The Heavenly Road: God Hunters
Chapter 023 Go Home (revision)
The auction resumed, and a graceful and beautiful maid entered while carrying a second item on her hand. The cover cloth he used seemed unable to withstand the blue light that lit from inside.
"I don't think the first item sold so quickly. Let me introduce, the second item this time is 2 pairs of Blue Taring Daggers, each of which is a medium rank 5 Characteristic Artifact, possessing the blue fire spirit ability of the Blue Feather Lion. It is suitable for those who train in dagger arts or need a secret dagger-shaped weapon. The first price for these two pairs of daggers was twenty thousand gold pieces, with the next bid price not less than a thousand gold pieces," Manager Row explained in a firm voice.
Shiro smiled faintly, not expecting to find anything that might be useful to him that night. This was a very rare luck to him.
"Shiro, don't tell me you..."
"Be quiet. I'll definitely do it. You think I'm like you?"
Zaraki just smiled wryly hearing that. He regretted not having brought his own storage ring.
---
At the inn, after cleaning himself up, Kenshin threw himself on the bed. His days of sleeping on the grass were finally over. His eyes slowly clenched, but his memories again filled his mind, and Kenshin woke up from his sleep. The first thing he thought of was the Unmanifest Sword Science given by an unknown person.
His eyes ran through the scroll in his hands, a white legend-level heavenly art. His eyes sparkled as he read the scroll. Kenshin was flabbergasted as he discovered a higher understanding of swordsmanship and his spirit. After several hours of studying it, Kenshin understood that the intangible swordsmanship was the name of a powerful Black God celestial book, comparable to the Dark Fire God heavenly scripture. To his surprise, the intangible swordsmanship consisted of 10 different moves, and the scroll in his current hand only wrote down 3 moves.
"It's not just one move, but rather three heavenly arts ranked white legend. With this, my understanding of the way of the sword and spirit will increase greatly, I must give it a try," Kenshin said excitedly.
Kenshin reinserted the scroll, then left the inn for a deserted place. "It looks like I can do it here," he said slowly after checking around.
Kenshin pulled out the sword, stood steady, and his hand clasped tightly onto the handle of the sword. "The Embodied Sword Science, the First Movement, the Imperfect Sword Trace" Kenshin said excitedly.
Kenshin's eyes widened in disbelief. This sword technique was better than the sword technique he had right now. His eyes sparkled with pleasure.
"Not only is it strong, but the technique is also flexible. I can use it for stealth attacks or tricking enemies. What I learned is not the full version. I was very curious if I could study the imprint of an intangible sword with the perfect version" Kenshin muttered.
Kenshin continued to try it several times, until he got used to it and memorized his movements well. The day is getting late, and Kenshin rushes back to the inn, afraid that his best friend is looking for him.
"Interesting! Although he had just learned it, it seemed that he was immediately proficient at using it. Brother, look, your talent and genius are declining on your son," said the voice from the dark shadow, the black-robed figure appeared. After Kenshin left, the figure disappeared by flapping its black wings and flew into the sky quickly.
Arriving at the inn, Kenshin cleans up and rests. Looking at the room that was so quiet, he thought the others were already asleep. However, he did not realize that the others were still engrossed in having fun.
---
When dawn began to break, they rushed back to the sect. As an outer disciple, after completing the mission from the first exam, the outer disciples would be appointed as inner disciples.
There are no major obstacles along the way. They only talk about tournaments all the way. Their spirit is very high because they will prepare to participate in the martial arts event which will be held in less than 2 years.
This Martial Arts Tournament is a generational genius-defining competition held every 15 years. This was an event prepared by the Arkhan Empire for young cultivators sharing experiences.
"Zaraki, what's wrong with you? From the morning you put on such a flat face," said Kesha laughing at the unusual Zaraki, who is usually cheerful and talkative.
"Your face looks depressed. What really happened at the auction?" Ask Kenshin who knows where they went last night from Moegi.
"If I tell you the truth, maybe he can go crazy" Shiro timpan said without a facial expression.
