The Champion’s Ring - Chapter 6

Relieved, Chen Yi went to the god, Sihai Longwang, to get his reward.

A large ball of light was in the hands of the weather god, blinding Chen Yi and nearly making him temporarily blind. To combat this, he put his arm over his eyes, restricting what he could see, but also mitigating the chance of being temporarily blinded at the same time. 

When he walked close to the sphere of knowledge, he could see words floating around on its exterior. “Receive it my protege,” Sihai Longwang told Chen Yi. With glee evident on his face, he obtained the knowledge.

Soon, however, his face contorted to show an expression of agony. He screamed once,twice, thrice in pain., he felt as if there were 100 beasts stampeding over him.He spasmed continuously, unable to do anything while his body was going into lockdown.It showed no sign of stopping. As the pain continued to ravage his weak body, he felt as if the pain was gradually decreasing. When one hour had passed, the torture stopped and Chen Yi sighed in relief. 

Examining himself, he found that he had somewhat bulging muscles and a much clearer mind, devoid of random thoughts. He sensed the wild and tempestuous nature of the blood in his veins. The unbridled power flowing through him made him release a devious smile, as if he was a psychopath.

When he could move he stood up and looked around. As soon as he did that, a voice in his mind started to speak, making Chen Yi jump.The voice said to him, “Do not worry,you shall not find me any longer for the divine remnant that I placed a wisp of my essence in has faded. You have my inheritance and also an egg in the spatial ring next to you that shall hatch soon, revealing the beast it has housed for so long. Take care of it for it is the last of its kind. To help you in your parenting, I have also put the egg in an incubator so that the infant inside shall receive the optimal care.  ”

Chen Yi’s eyes shined as soon as he heard this and he thanked his senior profusely for his gift. He stared with expectancy showing in his eyes. His revealing sight also showed his care and concern for the little endangered creature. 

The egg was darker than the midnight sky in terms of colour.  It had pastel blue and white flecks on the shell, forming a strong contrast with the otherwise dark exterior as if they were mirroring the velvety dark sky and the light of the far away stars. The color scheme made it look like a real work of art, something that could only exist in heaven. The miracle of nature in front of him reminded him of the starry sky, with its dark velvet canvas hosting a multitude of star-speckled pinpricks.

Shaking his head, he escaped from the trance like state, and stepped through the portal and arrived home after a bout of dizziness.

Meanwhile, Chen Yi’s brother,Chen Wei had just arrived at the first village after a tiresome day riding horses. When the chief welcomed them he asked politely, “what do we owe the honor of receiving you for?”

Chen Wei responded, “I am here to recruit people for my clan, or  perhaps even improve this villag’s power to make it a subsidiary clan of the Chen Clan. We have noticed the state of this clan and have calculated that your village will soon be usurped by others unless an intervention is staged. To make sure you don’t lose the things you love the most,my clan is willing to give you a chance to live and thrive, for your livelihood will soon be ruined without our help. It is your choice on whether this village will join and flourish under our rule or whether you would stay isolated and get wrecked by other clans.

As the people turned to the chief they started to murmur with each other, saying many different things, such as ,”it’s a no brainer, we need to join, or else we will fail to survive!” While the minority rejected the Chen clan’s hand,claiming, “we don’t want external help, whether we thrive or not.” But those small groups drowned out when the chief spoke up.

“Your clan has my utmost gratitude, for you have given us a hand during our times of need, and for doing so, we will happily join your clan because  while others looked away, you extended your hand out to us and gave us hope and a chance at surviving. For that, I declare that from today onwards WE ARE PART OF THE CHEN CLAN!!”

“ I hope that you will join us, Chen Wei, for the feast we are going to throw in celebration of joining the Chen Clan.”

Chen Wei responded with, “Of course, how could I decline such a  generous offer on your part?” Then the village chief asked Chen Wei to follow him as he would yield tribute to him and give a special treasure in a chest. When Chen Wei saw what was inside it, he started laughing and a maniacal expression formed on his face, for what he had just obtained could be the opportunity he needed in order to proceed with his scheme.