Chapter 4: A Ray Of Light In The Dark (1)
Ryu Continent, Hole Of The Gods Late Winter
Tatsuo village, one of the three great village clans, located on the Ryu Continent outskirts, is situated in a rocky valley that is right before the entrance of the Ryu forest. Many people could be seen carrying pelts, huge pots of water, loaves of bread, weapons or large tools. Children were running around fighting each other with wooden swords, many tall dark skinned men dressed in warrior gear wielding either large hammers or spears were laughing loudly and drinking wine to their hearts content around a table laden with pelts and strange stones. The place oozed with a feeling of family and tranquility.
Tatsuo village is not the most prosperous village clan on the outskirts of Ryu Continent since they were a fairly new clan but they made more than enough to achieve small fame based off the fact that their clan has good blacksmiths and were particularly fierce. The Tatsuo clan specializes in creating unique rune mortal grade weapons and the occasional rune human grade weapons. Establishing trade with some small shops in Sakura City to great effect. The Tatsuo clan due to being so close to the entrance of the Ryu Forest are constantly besieged year round by demon beasts. Most of the warriors in the Tatsuo residence used these beasts as grindstones even going so far as to enter the forest periodically for hunting and training. Years of this sort of training had unimaginable effects on the Tatsuo clan the Tatsuo village not only were able to make money they were also able to rise in strength, raising Qi condensation warriors in the clan by obtaining cultivation resources causing the envious eyes of other clans to speculate just what secret the Tatsuo clan has to be able to achieve such a rapid rise in strength after being established not to long ago...
The Tatsuo clan head elder Sun Tatsuo was a powerful soldier in the imperial guard he had built his reputation using the blood and bones of his enemies. Many knew him as a unbend-able person he never associated much with others but with those who he did associated with they would receive fierce loyalty in return, an upright person who always protected the kingdom with earnest. If he had succeeded in becoming a nascent soul warrior only glory and riches awaited him, he would have been promoted to the Kings guard just based off his strong capability. Yet not all stories end well, during a siege Sun Tatsuo was grievously wounded causing his cultivation to be affected, even so his enemies couldn't keep him, he fled injuring several of his enemies in the process ending up in the distant Ryu continent where he established the Tatsuo clan.The physical capability of the Tatsuo clan rose gradually, they were able to profit from such a region and inevitably take control of the land while also gaining a minor foot hold within Sakura City. Using the demon pelts that they have procured from battles to augment the mining ore excavated, they can create unique weapons that have abilities that can be life saving to its owner.
Ryu continent is one of three lower realms that houses cultivators below the immortal stage. Most people that reside near the outskirts of Ryu continent rarely ever exceed the Qi condensation realm, it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say that even the Qi condensation realm is unattainable for most people, while the core formation stage would be a distant dream. While there are higher planes it isn't something that someone from a lower domain can think of it would take luck and a strong background to rely on for you to make it past a domain. Many clans such as the Tatsuo's could only dream of being able to traverse the land and return home a gallant young hero with riches, to marry a kings daughter, to conquer a territory of their own but alas few are able to realize such a dream because the world of cultivation is ruthless.
None the less Ryu Continent is a beautiful place filled with towering, winding mountain ranges ice caps stretching further than the eye can see, ancient trees reaching into the clouds, vast lakes comparable to seas and verdant prairies that stretch far beyond the scope of what a normal human can travel in their lifetime. Most cultivators look at regular people with disdain for not being born into a family of power and riches and hold biases against them for not being able to practice cultivation like they themselves do . A bloody cycle developed over time, a natural gap was formed between those who had power and those who didn't. If you have no power then what qualifications do you posses to even question what goes on in the world? What qualifications do you have to even continue to keep breathing? Although not all cultivators were this way it was more likely for a wish to come true then to find a cultivator that was amiable to mortals of their own accord.Why? because the law of the jungle prevailed here.
