Chapter 15 - Begin of a Journey

I am currently standing in the dining hall, where both my parents are having breakfast at the dining table. As I enter, both of them turn their heads to look at me. My father smiles, and my mother rushes over to me, firmly locking me in her embrace.

I hug her tightly in response. It has been ten days since I last saw my mother, and I’ve dearly missed her comforting presence. As someone who never knew familial love, the feeling of being showered with it has left a deep mark on my heart. I try to treasure these warm moments as much as possible because I know that one day, I will have to leave all this behind and walk my own path. That only makes these moments all the more important.

She leads me to the table, and we silently share a meal with all the family members around. From time to time, my father glances at me, as if hesitating to ask something. I know what he’s thinking, so I stand up from my chair and walk to the center of the room.

Both my parents give me questioning looks, but I silently activate both my First Chakra and the Spirit energy in my Dantian. A red aura envelops my body, accompanied by the pressure of the Spirit Sense Realm. My parents react very differently from what I expected.

My mother’s face lights up with pure excitement and happiness when she sees my cultivation state. But when I turn my head to look at my father, his expression sends a chill down my spine. Even though it lasts only for an instant, I see a sharp look flash across his eyes, completely contrasting with his usual playful demeanor.

Then his expression softens into one of immense relief and gratitude. I don’t understand why he would feel relieved. Is it because, as the mayor's son, I can’t be considered a waste in terms of cultivation? Maybe that’s it. But his expression doesn’t quite match my reasoning. Is it related to that incident my father mentioned? I don’t ponder too much on the matter, as he promised to explain it if I met his conditions. And it’s only a matter of time, now that I’ve succeeded.

“Azalon, you’ve reached the 3rd stage of the Spirit Sense Realm? And you’re also a Red-Level Knight?” my mother asks excitedly.

“Yes, Mother,” I reply, feeling happy because I never want to let these two people down.

“Hahahaha…” my mother laughs joyfully, and I can see faint tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

It seems she took the words of that Head Elder deeply to heart and was worried about my future, even though she said they would support me no matter what. My father simply stares at me with a deep, brooding look.

“Come to Mother, Azalon. Let’s celebrate this happy occasion with a banquet.”

“No, Adelina. We are going somewhere today. It’s very important, and there’s no time left. You know about that. We talked about it before, remember?”

“Ah, right. It’s just that my happiness clouded my mind for a moment there.”

Hmm… So my mother also knows what my father is planning. Both of their faces are serious, and I feel a sense of foreboding in my heart. After breakfast, my father tells me to follow him to his study.

We walk silently, and once we enter his study, my father instructs the guards not to let anyone in and even locks the doors from the inside. He sits down in his chair, and I take a seat across from him, facing each other.

He stares at me for a long time before finally speaking.

“So, Azalon. You’ve met my condition and, I must say, even exceeded it. I didn’t expect you to cultivate to the 3rd stage of the Spirit Sense Realm so quickly.”

I don’t reply, waiting for him to ask the real questions and provide the explanation about that mysterious event. Seeing that I’m not responding, he continues,

“How did you cultivate so fast? Master said you didn’t have the aptitude for Spirit cultivation. You couldn’t have deceived him, given the vast difference between you. So what happened?”

I had long since expected this question and prepared my answer.

“I figured out his plan. So I didn’t refine any energy for those two days. Naturally, he believed I didn’t have any aptitude for cultivation and saw no worth in me. So he left without a single doubt in his mind.”

“So you realized that he tried to rope you into his Sect and make you a bargaining chip to increase his influence. You have quite the observational capacity at such a young age.”

For some reason, I find myself staring blankly at him. He seems like a completely different person from his usual self. Even his presence has turned sharp as a sword when he says those words. If not for the fact that he looks exactly like my father, I could swear he’s a different person.

“You knew? Then why did you say nothing that day? If I hadn’t recognized his plan, I could have been taken away by him!”

His face turns somber, and in a heavy voice, he says, “I’ll tell you the reason, but not here. There are too many eyes and ears attached to the walls and doors in this place. We’ll go to that place, and I’ll explain everything to you. You’ll understand once you hear my explanation.”

I fall silent as well. It seems something very important is going on, but I have no inkling of what it could be. He then lifts his head and stares at the ceiling with a distant look in his eyes.

“Go and get ready for the journey, Azalon. At the shortest, it will take 20 days to reach that place. Spend some time with your mother. We’ll leave in the late afternoon.”

With that, he dismisses me without providing a single bit of useful information, except that we’re going somewhere far from here.

I decide to spend all the time I have today with my mother. I walk to the garden behind the mansion courtyard. That’s where she usually is at this time. Various plants with bright flowers and different trees bearing fruits fill the garden. All the maintenance is done under my mother’s meticulous direction, and she spends most of her time here, looking after the plants and flowers.

I see her standing in the shade of the largest tree in the middle of the garden, gazing into the distance with a sad look on her face. I slowly walk over to her, and she turns her gaze toward me. A smile floats onto her face, and she lifts her hand, beckoning me.

I run into her embrace, and she sits down on the grass, holding me in her lap with a gentle smile on her face. We sit there silently for a long time, enjoying the wind and the sweet fragrances of the flowers. She’s the one who breaks the silence first.

“So, when are you leaving?”

“Father said we’ll leave in the late afternoon. Mother, do you know where he’s taking me?”

“I do, but your father should be the one to explain everything to you. He told me so I wouldn’t worry about both of you.”

So it’s something related to my father, and even my mother didn’t know about it until recently. I’m even more curious now, but I have a feeling it’s a huge thing that will have a great impact on my life.

As planned, I spend most of the day with my mother. In the afternoon, my father and I walk to the mansion gates, but I don’t see any transport anywhere. I turn an inquiring gaze to my father, who senses my question and replies in a low tone.

“We’ll be going by ourselves. Once we reach the city gates, we can move much faster. Just wait, and you’ll understand.”

So we walk toward the city gates. The guards recognize my father and immediately salute. He orders the gates to be lifted, and we walk out of the city. We travel some distance before my father stops and turns to me.

“Get on my back, Azalon. And hold on tight.”

I try to question him, but after seeing his serious expression, I close my mouth, climb onto his back, and hold on tightly. He then rises into the air and shoots across the sky at an incredible speed. An energy barrier forms in front of us, so the wind doesn’t bother me, even at this high speed. I look into the distance in the direction we’re traveling, and all I can see is a chain of large mountains on the horizon. It seems we’re heading toward those mountains. By my estimate, even at our current speed, it will take around four days to reach them.