Companion

The Divine Blood Empire was one of the major Empires of the Western Continent. While they could not be compared to the Clear Heart Sect, they were still of some significance to the progression of the Continent.

Within the Empire were many large families and clans who had sworn their loyalty to the throne and the Yu Clan used to be one of them until their Ancestors died and they lost all connections with the Imperial Court.

However, they were still a frequent mention in the court as many Nobles wanted their resources.

Emperor Gaius III sat in his study going over a report when a Court Eunuch entered.

"Your Majesty, the Second Prince has returned to the Palace" he reported.

"Let him in" the Emperor replied without raising his head.

The Eunuch, still bowing, traced his steps backward and out of the study. Not long later, the Second Prince entered and bowed.

As he rose, his gaze fell on his Father's greying hair and he sighed to himself. This old fart was hogging all the power!

Despite his thoughts, he dared not express anything. Being a Prince would not save his neck before his ruthless father. This was also why none of the Princes considered taking the throne by force or military.

"Father Emperor" he called in a soft tone, audible but not so loud as to be disturbing.

"ZiCheng, you attended the Yu Clan Ceremony" the Emperor spoke without raising his head. His voice sounded like a whisper, soft but at the same time authoritative. It was this same devil's voice that ordered execution left and right without any feeling or sentiment.

"Yes, Father Emperor," the Second Prince replied, his head low.

"Do you have any hand in the schemes going on there?" The Emperor asked and the Second Prince involuntarily trembled.

The Emperor had always forbade anyone from getting involved in any scheme against the Yu Clan. He had no idea why the Emperor was insistent on protecting them, no one did.

Although he didn't have the best intentions by befriending Yu Wei, he hadn't done anything bad yet. He had believed that simply by being friends with someone from such a small clan, the Elders would be thrilled and make Yu Wei Clan Patriarch but that didn't happen. After hearing Yu Wei's confession during the Patriarch Selection, he started to distance himself from him. Besides, Yu Wei was now useless since he didn't become Patriarch.

But he didn't know what his father counted as a scheme. He ended up not doing anything but it was completely up to the Emperor to determine if he had done enough to disobey the Emperor.

"I made a friend, Father Emperor," he quickly replied, which earned him a look from the Emperor.

Fortunately, it was only for a few seconds but Tian ZiCheng still felt his head was lighter.

"You did good. Be sure to treat your friend well, but don't break any laws for him," The Emperor warned and continued his work.

Taking the hint, Tian ZiCheng bowed before turning around to leave. He was a Prince and could turn his back on the Emperor.

As soon as he left, a figure appeared on a stool in front of the Emperor. Somehow, his appearance was not abrupt but like he had always been there and just wasn't noticed.

"There are still some in the back Palace who are scheming against the clan to raise the chances for their sons," the figure said, looking uninterested even in his own words.

"If they seek death and force that Clan's hand, it will be for the best but we must have no part in it lest we get burned by a dying star." The Emperor replied.

"What is the deal with the Yu Clan?" the figure suddenly asked, their eyes sparking with some interest.

"High comprehension talent but low Qi Cultivation and a curse limiting their Qi Cultivation progress. They can't do much as long as they are left alone," the Emperor replied, looking right into the eyes of the formless figure. A threat audible in his voice.

"Surely they can't threaten even me." The figure was surprised by the Emperor's protectiveness of this clan.

"Just make sure you don't carry any identification on you if you ever decide to become stupid," the Emperor replied, feeling irritated.

He felt like he had explained things clearly enough so he returned to his reports.

The figure glared at the Emperor, their eyes full of wrath, fury, and something resembling helplessness.

The problem with all Divine Blood Emperors was how cryptically they talked. And what was worse, they all thought they explained clearly.

But from the little the Emperor said, the Yu Clan could be dangerous if pushed too far. That was enough information.

***

Time continued to pass by, the affairs of mortals changing every day, but the affairs of some cultivators remained the same.

It has been a year now since Yu Yan became Patriarch. The Yu Clan had neither grown nor regressed. Yu Yan's status in the clan became more and more revered even as he was rarely seen.

This growing reverence could be attributed to his guards, the Black Robes and the Red Maidens.