Sakura city as one of the most prosperous cities in the lower realm has become a hub of information and trade. The imperial guard of Sakura city are in charge of patrolling the outskirts to make sure that law and order is followed and also to make sure that demon beast do not get too close to the city itself. Many cultivators frequently travel great distances to Sakura city in search of fortune because of the strict regulations and high levels of traffic many rare materials will appear in places where cultivators come together either through auction or individual trade and the high influx of people made it so most people were not able to be easily recognized giving cultivators a measure of assurance in getting away safely with their spoils. It is not an exaggeration to say that someone could find a life changing fortune in places like this even twisting fate and destiny is not impossible.
Inside the Tatsuo Clans Main Stone Enclosure.
Clan head Haru Tatsuo, a broad shouldered dark skinned man, was seated on a large iron sand stone chair inside the discussion hall he had dark eyes and flowing hair separated into thick strands. He wore a magnificent purple & silver scaled demon beast armor made from the pelt of a third rank demon beast, the breast plates were engraved with a flaming lotus to signify that it originated from the Tatsuo clan. To the right of him stood Hajimi Tatsuo, his eighteen year old son who was also clad in a purple silver demon beast suit similar to the one the clan head was wearing, this signified that he was next in line to be the clan head, his muscular build and cultivation base intimidated most of the elders and commanded total respect from most of his peers in the clan. Right about now every elder was gathered inside the discussion hall dressed in purple silver robes with serious expressions on their faces the air was almost solid with tension. A meeting was taking place to decide what to do with the threat of the Gallic Clan a neighboring clan that was famed for their battle prowess and overbearing behavior. Many times they have clashed against the Gallic clan another village clan located at least one hundred kilometers away over treasures and disputes with both sides having reached a boiling point due to a treasure in possession of the Tatsuo Clan. Many elders were enraged pleading for Haru to take action against the Gallic Clan for besieging their caravans and making under handed movements during their expeditions into the Ryu forest.
"Clan head, Elder Jin reporting" An old man wearing simple dark purple robes stood up and bowed. "Clan Head we are losing massive amounts bronze coins and silver coins, our weapons and produce has been stolen by the Gallic clan on multiple occasions if it wasn't for the self destruct implementation by our blacksmiths our secrets could have been lost by now some of our men have suffered broken limbs and serious injuries from these attacks." Many elders in the hall showed their support of such a statement, many voices could be heard in the discussion hall agreeing with elder Jin chiming in with elder Jin with some directly saying that Haru was waiting for one of them to die first."Clan Head we may even begin to look weak to all of the subordinate clans who live off of our security. Clan head please do something otherwise where will we be able to walk with dignity in the continent of Ryu?" Many Elders nodded in agreement with this elder's suggestion, asking the Clan head to think about the overall well-being of the clan.
A growing crescendo of voices began to be heard as the two factions of elders in the Tatsuo clan argued back and forth over both radical solutions and soft solutions, with no one coming to a solution the elder's began to lose their composure, Haru gave a nod to Hajimi who immediately quieted down the situation exerting a pressure only a late stage Qi condensation cultivator could have. "Where exactly do you think you are?" A stifling pressure from the late stage Qi condensation began to spread from Hajimi's body.
The Discussion hall immediately quieted down everyone looked towards Hajimi with fear and respect, he was one of the strongest here at just eighteen years old if no mistakes were to happen then Hajimi would be the next clan lord, so many people were careful not just because of his identity but also because of his strength. Most elders of the clan treated him with more courtesy than his father seeing as how Haru wasn't this talented at that age he was on track to surpass his father, all the elders no matter which faction wanted to curry favor with Hajimi trying their best to ride his tailwind to the top of the clan.
Every elder in the hall was quit now, paying attention to the next few moments. Haru gave a deep sigh twisting the space ring on his finger constantly. "Now that we have some quiet I'll explain my plan of action to you all. Of course I will not let this situation go unanswered but I feel that there are some key details missing from Elder Jin's statement." Sweat started pouring down Elder Jin's forehead he instantly gave a bow " My lord I." Haru simply waved him off not caring for his response at all. "There are some questions that I need answering also. Like how does the Gallic clan know majority of our supply routes? Have we not spent years carefully planning each route, are there not check point stations filled with our guards along the roads we control? Save some routes that only me and my personal guards know, every other route on the way to Sakura have been compromised by local bandits. You claim that you are enraged but do you know that I am truly furious because the answer to why such a thing is happening is very obvious, isn't it?" Many of the elders wore thoughtful expressions, its not that they didn't think of it either but such a thing happening was almost unbelievable for it signified that their own clan had been infiltrated, everyone was silent for fear of being implicated.
