Going to meet the progenitor

"So anyways, I think we should establish our hierarchy. I'll be the big brother, okay."

"Huh? Why would you be the big brother? We don't even know each other's age."

"Pssh, little bro I'm turning twenty this year and I seem to remember saving your life."

"...Fine, big bro."

Since he didn't have anyone to treat as a little brother around him, Shui was looking forward to finally getting one. But with the two points that Cin brought up his skin wasn't thick enough to keep arguing.

The two kept talking to each other until they sensed something nearby the entrance.

"Is that what I think it is little bro?"

"I believe so big bro. What should we do?"

"Hmm, I don't know much about these people so I'll leave it to you little bro."

With Cin's permission, Shui walked out of the cave first and faced the two who were waiting there. Without so much as a 'hello', as soon as Shui appeared in his mask and cloak they took out their swords. Though he figured the grey cloak and white mask didn't make him look friendly, he knew they would have attacked no matter how he was dressed.

The two were assassins sent by the Clite clan. They had noticed a majestic aura coming from the cave so they wondered if a treasure was in there. However, they noticed the majestic aura weakening so they waited at the cave's entrance. When they heard footsteps from the cave, they hoped they would be able to rob whoever came out of there, but they suddenly felt a mysterious presence in front of them. They weren't sure if it was human, evolved beast or a weird phenomenon but this presence had them on their guards.

'This doesn't feel half bad.'

He was right in front of them but if it wasn't for the senses they trained as assassins, they wouldn't even be on their guards. Shui scanned the surrounding area carefully but he didn't sense the dangerous assassin that almost killed him. Since the two in front of him couldn't even sense him, they couldn't be a trap for him, but there was a chance that the assassins could tell when and where one of them died. However, letting them live was also something he was reluctant to do.

'Oh, I could do that!'

"Let's go big bro."

Since they could speak via telepathy, there was no need to make sound. Cin jumped into Shui's arms so though the assassins could hear that sound, they couldn't pinpoint the source. When the two of them casually walked past the two assassins and were at a distance of 50 cales, Shui took out the bow and arrows similar to the ones he once lent to Lily.

"What you doing there little bro?"

"Just a bit of practice."

Even from this far away, with a few leaves blocking his sight, Shui still accurately aimed at the two. Since he didn't want the one remaining to be frightened, he used two arrows so he could take them out simultaneously. Once the bowstring was fully taut, Shui focused his perception on the arrows before letting them loose. With his martial intent, it was easy to divert the direction of arrows so they didn't knock into anything. The range where his martial intent could work precisely was around 30 cales, but that was farther than all of the obstacles that were between him and the targets. After little over a second, the scent of blood drifted from that area and the two of them went to the mountain.

Since it was the third day, where all of the remaining youths would rush to meet the progenitor, the assassins were stalking all routes to that place. Around this time, a bracelet on the assassins' arms flashed twice. All of them had this bracelet that showed where each of them were and when they died. At this time, four of the nine assassins had been killed. Since two assassins were killed at the same time and they were in the same place at their time of death, all of the rest except for one thought they ran into a abnormally dangerous beast spirit or some sort of accident. However, the assassin from the Tower of Killers wondered if the boy that escaped from him was responsible for it.

'He won't hide. I'm sure of it. This time I'll definitely take care of him and that damn mutt.'

While the assassins were sure they would be able to take care of the rest of their targets, Shui and Cin were casually strolling to the mountain. They had found a few other assassins in the area, but this time Shui didn't kill them since he didn't want to get surrounded. In his current outfit, Shui was confident he wouldn't get found out as long he didn't do anything risky. Additionally, he heard a couple explosions from other parts in the ancestral lands which caught the attention of other assassins, further decreasing the danger around him. While taking his time, Shui was the last one to reach the base of the mountain where a large metal double door was.

In front of the double door were seven other children. Of them there was only Nathan who was from the Heaven clan. He didn't know if anyone had escaped with the charm but for the time being he assumed that everyone else was dead.

'Him too, probably.'

Everyone that remained stayed a distance from anyone else, even those from the same clan. It was obvious that the stress had gotten to them and they became suspicious of everyone else, especially those whose escape charms were working. Now that the other youths were in front of him, Shui could be sure that all three clans had traitors.

'Ugh, this probably isn't even the end goal.'

Shui removed his cloak and mask and went closer to the large door. Now that they had noticed him, all of their gazes, with a particularly sharp one from Nathan, landed on him especially due to Cin who was on his head. However Shui ignored them and went straight to the door. Based on their expressions, he was sure that none of them dared to be the first one, but he didn't want to waste time with them and get found by a certain assassin.

All of the youths wondered if he would be able to push open the door, but Shui literally just walked through it. With his eyes he could tell that the door was an illusion as well as the first test. Even if he was their progenitor, one had to pass three tests in order to meet him and whoever was left after those three tests would gain the right to add 'los' to their names.

Although the last two tests changed per opening of the ancestral lands, the first test was always the same, it was a test of talent. When someone touched the image of the door, their talent would be calculated based on their age and cultivation. In this case, Shui had no need to fear failing this test so he simply went on ahead.

After Shui, the rest tried to walk through the door as well but three were refused entry.

"Damn it! Why can't I enter?!"

One of the three, a boy from the Clite clan, cursed in front of the door. He didn't have a working escape charm and had to constantly watch his back so he couldn't even search for any treasures. And now he couldn't even meet the progenitor, so this sequence of events infuriated him.

'What should I do?'

Unlike the boy, a girl from the Glaize clan looked at the surrounding area with fear. Since she couldn't enter the mountain, she had no place to run anymore. There were still a few hours until noon and she wasn't sure if the assassins would leave her alone for that long.

And she was right. Two out of the three of them were the last remaining targets outside of Shui. One of the youths who wasn't a target had died in an accident so four youths that made it into the mountain had working charms. Once the assassins saw the lambs stranded outside the mountain, they blocked off their escape routes and rushed at them.

Of the three, there was another boy from the Clite clan but he smirked while seeing the danger his clansman was experiencing.

'This is what happens when you don't choose the right side.'

He crushed his escape charm and vanished in a streak of bright light. There were now two of them facing five assassins with cultivations either on par or one level higher than theirs. However, the hope in their eyes didn't die out as they used their spells to defend against their enemies' onslaught. Unfortunately, there still remained one more assassin to confront. When they saw the black clothed man in the sixth level in the Soul Realm, they faltered and the five assassins took this oppurtunity to finish them, but lost one of their members. At the end of this battle there were five assassins in total and one target left.