The Path of Ascension 6: A LitRPG Adventure

2

Godfrey spoke through his same smile, “Once they heard that the gloves were for Young Master Blood Hand, the Gorgeous Leather Workers Pavilion made every effort, and used all of their resources to fulfill the Young Master’s request. The materials used are all peak Tier 14. The craftsmen used the hide of an Abyssal Ogre for the leather, and tipped the gloves with the claws from a Wight that was nearing Tier 15 as the boss in a rift. The claws were then filed down and polished with petrified orchid petals.

The result Is a supple yet durable pair of covertly clawed gloves. Runes for durability were added to the leather and runes of sharpness for the nails. The head craftsman stated that it should get through most Tier 14 light armor, and the properties of the Wights should allow it to more easily pierce magical armor. The effect is not perfect, since the Wights are dead, but it should prove sufficient for your trip to Minkalla.”

Long Zhiyuan cringed internally at his moniker but kept it off his face. He hated the nickname, but claw techniques were so unexpected that they made the perfect hidden weapon. Twice now, it had saved his life in the Clash of Fates, the forced duels used to cull second-rate Young Masters.

Walking out of those death matches with his hands covered with blood had earned him the title. As it went, Young Master Blood Hand wasn’t the worst pseudonym, but neither was it what he would have picked for himself.

Still, it was a reminder of the Culling matches organized by the Sects involving Young Masters who wished to keep their position. After Tier 5, you were no longer an Initiate, and could no longer challenge a Young Master for their position. As an Initiate, you could still challenge a higher Tier Young Master, but that became more unlikely the larger the gap became. Instead, you had to either wait for the Young Master to die, or challenge another Sect for their position, assuming they had an eligible Young Master closer to your Tier. If you won, their title would go to your own Sect.

That was the only way to have more than a single Young Master in any Sect, but it was also the easiest way for a Sect to grow stronger.

The privileged position of Young Master brought honor and resources to both the Sect and individual. Thus, taking a Young Master position was a good way to deal a blow to a competing Sect as well as strengthen your own. After all, they would be unable to raise a new Young Master until you died, surrendered it, or reached Tier 8.

If a Sect lost their Young Master positions too often, it was considered failed and would eventually be cannibalized by rival Sects. Once the failed Sect’s bones were picked clean, a new Sect would be raised in its place.

It was kill or be killed for anyone who stepped on the road of cultivation. That was the only truth the Realm offered after all.

However, while Young Masters were given nearly unlimited resources, they needed to prove their worth against their peers at every other Tier after Tier 5.

On specially prepared planets, all the Young Masters in that region of the Sects were required to take part in the Clash of Fates. Devices were set up that locked them on Tier specific battlefields full of monsters and opportunities, and only when half died were the restrictions lifted. Then, and only then, were they allowed to leave. But there were treasures hidden away, so most stayed to search for their good fortune, and to snatch resources from the others which increased the death rate well above one out of two.

In the last Culling he had killed seven of the 261 Young Masters who had faced him, an accomplishment which had earned him more resources and even greater respect. Four of those had found their own opportunities, which had ended up further empowering him.

The strong grew stronger. The weak fed the strong. As was right and proper.

So long as he continued to delve up three Tiers, he was secure in his position as one of the strongest Young Masters of his generation. But that wasn’t enough for him. Long Zhiyuan wanted to press his momentum and delve deep into Minkalla to reap the best rewards.

At the end of the day, power was the only thing that mattered.

He was moving through a few practice swings with a random sword to get used to the new gloves when Godfrey interrupted him. “The Sect Master wants to see you, Young Master. At your convenience, of course.”

Long Zhiyuan stopped and nodded, putting away the blade and going to see Shining Lilac immediately.

Sect Master Shining Lilac sat in her pavilion with a calm demeanor, watching the youngest disciples going through their martial forms under the direction of Elder Han, but Long Zhiyuan knew the lie behind the mask.

Ren Manni, the prideful woman who had refused to surrender had been the Sect Master’s daughter, and he had killed her. The honor and resources he had earned for her and the Sect were the only things keeping him alive.

He could see it in her eyes.

The second he lost his value, she would be the first to tear him to pieces.