Haru looked every single elder in the eye, spreading his spiritual sense to monitor the heartbeats of every elder in the hall, looking for signs of nervousness. He knew that this sort of information could only come from the inside and not just any person perhaps this person is standing in this very hall, perhaps he was one of his trusted elders. A pressure began to emanate from Haru Tatsuo as he leaned forward in his seat to take a sip of wine he continued. "I see everyone asking multiple questions but never the right one, like why is the Gallic clan so bold all of a sudden, who or what has given them such confidence that they can defeat us now when all along we have been fighting on equal footing?" Anger was evident in his voice Haru looked at the elders with a puzzled expression. "Yet you all want me to attack brainlessly? You ask me to think of the clan? Is this not thinking of the clan, every decision must be made with some assurance otherwise I run the risk of having the Tatsuo clan wiped out." Haru sank back into his chair his expression becoming cold and unsightly the pressure and aura he exuded began to solidify into something tangible his expression becoming more unsightly by the second. " OLD FOOLS!"
Haru's voice echoed and boomed for the next twenty miles, anyone who heard it weaker than ninth level Qi condensation had to shield their ears such was the power of a foundation establishment warrior, just standing there in anger was enough to deafen their ears and leave the elders quivering in fear. Such was the pride of a clan head, iron strength is what has to be utilized to control the vast amount of people he must take responsibility for. Just when Haru was going to enter a rage, a thunderous voice was heard by the whole clan and several of the surrounding clans at almost the same time his voice died. "Haru Tatsuo, come out! Come out and give me back my great grandfathers treasure or I will flatten the Tatsuo clan today!" It was instant chaos many of the more ordinary villagers panicked while some of the guards tried to restore order.
Haru Tatsuo became immediately enraged, "Hajimi, how is it possible that we knew nothing of their arrival all the way up until this time" roared Haru. "Father I..." Haru interrupted Hajimi, in terms of fighting capability he was good, in terms of practical things maybe it would be best to handle these matters for himself, in any case Hajimi wasn't ready to be the clan leader yet. "Go and send a message to the Soju clan, then guard your mother she is very close to giving birth and has been ill for quite sometime now I don't want anything unexpected to happen." Without paying further attention to Hajimi or the elders Haru ordered his guards to escort the elders out of the discussion hall and made his way to leave the room.
After a few moments the room was clear Haru activated his armor it looked like a purple flame was slowly spreading across his body causing his figure to become all the more imposing. "Follow me." Haru practically flew out, his guards following closely behind. A thick aura of 9th step Qi condensation emanated from Haru's personal guard plenty of resources were poured into these guards to make sure that they could carry out tasks needed by the clan to great effect and efficiency. Some were from Haru's father before he stepped down as clan chief, these men could absolutely be trusted with his life and while they were not foundation establishment warriors they could definitely hold their own for a little while especially with their trademark Tatsuo weapons.
As soon as Haru flew out he felt unease, the sky was gray, thunder booming and lightning flashing from the distance, getting closer and closer to the Tatsuo clan, if it wasn't for his father Sun Tatsuo Haru would have felt even more of a crisis it's just that his father's old injuries were acting up at this moment his father could not immediately fly out to confront anything he could only forcefully suppress his injuries.
When Haru reached the front gate he met the clan head of the Gallic clan along with a bunch of mysterious men he had never seen before all clad in green robes, a talisman in the shape of a twisted tree plastered on their chests the insignia of the willow wood sect. What was even more surprising was that they all had an aura of foundation establishment, since when does the outskirts of Ryu continent have so many foundation establishment experts thought Haru who was deeply puzzled by their appearance here, he already interacted with this sect before selling some mortal grade weapons for a commission.
