Prologue 3 - Heavenly Cloud Sect

The Upper Realm is extremely vast, almost two times the size of its' counterpart, the Lower Realm.

But what's truly notable about this dimension is its' spectacular beauty, untainted by modern inventions. Countless specimens of vibrant plants and wild beast cover the large spans of land, forming a harmonious scene with the roaring rivers and high mountain peaks in the far distance.

Even the ancient structures standing on this beautiful land did not tarnish this Realm's beauty, in fact, they only added to the wonders, utterly stunning the eye of beholders the first time they arrive on this wondrous land.

One of such stunning views includes the sect built on the highest mountain peak in the Upper Realm. There, strong, majestic pagodas which forms the sect appeared as a blessed land surrounded by clouds. Every little while, when a cultivator practices a flashy spell, the light it emits transmits beyond the clouds, causing the pure white color to glow, giving the sect a holy appearance, hence came the name: Heavenly Cloud Sect, the sect above the clouds.

At this time, countless disciples busied about with their daily meditation, scripture practice, mock battles, or missions. Soon, this clamorous atmosphere is disturbed by a large pillar of light appearing before the sect's central pagoda.

From the brilliant light, a young boy stepped out.

No injuries could be seen on his body, but his robe is ripped and dirtied with blood. Facing the large entrance before him, he called out:

"Core Disciple Chang Mingyue has returned from the Trial of Succession." These words were spoken with spiritual qi, causing his clear voice to resonate throughout a large part of the sect, drawing everyone's attention.

In just a few seconds, the sect plaza had become filled with people who arrived to watch the rare occasion.

But soon after Chang Mingyue spoke, the pillar of light behind him dimmed and flickered out. With it, the entire plaza grew deathly silent.

Then, whispers started to form from the crowds.

"Weren't there around 10 participants for this trial? Why is he the only one here?"

"Could it be that they died? But it can't be, the risk of death is low in this trial!"

"Maybe the rest of the participants are just running late-"

A low rumbling started to sound from the gate as it slowly opened. From within, a few men walked out. These men each have an oppressive aura and carried themselves with dignity through every step, invoking respect amongst onlookers.

"The sect elders!" A few amongst the crowd exclaimed.

One of these men who stood at the forefront and appeared to be older than the rest of the group scanned the entire plaza. With this stare, the rest of the disciples quieted down. Chang Mingyue also paid his respect as he cupped his hands and bowed to the group.

"Greetings sect elders."

Then to the man before him.

"Disciple Chang Mingyue greets The Elder of Cloud Sword Pavilion."

The Elder of Cloud Sword Pavilion, Deng Yufang, practices some of the strongest sword techniques in the guild, as well as having achieved the cultivation stage of Ascension. His status is high even amongst fellow elders.

But despite the domineering energy and oppressive aura, Chang Mingyue appeared unaffected and looked the other straight in the eyes after the bow. In the onlooker's eyes, he appeared proud and polite. In Deng Yufang's eyes however, the boy seemed to be looking down on him.

Those chilling eyes, that apathetic appearance, just what part of this arrogant boy looked polite!?

But more importantly...

"Chang Mingyue, 9 other disciples accompanied you for the trial. Where are they?"

"They're dead." Said the boy abruptly without hesitation. The tone which he used made it sound as though he was answering what time of the day it was...

Gasps erupted in the plaza, the elders included. Deng Yufang was the most impacted by this abrupt news. After all, one of these trial takers was his own son! Just a year ago, his son had high chances of becoming the master disciple. If it were not for the sudden rise of Chang Mingyue who's blessed by the heavens with an unparalleled talent, there's little doubt that the future sect leader of the Heavenly Cloud Sect would belong to his own descendant!

And now he said he's dead? In a trial with a relatively low death rate since the founding of the sect, no one expected that there would be a day when most of the trial takers would suddenly loose their lives.

Thin lines of blood trickled down from Deng Yufang's clenched fist. With his blood shot eyes his previously domineering image completely shattered as he grabbed Chang Mingyue's shoulders, forcing him to give him an explanation.

"Such things can't be said halfheartedly! what happened, it couldn't be real...it can't be real!"

Chang Mingyue simply allowed himself to be shaken viciously, replying:

"I have their bodies in my possession. It's not suitable to bring it out now, and the contents of the trial should only be revealed with the presence of the sect leader."

How could Deng Yufeng stand the stoic manner Chang Mingyue possessed? To him, it's as though the boy simply shrugged off his orders and went : 'I'll say it later, even though your son died you should still calm down and wait...'

His anger caused his hands to clench tightly down on Chang Mingyue's shoulders. With his cultivation realm far beyond the boys', the nails pierced through Chang Mingyue's skin, causing blood to slowly taint the already bloodied robe.

The rest of the elders were also distraught at the news, but are much more composed. After sending a message to the sect leader through a sound transmitting talisman, they pried Deng Yufang's hands off of Chang Mingyue.

"Elder Deng, calm down, don't misdirect your anger..."

"Elder Deng, as Chang Mingyue had said, the cause behind those disciples death may be confidential information, we really should wait..."

But the man would not listen. He struggled free out of his fellow elder's grasp, reaching towards Chang Mingyue once more.

But before his hands had even come close to grabbing the boy, an authoritative voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Deng Yufang! Stop your pathetic conduct!"

The voice held a strange quality that froze the distraught elder in his tracks, instantly clearing his mind.

All onlookers stared wide eyed towards the sky, where a figure had at sometime appeared above the plaza and is currently glancing down at the ruckus below.

