Hero Cultivation - Chapter 271

“So you wish to know the tale of the single man that stands above all. The single creature which puts all others to shame. That man which caused the emperor of heaven to beg countless times to be a part of his defence unit. Most refer to him as King. This is because although there is an emperor for heaven or at least there used to be, there is also a king. Both of them were regarded as true powers in this world with the emperor being stronger due to him being supplied with the power of the emperor of high heaven. Of course no matter how skilled you are here, you’re no match to the emperor of high heaven. Even the emperor that we had was nothing but a puppet and the contest you’re participating in will make it so that you do in fact turn I into a puppet of the emperor of high heaven. Even so, I believe that it is the right call to make. Although logically it’s the worst decision you can make. My gut tells me that something marvellous awaits you,” said the guild leader as he began to explain the tale of the man known for being the single creature in the SSS class or more famously known as; king.

“You see Julius, the first interaction I had with the king wasn’t like your case or for a matter of fact, like any of the other cases with the members in this guild. I’ve met nearly all of you as teenagers or young adults. Most have managed to flourish into beautiful creatures and the rest are just waiting for the best time to bloom. However there was one other case. That in which I had met a member in this guild as a baby. In fact it was the day he was born that he had been brought to me by his parents. Just as the tradition states, they had placed him in a basket type of compartment before leaving him at the door steps of my guild in the middle of the night before finally leaving. Although their son would resent them for all of eternity, they had most likely left him here because they believed that they couldn’t give their child a life which he would be able to live comfortably. As such, even though it was quite the cya’´ange to let go of their new both sons, and as such, they dropped him off here in hopes that I would provide him with a much better life than they could even dream of giving to him. Nevertheless, I took that boy in as my own and began to train him. I didn’t know what to call him. I simply called him Jack. I simply called him that because it seemed simple and no one would care which they didn’t. However after quite some time of training with me, I realised that the boy was much more gifted than anyone that I had ever trained. It was as if he had years upon years of practice. Up to this point, the only type of fighting he had been fighting for years upon years however this was his first ever fight which I was simply and understandably taken by surprise,” the guild leader continues to speak.

“As the years went by, he quickly began to develop. He took in everything I informed him about like a sponge. Seriously, it’s not a joke when people say that children absorb information like a sponge because it truly is true. They’re so empty minded that as soon as they are informed of something, they desperately try to cling to it. It is a necessity to them. Without it, they are simply helpless and cannot do anything. This was quite the advantage to Jack as he quickly began to adapt to the conditions that I was putting him through which I only realise now as I have had children of my own. I had messed up while raising him. I honestly regret it so much now. Because of me, he was never allowed to experience a childhood. Everything was constant training. Friends and time for fun was never an option. The knot option being to study to the point where he passed out or either to a point where he couldn’t think and was frozen in space like an icicle. That must have taken quite the toll on his body. He must have been shocked to the point where he couldn’t trust me. Even so, it’s not like he had much of an option, he would always be forced to listen to me until the day he would finally be able to defeat me and would have attained the revenge he had sought for so long,”the leader of the guild.

“Even so, no matter how much you try to try to change the situation and make yourself seem like the good guy in this situation, you still end up in the same position. It was your own fault that you ended up being a horrible father figure. It was your own fault that your son ended up being robotic. It was our own fault that he resented you. What else was he supposed to do? That was the only thing you ever taught him. How about you take responsibility for your actions for Océ and admit when you’re wrong?” Julius asked which left the guild leader rather speechless as everyone had mostly told him that he was in the right as they had wanted to use him for his knowledge or power or even name however Julius was not binded by anything which caused such a divide in perspective between us. You truly must believe that you’ve committed no wrong in your life and managed to lead an existence where you are a saint don’t you?” Julius asked to which the guild leader almost looked offended that he was being asked such a question as if it was a sarcastic remark however it couldn’t have been one due to how accurate it was.

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“So you’re telling me the single man in SSS class is a son you failed to raise? A creature that was never shown love or affection and was simply ever taught to cut others down like a robot. Damn, you’re really messed up in the head, you know. I used to look up to you. I can’t believe what I just found out about you,” said Julius in a rather disgusted expression as he had learned about the flaws of his teacher as well as his guild leader which he previously looked up to, however he could not do the same any longer after finding out about his past.

“Hold on though, I might not be perfect but neither is anyone in this world. I know I’ve made mistakes however I wish to change and get rid of them which is why I’ve made such an effort to change. I’ve always wanted to improve and sought feedback. However I’ve never managed to receive good feedback since everyone just sucks up to me because they seek something from me. So far I’ve only come this far through guessing what I’m doing wrong and what I need to change. In all honesty, I was taken aback by the force of your words as it had been quite a long time since anyone had managed to speak to me in such a manner,” said the guild leader as he tried to explain where he was coming from and Julius tried to be understanding. Mainly because as a person of power from a young age, he knew that many of those around him lied to him constantly just to get on his good side and as such have guaranteed a life of Lucy art and happiness. Even though he saw through all their actions, the people were still desperate and were willing to shame themselves and ruin their reputation for even a slight chance of the life they dreamed about.

“You know what, you’re right. I shouldn’t be so hard on you. Especially since you’re willing to change. However it shows me that I have a long way to go. Especially when my opponent is a robot with no feelings. I didn’t even think that was possible to engrave into a human,” said Julius to which the guild leader seemed to have been hiding something from Julius however Julius had caught on to this quickly and began to try to get the information out of the guild leader.

“Just tell me already, what is it that you’re hiding from me? It can’t possibly be a big deal. Don’t worry I won’t judge you, just tell me what’s on your mind since we’ll have to face it together,” said Julius to which the guild leader gave it one last thought before speaking.

“It’s about a SSS class member. You see, to concentrate the connection with his blade, he doesn’t defend or dodge any attacks that come at him. He simply takes them with a smile on his face.. As such, if you don’t kill him by the first attack, you’ve already lost,” said the guild leader to Julius.