The Red Maidens were all beauties selected carefully by Mei Hua Lin before she left. Each of them was a rarity in the slave market and was now turned into elites by Yu Yan. The Cultivation Technique he gave them made their physiques and voices even more heavenly. They wore red dresses with ribbons on their wrists and waists. Their veils had a small cut on their forehead revealing their numbers.

Ever since they were revealed to the capital when two of them entered to purchase herb seeds, the slave market stopped marking slaves on the forehead. This wasn't out of respect for Yu Yan or the Yu Clan but out of respect for the young nobles whose hearts were stolen by their figures.

Unfortunately, they were unapproachable as gloomy masked men guarded all around them preventing anyone from approaching them. What was worse, no one could see the Cultivation of either the guards or the Maidens.

While this made the clan a sensation in the capital once more, it also made the enemies of the clan more impatient.

They had all seen the clan's Legacies during the ceremony. All of them, including Yu Wei, were sinister and talented in their own right. And letting these Legacies grow would become a problem.

It was at this time everyone started noticing something wrong with the Yu Clan.

There was no way to enter the Yu Mountain anymore!

An invisible bubble protected it and only Yu Clan members could enter through any side of the mountain. Outsiders, aside from the Patriarch's personal guards and Maidens, had to go through a 'gate' constructed at the small mountain path.

At this gate, one could get a mark from the Yu Clan guards, this mark had a limited time, determined by the guards at the gate, if one overstayed the time indicated, their position would be revealed by a brilliant light shooting into the sky and if they still didn't leave they would be directly expelled by the formation.

This Array was unheard of in the Empire, and it caused a lot of trouble both for Clan members doing sneaky business and outsiders trying to spy on the clan.

But for the common members of the Yu Clan, it was a sign of better protection and more comfortable days forward.

Within the Eternal Courtyard, Yu Yan sat in the yard with serenity below him as he cultivated. He stopped cultivating inside the Pocket World when he realized the mist inside was making things easy for him.

He once tried to cultivate in the real world but the difficulty alerted him to the danger of having easy cultivation resources. His body had never adjusted to Qi when it directly got baptized with that strange energy that seemed superior to spiritual Qi. Because of that, using Qi in the real world was difficult.

But he couldn't fight in the Pocket world, there was no way he would take an enemy into it. So he has to get used to Qi in the real world before resuming Cultivation there.

However, his consumption of water from the Chaos Spring never stopped and once a month, he had all his attendants drink a small vial of it.

The Zi brothers had their share too, but not after swearing by their Dao not to share information about this. Although it wasn't as safe as swearing by the Bond of Fate, it would have to do. After all, leaving them out of rewards could make them betray him if they hadn't yet.

Today, a system notification surprised Yu Yan greatly.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, a Genius Clan Elder (Yu Hao) has cultivated to Foundation Establishment Realm]

[Reward: An Eternal Companion]

[Randomizing Character. . .]

[Target Found: Dark Elf. . . ]

[Adjusting physique . . . ]

[Installing General Knowledge. . .]

[Teleporting. . . ]

In the next instant, a young girl appeared beside Yu Yan. Fortunately, he quickly ran to his room as soon as he saw the notification.

The girl stared blankly for a long while before turning to Yu Yan.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked feeling baffled.

"Analyze" Yu Yan gave a mental command. Since she was from the system, the system appraisal should work on her.

[Hei Ying]

[Lifespan 15/ =Companion]

[Race: Dark Elf]

[Bloodline: Dark-Battle Angel]

[Status: Yu Yan's Immortal Companion]

[Techniques: Immortal Tome (Chaos Tier), Soul Clone (Chaos Tier), Primordial Body (Chaos Tier)]

[Abilities: Leader (All under command have their cultivation and comprehension talent averaged at 70% of self.]

[Talent: All = Companion]

[Cultivation Levels: Qi (Soul Forging Rank 8), Mental (Soul Forging Rank 4), Body (Qi Sea Rank 7)]

//

"Holy shit!" Yu Yan instantly exclaimed.

"Are you my companion?" the girl suddenly asked tilting her head at him.

'Huh? How much does she know? Is she a real person from somewhere?'

Yu Yan wondered as his mind drifted to the messages before she teleported over and how similar to his they were.

"Yes? Who are you and how are you here?" Yu Yan asked back.

"Hei Ying, at your service," the girl bowed gently, a mischievous smile on her face.