He and the Sect Master had an understanding, and they mostly avoided each other, but Minkalla was too important so, with the upcoming trip, he assumed the topic was urgent for her to call on him so suddenly.

Knowing his predecessor’s lineage, Long Zhiyuan had tried to let her surrender, but she forced his hand with her refusal. To challenge a Young Master for their position only had two outcomes for the challenger.

Victory or death.

Challenging your betters had to carry risk, after all. The daggers carried by the Servants weren’t for show. Long Zhiyuan had only two ways for the fight to end and keep his life, have her surrender or kill her. Godfrey would have killed him for failing in the challenge if he let her live without her verbal surrender. Surrender was a benefit of the strong, but they still needed to lower their heads and admit defeat.

With Ren Manni refusing to surrender even after three offers by him he had been forced to kill her to save his own life and hadn’t hesitated.

From his understanding, Servants used to protect their Young Masters’ lives, but that had only created weak cultivators. The Grand Sect Elder of the era had stepped in and revamped the Servants’ role from that of protectors to what they were today.

Now, every Sect, including those subsidiaries to the Great Sects, held a position for a Young Master. It was why the Lower Tiers were the most brutal. There were many people fighting for the scarcely limited slots, constantly competing to see who would live long enough to grow stronger and faster than their peers.

He had been forced to kill Ren Manni to protect his own life, but Shining Lilac didn’t see it that way, and both of them knew it.

As he stood to the side, waiting for her to acknowledge him, he remembered his own time with Elder Han. The man was Tier 18, and not a particularly strong cultivator, but he had a knack for knowing exactly how hard to push the pre-awakened ten year olds and extract the best out of them without breaking them.

Elder Han had ensured Long Zhiyuan’s own time in the outer Sect was productive, and even a little fun.

Half of the games that the children played were cleverly disguised training games which would prepare them for later battles training their small unit teamwork and tactics.

Finally, as the children were ushered into a run to the stream two miles away, Shining Lilac spoke, “Young Master Blood Hand, are you prepared to go to Minkalla?”

Long Zhiyuan nodded to her back. “I am. Do we have a final list of the disciples who are coming with me?”

Shining Lilac gestured with a finger, and a memory crystal flew to him. He had his [Spiritual Self] analyze it.

More cultivators than he had expected had applied to accompany him on this trip. Too many, honestly. Some of them were clearly unsuited to brave such dangers. Pushing yourself was always a good thing, but pushing yourself off a cliff when you had no chance of surviving was stupid. Some cultivators peaked later in life, and that was a perfectly valid path to advancement.

“Minkalla is a charnel house. Prepare your fellow disciples well, as I expect you to ensure some of them return.” Long Zhiyuan resisted the urge to narrow his eyes. The Sect Master’s tone suggested that he would be held responsible if not enough survived the trip, but she continued before he could think too deeply on the implication. “Your fates will be tested in Minkalla, and not only against the other Sects, but also against the Foreign Powers. If you are not careful, even your prodigious powers will mean little. I wish you the best of luck in reaching the core.”

While her words were those of encouragement, Long Zhiyuan knew that she hoped he dove too deep and killed himself. No matter. He intended to reach the bottom no matter what. Though he didn’t know what awaited him, as the Sects believed that entering Minkalla blind made for better cultivators from those who exited, the journey would certainly not be in vain. Be it a heavens-shattering technique or earth-rendering weapon, the gains would be his.

Any and everything was possible in Minkalla. The stories told of dozens of legends who were common before testing their luck in its ruinous depths.

Still her words about hoping some of her disciples returned was a fair assessment, though worrying. He had seen the numbers before. If one contender from a group of ten returned from Minkalla, it would be a bountiful year.

Long Zhiyuan waited for another few minutes, but when Shining Lilac said nothing else, he dipped his head in a bow before he turned and left.

Technically, as a Young Master, he was of equal social standing to the Sect Master and could do away with formalities, but it was a privilege he rarely exercised. He expected others to follow the formalities, so he followed them himself.

Reviewing the list of names, he walked with purpose to seek out a few of the disciples that he knew were unsuitable.

Talking with the weaker disciples, he convinced all but one of them to reconsider and stay in the Sect to grow their skills before venturing out.

Han De refused, saying he had made up his mind to use Minkalla to transform himself.

Death or glory.