The Champion’s Ring - Chapter 5

When he woke up he had a terrible headache, he could only remember part of what had happened, as he stood up he looked around, he observed that he was inside a cave and he could smell something getting cooked, he stood up and started to walk towards the smell, what he saw surprised him, it was an old man, he seemed to be around sixty or seventy, he had deep blue eyes and silver hair. Chen Yi asked *Are you the one who saved me?

The old man smiled

Yes, I am the one that saved you from the dangers outside. If it hadn’t been for me, you would have died a graveless death in a few hours. Chen Yi thanked the old man, but when he asked for his saviour’s name, the old man responded with, “I have many names. You may call me Sihai Longwang or master ” Chen Yi asked in a confused state, “why would I need to call you master?”

The old man replied by saying, “I know you are trying to cultivate but at the rate, you are going, you will never breakthrough, even if you give it your all in the next 50 years.”

“So, will you help me cultivate and breakthrough, master?”

“I shall test you to see your aptitude and potential. If it does not awaken in the test, I shall not help you and I will leave you here to rot. But if indeed, you have just been plagued by bad luck your entire cultivating life, I shall help you to become the undisputed king of the entirety of the Qingjing region!

“Well, what makes you say that?” Chen Yi questioned.

“I am assuming that you aren’t into your religion or as some of you call it, mythology then, eh?” It was then that the information clicked as Chen Yi’s eyes widened. The old man’s name was what people knew as the water and weather god as well as being the dragon god. He was talking to a literal God! It was no wonder that he promised to make him the king of his entire region. He could have even become the king of the continent itself if he wanted to.

“I am guessing you have figured out my other form then. Let’s not beat around the bush. My powers are waning and not many people are partaking or even watching dragon boat races these days. I have even been blamed and considered responsible for tidal waves, floods, and harsh storms that have wreaked havoc on land instead. No-one cares about me, and without being worshipped, I will soon be forgotten in the mysterious mists of time. We Gods are not allowed to normally come down to Earth according to the Jade Emperor’s rules, but I need to pass down my powers so that at least a portion of my legacy survives. But no Tom, Dick, or Harry can be the inheritor. The inheritance needs to be passed down to someone compatible, someone that has the power of the dragons and the seas flowing within them. And after 500 years and after encountering numerous people that were fit to get my powers, I have found a compatible suitor, albeit a weak one, which is why I have decided to test you.”

Chen Yi was in awe at the chance of having to meet a God and was internally jumping with joy at the chance to inherit the legendary powers of the individual before him.

Sihai Longwang replied, “It will not be that easy to get my powers. The test I am going to set consists of you comprehending a dao pattern and the skill associated with it. You will be given a time limit of a day. If you are successful in your endeavour, not only will you have the skill and dao pattern you comprehended, but also a reward I shall gift you. If you fail, not only will I severely cripple your cultivation base and wipe your memory of our encounter, but I shall also bring you to the underworld as a slave”

He got a serious frown on his face. He was surprised and considered whether the large possibility of becoming a slave was worth the small chance of becoming unbelievably powerful in the future. There was a crazily high price to pay if he failed after all, but it had a high payout e rate. He thought it was worth a shot. No-one really liked him anyway.

Suddenly, as if the dragon king could read minds, which he probably could, to be honest, the surroundings changed. A bleak oceanic landscape appeared, with him in the water. With the briny water flowing past Chen Yi’s limbs, Sihai appeared. He traversed through the water freely, as if his weight had no meaning in the water. The cold moved in only to meet the warmth of his blood, his defence against such icy and salty Adam’s ale. He felt it wash over his skin, again and again, only to be met by the beat of my heart, again and again. Due to the increasing pressure, he began to feel like the water was as thick as custard.

He glanced upward to the surface and his heart rate decreased like never before. His desire to explore the ocean that he found himself in was gone, leaving no trace it was ever there, for it had been replaced with a more intrinsic emotion to the human body; fear and panic. Now he only desired fresh air. Before he could stop himself, he was kicking with quick and powerful strokes. His skin turned into a slight tinge of blue and he began to lose consciousness. The voice of caution whispered softly into his ears to not rise so fast, but it can’t break through the scream for unfiltered rays and fresh air. That was what did it. In the moment that the coolness rushed in, he knew he was already dead. In the next few moments, hypoxemia would set in, and then hypoxia soon afterward. He would float like seaweed, nothing more than flesh and bones ready to decay in the currents.

Suddenly, he realised that there must be something related to the sea and the unnatural pressure he was experiencing. He had done diving and swimming in his previous life, to a near-professional level in his university days and even though this body had very little experience in the water, it shouldn’t have been this bad, to lead him to drown in the water. After this realisation, he used a combination of mimicry to give him the ability to be able to go down to extreme depths like Dumbo octopuses and breaststroke to dive even deeper.

He finally reached the sea bed after swimming for the past hour. He sat down and meditated, feeling the forces around him. After sitting there on the verge of death for nearly a day, he finally opened his eyes and his eyes lit up with joy.

When Chen Yi reached the surface, he took a deep breath of oxygen and executed the dao patterns and its accompanying skill he just learned. He looked around to see the old man standing before him with a smile on his face. He said in a suspicious manner, “congratulations! You passed the exam…but your achievement is too amazing. I have also administered the test to people that were even 2 whole realms higher than you, but they all failed, even though they were prodigal geniuses. The fact that you a run-of-the-mill cultivator has comprehended the skill, albeit barely, shows that either you have cheated or that you might actually be the person I am looking for.

The god secretly released a skill and Chen Yi felt as if he was laid bare, all his secrets exposed. Suddenly, an alert appeared in Chen Yi’s mind. It said:

Warning! Powerful intruder found. The intruder will access all your secrets in the next few minutes unless this system intervenes. Forceful access gained of host’s body. To stop him, all of your remaining points are being used, and 10000 points are also being used as a collateral which must be earned within a year. If the host does not accomplish this, they will be exterminated. To help the host, justice points have been unlocked and various amounts of points can be earned by the host when they save people in peril. Every time the host gains these points, they shall be used towards the price paid for making sure the host’s information has not been released.

Chen Yi had no control over what the system was doing, but he believed that as the system would never try to harm him, the collateral and the spending of all his points mus. After staying in that powerless state for a few more minutes, he found that he could move again. Sihai Longwang, still a bit suspicious, asked, “how did you do that?”

Chen Yi retorted, “What are you talking about? What can I do in front of a mighty god?”

“Hmm…It must be due to my waning powers. Come to me to get your reward.”