"From his facial expression alone it was clear like the look on the face of a poor man. So, there's no need for you to ask any more" Moegi joked with a laugh.
"Ha.ha..why are you laughing?" Kenshin is confused to see his friends laughing at Zaraki.
"Have he been stolen last night? Why didn't you tell me so quickly? Zaraki is our friend, if he's in trouble then we should help him. Hurry up here, Zaraki, tell me how much money you've lost let me cover it now" Kenshin then took out a bag of gold pieces in his hand.
"A hundred pieces, two hundred pieces, or how many? You don't have to hesitate to explain. I brought in enough of my savings as well, so whatever it was I could replace him," asked Kenshin, still not understanding why his friends were laughing even harder.
Zaraki raised his head grimly, "Kenshin, are you carrying around tens of thousands of gold pieces in your ring?" Ask with a dilemma.
"Eh.. What's the problem? I brought all my possessions. Perhaps a total of over forty thousand gold pieces," Kenshin grimaced awkwardly telling him.
Zaraki fell silent then crouched down on the ground, his hand reaching for a tree branch nearby. His eyes were empty without expression. He began drawing circles on the ground with the twigs.
Kenshin is confused by his attitude. But before he touched his shoulder, Moegi quickly pulled out his hand.
"Ken, you can't get too close to him. Let him reflect on everything himself" Moegi whispered with a laugh. Shiro and Kesha who had been laughing since then, even until their stomach hurt.
"Whatchu mean? Zaraki is our friend! If he is in trouble, then we should help him, not just let him go," Kenshin brushed Moegi's hand away with emotion, he really did not understand with their attitude.
"Zaraki, whatever money you lost just tell me. Whatever it is, as long as I have enough, I can also lend it to you," Kenshin feistily bargained.
The laughter of Moegi and the others further made the situation even more comical, Kenshin felt even more depressed. Zaraki remained unmoved in the slightest, only silently daydreaming in his position.
"Kesha, pull him up. We can't linger here, "Kenshin finally gave up on persuading him.
"But, Ken, I've never had a friend who only brought six thousand gold pieces to the Red Dawn Association auction. Our Fire Flame Sect, is not a sect that contains poor people," Kesha refused, still laughing.
Kenshin stands sculpting. He wanted to laugh but he couldn't. That act must have made him even more depressed. Now he realized why Zaraki had only been silent since then.
They continued on, although they were forced to stop several times in the middle of the road because of Zaraki.
---
In front of the gate of the Holy Fire City, there were many people still passing by. Amidst that bustle, the nine Elders of the Training Hall walked out the sect gate. Helio Utake looked very excited waiting for his son's return, as well as others.
Soon, the children they were waiting for returned home safely. Only Zaraki looked rather moody, not as usual.
"How was your trip? Did you enjoy it?" asked one of the men with long hairstyles tied back, Elder of the Spirit Training Hall Hall, Asila Ryu.
"Huh... Pleasant? Not particularly. I feel so bored. If it wasn't for my father asking me to, maybe I'd rather stay here. Everything is too easy for me" Moegi said lightly. Asila Ryu and Lan Yue Ru grimaced awkwardly at the behavior of her daughter, while the others laughed boisterously.
"Then what about you, bad boy? I'm afraid you're causing trouble and bringing trouble to others during the trip, right?" asked a short-haired woman with a scar on her left cheek, Elder of the Spirit Training Hall Hall, Rize Onoki.
"Come, ma'am, can't you think well of your proud son? I'm in trouble right now" he complained.
"Rize, I'm sure our son isn't that bad. Right, Zaraki?" asked a man with a long unraveling hairstyle, Elder of the Heavenly Road Training Hall Hall, Zarasu.
"Elder, Zaraki had almost humiliated the sect in public. He took part in the auction of the Red Dawn Association in the city of Vorheis representing the sect, but only carried six thousand pieces of gold. If it wasn't for me being there, maybe our sect would be the subject of ridicule" Shiro complained to his parents.
