Chapter 68: Free Secret Art

As Khal walked toward the building where he could claim his rewards, a slight smile emerged on his face.

Naturally, he was not that stupid to know that Alde was the one who sent Moras to assassinate him. Especially with the clue, he found on Moras's body.

"This... I can't believe they don't even try to hide the fact they were from this family," said Khal quietly as he took out a necklace from his pocket.

It was a simple necklace made out of silver chains; at first glance it was nothing special at all. However, the main sight was not that but the object on its end which in fact would be quite familiar not only for Khal but for everyone else too; an obsidian black ring with the Ourvi Family's emblem on it.

Just looking at the ring made Khal feel like exploding with anger but he knew he needed to act calm. He already had a plan how to take his revenge on Alde and now the only thing he needed was to wait for the perfect opportunity.

But until then, he will go and claim his reward while pretending nothing happened at all.

"Let's see. If I can remember right, this should be the one," murmured Khal and walked inside one of the buildings on the side.

Instantly as he entered, a huge hall with several hologram screens on both sides emerged before his eyes. It was exactly the same place where he accepted the mission one and half a day ago.

After looking around but seeing no staff, Khal decided to walk before one of the screens and took his Cultivator Badge out.

/Mission: Gold Hawk Hunt/

• Gold Hawk killed: 5/5 (Completed!)

"So... How can I claim the rewards?" asked Khal with a confused face and scratched his head gently.

*Ding!*

"!?"

However, he didn't have to wait long for the answer. Just a few seconds after his question a small screen popped up before him startling him a bit.

/Mission: Gold Hawk Hunt Completed!/

• Accept Mission Rewards: 

- 10.000 pieces of silver coin /Collect/

- 1 Cultivation Rank Promotion! (Only below Rank C!) /Collect/

- 1 freely selected Secret Art from Moon Academy! (Only below Expert Level!) /Collect/

"Oh? So I only need to walk up to one of these devices and my mission will automatically pop up? Interesting." thought Khal and started to read.

After checking that the rewards were exactly the same as he remembered, Khal extended his arm and pressed the 'Collect' word next to the first reward.

*Swish!*

Instantly as he did, white light appeared on his badge below his name, and soon new words formed there one by one.

/Name: Khal Nevio/

• Currency: 10.000 Silver Coins

• Age: 17

• Cultivation Talent: Sight Enhancement

• Cultivation Stage: Vessel

• Rank: F

"Nice," exclaimed Khal happily and instantly collected the next reward. Just like how it happened previously, white light manifested on his badge and a bit later a new sight welcomed him.

• Rank: E

"Hehe! I am now Rank E! Just killed 5 beasts and now I jumped a whole Rank! Haha!" laughed Khal with ecstasy but a second later he tilted his gaze at the screen and smiled, "But the best stuff is still behind."

- 1 freely selected Secret Art from Moon Academy! (Only below Expert Level!) 

"Hehe... I can't wait to see what kind of Secret Art will be my first."

As everyone knows, Secret Arts were insanely essential in a Cultivator's life let it be weak or a powerful one; it could determine one's life during a battle because it was like a Second Talent with the only exception that Secret Arts could be comprehended and used by anyone until one had the potential and talent to learn Secret Arts; but unfortunately, there were difficulty levels for Secret Arts too.

The easiest Secret Arts that anyone could use, were on the Novice Level. These were the most basic Secret Arts around the world and even an idiots had what it took to learn it once they mastered how to control their Essence in their body.

Following the Novice Level, the next one was the Moderate Level. Secret Arts on this level needed a bit more knowledge about one's body and Essence, yes, but they were still feasible to learn.

You only needed a bit of hard work.

However, the Expert Level was another story. Not only did one needed to know how to control the Essence in their body precisely, but they needed to understand how to influence the speed of their Essence too. If one failed to do so, learning an Expert Level Secret Art was as hard as counting sand in the desert; simply impossible.

And the Cultivator Level was even harder. Including the previous two requirements, one needed to learn and understand the paths' names in their body. While Secret Arts on and below the Expert Level accommodated the whole body, Cultivator Level Secret Arts only used specific routes called Essence Paths. Each Path had its name and each name wielded a unique meaning. Once someone failed to control their Essence through the right path, not only failure would arise but internal injuries too.

But even though the Cultivator Level was considered as the hardest Secret Art that one could currently learn, there was the legendary Realm Level; a type of Secret Art that was way complex for one to learn and way too dangerous to try it. Anyone who attempted to master such a Secret Art all failed in vain and ended up dead or as a complete cripple with their Essence Path and their Talent entirely destroyed.

Out of the two, the latter one was the best outcome, unfortunately.

And it turns out, out of these 5 Levels, Khal had the chance to choose any type of Secret Arts below the Expert Level, meaning, he could choose from a Novice or Moderate Level Arts.

"Let's see then." said Khal and pressed the 'Collect' word on the screen.

/Free Secret Art/ (Choose a Level)

• Novice Level /Choose/

• Moderate Level /Choose/

Khal saw the two options on the screen and chose the Moderate Level without hesitation bringing him into a screen filled with several hundreds of Secret Arts.

"Woah... Abyss Touch, Ghost Eye, Moon Hit... So many Secret Arts! Which one should I choose?" thought Khal with surprise and started to ponder.

As far as he could see and understand, his biggest weakness currently was his speed. He finally had a way to protect himself thanks to his Diamond Skin and also fight against stronger opponents with his Heaven's Eyes and Devil Fangs. But unfortunately, no matter how strong his defense or his offense was, itt all became useless if he didn't have the speed that helped him during the fight.

Just like how Moras and the Ghost Spider were able to approach and kill him because of his slow speed, anyone will have the chance to do so in the future too. And this matter will only become worse as he reaches the higher Stages where stronger enemies will appear with time.

And if he states this slow even at the Sixth Stage, he will be just like a pig; ready to be slain.

"Well... Then it is decided." said Khal with a firm nod and chose 'Agility' type Secret Arts.

But the result was unexpectedly was not what he waited for.

/Agility type Secret Arts/ (Found: 1)

• Dance of The Celestial Serpent