Haru stepped out of the gate and slowly approached the group of men stopping only twenty feet away. "Boudicca Gallic, does every treasure ever created belong to your Gallic clan? This treasure was won fair and square by my father, you can only blame your father for being too weak. Now get the fuck out of here, your presence is defiling my clan " sneered Haru`…
Boudicca Gallic was tall with long hair, he wore the furs of demonic beasts and had a stifling pressure for someone half a step into the foundation establishment realm. His face red with madness "Haru, so what. Only the strong live to see daylight, today you will die a cruel death and I will surely take care of your wife and raise your son in the future." Boudicca grinned showing his yellowing teeth, a huge bone club appeared in his hands and an aura of foundation establishment emanated from his body but it was different from Haru, his aura was wild and savage something similar to demon beasts.
Haru's expression darkened, when had he ever been insulted like this in Ryu continent? His power was well known along the Ryu outskirts even a few people knew about him in Sakura City."I will kill you" Haru Tatsuo stood tall and straight a blazing heat was beginning to brew the air was becoming increasingly sweltering. Regardless of their numbers he will fight to the absolute death because inside this clan was his son, his wife, his unborn child and his father along with all the other clan members that rely on his strength, a Tatsuo will never cower and a Tatsuo will never admit defeat. Feeling Haru's aura fearing that he may have to attack first Boudicca looked at his companions for reassurance only with help did he have confidence of defeating Haru, every other contest resulted in defeat. The willow wood sect disciples seemed to find the whole scene amusing looking at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Greetings fellow cultivator, Haru isn't it I am Chen Chu from the willow wood sect? I have long heard of the Tatsuo's refinement skills and came to take a look and maybe acquire some weapons for a reasonable price do you think that you can help us?" Said the cultivator named Chu. Haru stared blankly "and you are?" Boudicca Gallic was incensed that the willow wood sect disciples decided to seek their own benefits first even though they were outer disciples he dared not say anything, the willow woods sect was not something his clan could afford to offend, he had only managed to draw them over due to promising them a share of the spoils from the destruction of the Tatsuo clan. Yet he did not dare utter a word the willow wood sect was a monstrous entity in the norther region of Ryu Outskirts, all though the sect is quite some distance away it is still able to instill fear their patriarch being one fierce character.
"How rude of me, I'm outer disciple Chen from the willow wood sect and this is outer disciple Zhao."
Haru cupped his hands towards the two outer disciples, sects were scary entities yes but these two were only outer disciples and the Tatsuo clan has had many interactions with such people when trading their weapons in Sakura City. There was no need to be servile.
"Sure we can do business fellow cultivators but what is the meaning of this, you come with the Gallic clan chief, a fucking loser who is obviously trying to bring trouble to my clan! I fear if my clan wasn't strong enough then we would have been overrun by now." Haru stared with a smile that was not a smile. The willow wood sect disciples cut all pretenses long ago anyway. "Here is the deal we want 500 iron sand swords and 1,000 iron sand armor's for about one silver amethyst coin per sword and two silver amethyst coins per armor" said the blonde cultivator with a less than amiable expression on his face.
Haru simply looked at him as if he was an idiot.
"One more thing, we also want that treasure that Boudicca's great grandfather lost to your clan free of charge, think of it as a gift to me I will surely put in a good word with my sect I will even..
Haru immediately lost his cool it was clear that they were using their sects name to pressure him. It deeply enraged him… His heated aura spread out, waving his hand he released his Meteoric Essence Hammer, A huge black hammer that enlarged when it left his back, a flaming golden lotus engraved on both sides. "Leave right now, or die." The ashen blonde cultivator's aura blasted out as well and it was filled with a chilly vitality. He was extremely surprised that Haru would actually dare to fight him, something close to a common villager would actually raise up in arms against him an unsightly expression emerged from his face and his fellow cultivator.
Haru's guards began to step into a war formation, a crude triangular formation often used in large scaled battles but with these nine guards at the 9th Qi condensation level protecting Haru's blind spots it was enough to deter the other clans from trying anything funny, treasure or not.