Zaraki glared, but Rize's gaze was sharper on him, "Zaraki... Do you want to humiliate your mom and dad, huh?!" snapped Rize.
"Mom, listen to me. I really did not expect the price of the items at the auction to exceed tens of thousands of gold pieces. After all, it was the amount of money I brought, I didn't bring a storage ring," Zaraki said.
"Already, already. It is not good to quarrel with those who are already tired after this journey. Surely they want to rest," said Arai Ken who suddenly appeared around them, out of nowhere.
It had been a long time since they had seen him after going to the battlefield. They truly longed for his friendly and courteous presence towards the entire sect members, as if they were close family members.
---
Before going to the new True Flame Sect, they were left to rest in the city first. The five of them went home with their respective parents to the residence they had in the city.
"Kenshin, how was your first test and journey this time? Is there something that's troubling the five of you?" helio asked, starting the conversation.
Kenshin shook his head slowly, saying that the journey was very smooth without any obstacles. In fact, even the Unseen Beasts did not come across them at all.
"This journey has been at least a worthwhile experience. A group of many unsettling Goblins were in the Fighter Realm. Although it is not a problem for the five of us, but we still have to fight hard against their large numbers," Kenshin sighed softly before continuing his story.
"Just that I was a little bit unexpected, Senior Taki was suddenly able to find me and tell that we passed the exam. He also informed her that additional missions had been transferred to him. I really didn't expect any of this, or maybe dad already knew where I was going so he could guess?" ask Kenshin.
"No, no. You're thinking too far about your father. Do you think your father was a fortune teller who knew everything that was going to happen in the future?" helio replied with a slight laugh, responding to his son's question.
Kenshin smiled awkwardly. It was impossible for his father to know everything and what might happen in the future, he thought.
"Ahh, yes. I almost forgot. Are you following the auction of the Red Dawn Association? Did you win something there? They said that while you were at Vorheis, Manager Row himself was holding an auction," asked Helio, wondering if Kenshin had also attended the Red Dawn Association auction that night.
"Ah, I'm not following him. Even though Zaraki told me about the auction, I didn't come. According to what I know, Zaraki said the auction was held all of a sudden. It just so happened that we met the Manager at the City Gate and he invited us over. Only Zaraki left, while Moegi and I met with Senior Taki, and Kesha and Shiro went to look for lodging. And Zaraki found out about the auction because the Manager invited him" Kenshin explained.
"Then, what did the two of them get when following the auction?" ask Helio curiously.
"I heard Zaraki didn't get anything because he didn't bring enough money to buy something. While Shiro managed to get two pairs of Blue Taring Dagger Artifacts. He got it after successfully bidding up to hundreds of thousands of pieces of gold," replied Kenshin.
"Well...?! Really so? Is it that great as the Blue Taring Dagger that Shiro is willing to spend so much money on?" ask Helio astonished.
"You could say Shiro was lucky too. The artifact was a rank 5 middle-class Characteristic Artifact. It was only natural that it cost hundreds of thousands of gold pieces. Ranked 5th in the middle class for one dagger, while he got two pairs, meaning Shiro has a total of four pieces of Characteristic Artifacts ranked 5th in the middle class" explained Kenshin.
Helio was shocked to the point of choking on his own breath. He did not expect that the Red Dawn Association would conduct auctions of high-level items at prices that could still be said to be 'pretty cheap' at its level.
"Is it true that Dagger is a rank 5 Characteristic Artifact? Were they not afraid of being tricked by the Red Dawn Association? It's a bit strange, isn't it, if the Association sells artifacts that high for only hundreds of thousands of gold pieces?" helio.
"It seems that it's true. Shiro showed it to us once. However, I am quite certain that it is the Blue Feather Lion Spirit that has the power of an Expert level," Kenshin explained.
"Does Manager Row himself hold the auction? If it is, then naturally Shiro can get a high-level artifact for just that price," asked Helio.
