calm appearance in shock and confusion.

Cedrick gave the group a small nod of acknowledgment.

“This is my child, Auslen, and my nephew, Nathaniel. They both will be participating in the Sect Entrance Examination this year.”

A tall, gray haired man, who looked to be around 60 years of age, stepped forward promptly. He seemed to be the leader of the group of cultivators.

“Understood, Sect Elder. We have been assigned to guide you towards the Examination site. Is that satisfactory? Or do you have prior plans in place?”

“You five will do.”

“Excellent! Then we shall make our way immediately.”

Cedrick simply nodded the man’s words, bringing the boys along as he followed behind the group's already moving figures.

Auslen’s eyes surveyed the surroundings curiously.

The street’s were packed to the brim with people, a loud cacophony of sounds originating from everywhere as their group navigated through the packed streets surprisingly easily. Young children of varying ages seemed the most exuberant, jumping and running here and there, almost bumping into Auslen a few times. However, they always twisted out of the way just before doing so, with discernibly unnatural movements at times.

Confused, he looked towards the front of the group to finally notice that the entirety of the crowd seemed to inexplicably disperse, giving way to their group in an eerily collective fashion. None of the nearby people even seemed to notice that their group was passing next to them, nor the fact that they had all obediently stepped out of the way of their passage.

After understanding their group’s mysteriously concealed presence, Auslen withdrew his gaze from the surrounding excitement while considering what he had just heard about his father.

If Father is truly a Sect Elder of the Five Profound Elements Sect, then he would have had to have been a disciple of the Sect at some point.

How exactly did he end up in the Western Empyrean Continent as the ruler of a Kingdom?

And what is his and the Five Profound Elements Sect’s connection with the Augustus Empire?

During Auslen’s ruminations, he unwittingly glanced upwards to notice that they had arrived in front of a massive square-shaped palace. Blue and gold glazed bricks covering its exterior, and its flat roof was thickly covered with various plants.

There were five disgustingly long lines extending outside of the five sets of doors that led inside the palace.

Thankfully, their group simply walked through a hidden entrance on the side, bypassing the many hours that most of the unfortunate people outside surely had to wait.

From the inside, Auslen could see a wide open hall, with streams of people coming and going in an orderly fashion around the thick columns that held up the 20-meter-tall ceilings.

As he gazed around the interior, he noticed a large number platforms spread neatly about the floors, all of which looking just like the Soul Force Measurement Platform he had used earlier in the year. In addition, many Dao Root Measurement Orbs were lined along the walls.

Children that seemed to be between the ages of 6 and 13 were using the platforms to evaluate their Soul Force, causing audible examination results to ring throughout the palace constantly.

From the several results he had heard during his short time walking through the hall, not a single one of their Soul Force evaluations exceeded 15 points. And he had only seen two Dao Root Measurement Orbs glow with dim light, showing Auslen for the first time how truly rare it was to have even a weak talent for cultivation.

Due to his father’s earlier preparations, Auslen wasn’t quite sure what either his Soul Force or Dao Root examination results would read. But he had a sinking feeling he would end up drawing far too much unnecessary attention to himself among this group of children.

Thankfully, it seemed as if this group of older cultivators had some propriety, leading them to a secluded room that held its own Soul Force Evaluation Platform and Dao Root Measuring Orb.

Cedrick glanced at the platform and announced, “Auslen will take the evaluation first, followed by Nathaniel.”

In response, an old woman stepped towards Auslen with a slight smile on her wrinkled face as she bent down closer to Auslen’s height. She reached both hands towards his ears as she closed her eyes in concentration. She even lightly touched his chest as she felt the outline of the pendant hanging under his black and gold cloak.

She silently transmitted her voice to the leading old man: “All of his Mystic Artifacts are Low-Grade and do not contain any aspects that may interfere with the examination.”

After the man’s subtle nod, she looked at Auslen’s sunny smile and politely said, “Feel free to step on the platform to begin your examination. After the results of your Soul Force examination have been processed, you can head straight to the Dao Root Measurement Orb. The sensations should feel quite familiar to you, so you have no need to worry.”

“Thank you, miss!”

Auslen’s smile caused his golden eyes to squint, infecting the lady in front of him with a smile full of fondness.

Without further ado, Auslen stepped onto the platform and walked towards the center.