"Sect leader?"

"It's the sect leader!"

The dominant figure of The Divine Cloud Sect had a wondrous appearance similar to that of a celestial. He had a headful of long, white hair drifting in a nonexistent breeze. On his face laid straight, sword like brows and a pair of brilliant eyes resembling the sun, rendering one unable to directly withstand his gaze. Even without wearing elaborate robes or holding a weapon, his aura gave away his distinguished identity.

This is Chang Fenglan, an ancestor of the Divine Crane lineage, also distantly related to Chang Mingyue and could be said to be his grand, grand...x number of times uncle who still posses a relatively young appearance due to his high cultivation stage. While the two had the same beast bloodline flowing through their veins, their relationship is no different from what's seen on the outside: a disciple and his sect master.

Chang Fenglan then descended from the sky, landing silently before the crowed. Without even looking at the elders and Chang Mingyue, he headed towards the pagoda's open doors.

"Let's head in to discuss the details."

.

.

.

"...The other nine trial takers were killed by our assigned target..." Said Chang Mingyue who's later standing before a group of elders.

"That is preposterous! The target was assigned to match the trial taker's strength, it was meant to be dangerous but not life threatening. Before the trial, the sect had clearly taken strict measures to make sure there are no outside interferences that would affect the difficulty of the trial!"

"There must have been unforeseen variables that caused this outcome..."

"The loss of our most talented core disciples...."

"Silence." Ordered the sect leader. Chang Fenglan then waved for the boy to continue...

"I believe that the primary cause behind the error lied in the leakage of the target's identity. During the trial, the target, who is a high ranking member of a demonic faction branch had in his presence a Core Shaping mid stage cultivator."

With these words, sharp inhales of air emitted from a few of these elders.

"Before I killed the target, he revealed that he received a letter regarding our trial. After finding a stronger ally to help him deal with his assassination, he traced the origin of the letter."

"He traced it back to my 9 senior disciples whom did not expect this outcome, then he slaughtered them with his helper before waiting for me to find him at the original task location."

"Simply put, I have every reason to assume that the other trial takers conspired against me, but their plan backfired, resulting in their own demise."

"Slander! This is pure Slander!" Deng Yufang erupted. "If you did not know of the conspiracy beforehand and did show up at the task location, how can you explain the fact that you're safe after the assault of two core formation and core shaping expert!?"

Chang Mingyue did not speak and only released his aura.

The elders understood his action. He was able to kill those two demonic cultivators because he had broken through to core shaping! Compared to an ordinary core shaping stage cultivator, Chang Mingyue who had superior bloodlines and artifacts is simply unfathomable. It's not strange that he could kill the two and then arrive at the sect safely and expose the conspiracy.

Though in actuality, Chang Mingyue broke through after the fight. But to throughly convince some of these antagonistic elders, he decided to conceal some of the details.

Deng Yufang then remained the only elder to deny those claims.

"Then can you shake off the possibility that you killed your senior disciples to become the successor?" He sneered.

Chang Fenglan tapped on the table to warn Deng Yufang, this seemingly weak motion caused a large crack to emerge, nearly breaking the table in half.

But before the sect leader spoke, Chang Mingyue refuted:

"Clearly my results in the past 3 trials far surpassed those of my seniors. I had no motive to resort to such despicable acts. Your son however, have plenty of reasons as to why he would want me dead."

"If that's not a good enough explanation, then take a look at this."

With a wave of his hand, a bloody scene appeared before the table.

It was a pile of mangled bodies.

9 of which wore white-gold robes similar to the one on Chang Mingyue's body. However, those originally pure robes are tainted to the point that the original color and design became difficult to make out. An uncountable number of slashes and wounds littered those bodies, to the point that those bodies appeared to be one entity with numerous heads and limbs.

"If you examine these wounds where remnants of demonic qi linger, it should be sufficient to prove my innocence."

But Deng Yufang did not have the ears for those words as he scrambled up from his chair and ran over to those corpses. His hand slowly stroked one of the severed heads...

"My son! ...my son...! How could you have died so pitifully....."

Disregarding the sobbing elder, Chang Mingyue presented the other two bodies he brought back.

"These two are definitely the target and another demonic cultivator." One elder said as he examined their veins.

"So if what Chang Mingyue said was true, these disciples could be said to not only betrayed their fellow disciple, but also the sect itself!"

At this time, the maddened Deng Yufang roared:

"My son won't do something that would tarnish the reputation of the sect, it must be slander! Do not desecrate his dead body!"

"Then Elder Deng Yufang, I must say that you do not understand this son of yours very well." The sect leader finally spoke up.

"Disregarding the evidence, I believe you all had forgotten Chang Mingyue's identity...." Chang Fenglan began as he walked over to Chang Mingyue. The boy stayed still as his ancestor reached over and parted his bangs.

In the area between Chang Mingyue's brows and slightly above his nose, a small golden spot shone dimly.

"The Sovereign's mark, signifying his identity as the reincarnation of the Esteemed Sovereign. Tarnishing this disciple's reputation is the same as tarnishing our respected ancestor's reputation, as well as the founders of this sect itself."

"As long as the Sovereign's mark remain on this boy, it would mean that he continues to practice the Tranquility Scripture, which frees his mind of worldly desires. As long as the light remains gold, he would not had acted against the basic principles. It would also mean that his mind and body is dedicated to the stability of the sect, and the peace of two realms."

"Elder Deng Yufang, disregarding a crime for your own personal relations, you no longer deserve to be an elder."