"Yes, Shiro said that Manager Row himself led the auction. And it just so happened that the four of us had talked to him. It happened in the afternoon at the city gate. At that time we did not even recognize him and considered him an ordinary merchant" Kenshin said.
Helio nodded in understanding. Things like this will happen normally. Every time Manager Row visited one of his Red Dawn Associations, he would definitely hold an impromptu auction event, where the items auctioned off were always of a low level.
After that, he did not continue the discussion about the dagger any further.
After a while of walking, they arrived at the Helio residence. Arriving there, Helio then told Kenshin to immediately rest and restore the condition of his body. He was sure that his son would be exhausted after this long journey.
---
Kenshin put his body on the bed. Right now, so many things he was thinking about, one of them was the Heavenly Art of the Involuntary Sword Science that he had obtained from someone he did not know.
At first, Kenshin thought that the figure was his father, but after he saw the expression on his face, he knew that the figure was not his father. The sword technique that his father taught him was very different from that Heavenly Art.
"Maybe I should tell him this, who knows father knows who the figure behind the hooded robe is. But, it seems that now is not the right situation. Maybe next time I'll tell him," Kenshin murmured softly.
After pondering for a long time, Kenshin got up from his bed and left the room.
"Where are you going, Ken?" asked Helio who was sitting in the front yard of his residence.
"I want to go briefly to the forest of the Gharib Animals to train. I'll go first" replied Kenshin.
"What about your rest?" exciting Helio.
"no need. After all, my current condition is arguably very prime. I don't need to rest for long" he replied again.
Helio just stared at his son going further and further away. If he says his condition is fine, then he is not worried about his daily life.
After leaving his residence, Kenshin ran towards the city gate. On the way, people seemed disinclined to him. Kenshin smiled back in response to them.
"Just come home already want to practice again?" Ask the gatekeeper.
"Ahh. I'm bored at my dad's. I feel better practicing than just staying there" Kenshin said.
"Ehh, didn't you just come back from your exam? Why the rush to get back to training? Don't you really want to enjoy your santa time for a minute?" Ask the other guards.
"I want to enjoy some relaxing time. However, as I began to think about the Tournament, I was motivated to train and prepare for it. I don't know why I can't rest when I remember it" Kenshin said, laughing awkwardly.
"Young people are full of burning spirit. In that case, be careful when you go to practice in the forest of the Unseen Beasts. Also, don't force yourself. Resting doesn't mean giving up, remember that" the guards said.
"Of course, I'll remember it" responded Kenshin.
"Be careful, don't let the supernatural in the forest find you, yes," the gatekeeper joked.
"Hahaha. sure," replied Kenshin. After that, he ran into the forest.
---
In the middle of the forest of the Gharib Animals, Kenshin sat down for a while to check the situation around him. After feeling safe and no one, he pulled out his sword.
"It looks like there's nobody here. I can finally learn it again. I am still curious about the true strength of this Heavenly Art," he murmured.
Kenshin began his training back to study the second and third parts of the Heavenly Art of the Involuntary Sword Science. He wanted to know how powerful this technique was after studying its first part, which was already extremely powerful even though the version he received was not yet perfect.
"The Embodied Sword Arts, Second Movement, Sword Shadow Dance,"
Kenshin moved around with his sword, shaking it several times to create a sword slash in the shadows. Each slash was so powerful that it cut through the air.
While using the techniques from the Heavenly Art, Kenshin felt that not only was his sword technique comprehension increasing, but also his spirit mastery had increased. He continued his training with great enthusiasm.
Time passed by so quickly, and Kenshin remained engrossed in his practice. His spirit never faded, and the longer it took, he felt increasingly connected to this Heavenly Art of Involuntary Sword Science. Each movement became more smooth and precise, as if his sword was following the rhythm of the universe. The unity between himself and the universe was felt more and more, and he felt that this power opened up new potential hidden within him. Kenshin was confident that with his determination and hard work, he would be able to master this Heavenly Art perfectly and reach the pinnacle of his prowess in the upcoming Martial Arts Tournament.