Once he sat down, the familiar scene of shining glyphs appeared once more. The glyphs transitioned to a coral blue color before settling down, causing an impossibly deep voice to resonate from the platform.

“37 points of Soul Force. Pure Water Elemental Affinity.”

Hearing the announcement, the old man and woman’s eyes shined in praise before they transformed into looks of confusion. They were obviously quite befuddled by his unexpected Elemental Affinity.

However, it did not take them long to come to some likely conclusions.

No longer thinking about the unimportant matter, the old man spoke up in high spirits, “Congratulations, Sect Elder! Your son is certainly a little genius!”

As Cedrick nodded in silent agreement, Auslen had already stood up from the platform, walking over to the Dao Root Measurement Orb to place his hand upon it. He made sure to close his eyes this time.

It didn’t take long for the intrusive sensations to die down before the orb burst out with two halos of blinding light, indicating Grade 2 Dao Roots, drawing only nods of confirmation from the guides.

While Grade 2 Dao Roots was absolutely an incredible talent, the group of cultivators had long expected such a result, considering the parents’ talents.

Auslen let go of the orb as he tried not to rub his increasingly aching stomach in distress. He took a few deep breaths to collect himself before smiling with satisfaction. Quite happy with the results that were shown, he stepped back towards his father as he watched Nathaniel take his turn sitting down on the platform.

After a few moments, red shined fiercely from the platform.

“34 points of Soul Force. Pure Fire Elemental Affinity.”

Pure Fire Elemental Affinity?

Although Cedrick had already informed him of the innate strength of Nathaniel’s Soul Force, Auslen was still unaware of the boy’s Elemental Affinity until this moment.

No wonder Grandfather wanted the boy to practice a Heaven Tier Cultivation Method.

Pure Elemental Affinities were quite rare among cultivators. However, Pure Elemental Affinities carried very few noticeable advantages, so they were not among most people’s considerations.

However, Auslen had learned that the only major benefit would have to be that cultivators with Pure Elemental Affinities had a marginally easier time practicing Earth and Heaven Tier Methods and Techniques.

But, did Grandfather provide him with enough rare materials to be able to exchange for a suitable Heaven Tier Method? He surely did… right?

While Auslen was thinking to himself, the guides nodded their heads in silence. None of them were too surprised at the results, considering Nathaniel’s identity as a descendant of the esteemed Rinaldi Family. It was only expected for him to be so talented.

After a few more moments, two halos lit up the room once again, revealing Nathaniel’s Grade 2 Dao Roots.

During this moment, Cedrick’s eyes flashed as he glanced across the room before turning his eyes away in disinterest.

At the location of his glance, an invisible undulation suddenly arose in the space behind the old cultivators, localized within the area smaller than a needle prick.

However, the undulations expanded rapidly, nearly instantly transforming into a indiscernible, silent, and rapidly revolving cyclone that nearly touched the ceiling of the room.

Meanwhile, the blue-robed old man and the rest of the guides were still busy notating the results of the boys’ evaluations, not at all noticing fluctuations in the space behind them.

Nathaniel skipped back to Auslen as he exclaimed, “We’re matching, Auslen!”

Just as Auslen was about to reply, his eyes slightly shifted away from his cousin as he thought he noticed some slight activity on the other side of the room. He squinted in self-doubt for a moment, only to be somewhat frightened when the figure of an unknown woman peculiarly inserted itself into his frame of vision.

She was a pale skinned woman wearing thick yellow robes embroidered with decorative swirling patterns reminiscent of wind currents. Her long, light-blonde hair hung around her shoulders unbound, gliding across the back of her robed legs harmoniously.

In astonishment, Auslen quickly glanced up at his father to thankfully see no visible signs of unrest, causing him to relax completely with an internal sigh.

That was until he turned his eyes forwards once more to be greeted with an acutely close view of the woman’s beautiful face, her green eyes locked straight into Auslen’s as his body uncontrollably trembled from her sudden disturbing proximity.

Beside Auslen, Nathaniel shrieked loudly as he was spooked by the teleporting woman who was currently kneeling in front of Auslen, calling Vincent’s startled attention to the blonde woman as well.

The guides also turned their attention to the sudden disturbance as Cedrick’s deep voice sounded with vague annoyance.

“Kassandra, I did not invite you here to scare my son.”