Volume 2:
------------
Ken promised himself to take revenge and followed Norman and Krone to a flying beast that seemed like a large, winged lion.
"Oh and Haoran, keep it secret to yourself that you have another son. Since we've crippled your wife and she can't give birth anymore, stay here until you die, and don't try being too greedy."
Norman crushed the hope that they weren't aware of Aaron's existence. Obviously, since Sol already sold information about Ken, she wouldn't hide Aaron's existence.
Norman didn't want another kid to join the main family and compete for resources, so he preferred letting the rest of the family live their lives away and keep Aaron's existence secret from the patriarch.
·ƈθm The winged lion was around 6 meters long and 3 meters tall, towering above the humans who came to ride it.
"Sit behind Norman and I will be behind you to make sure you won't fall. Do you need help to get on its back?"
Krone spoke to Ken after Norman hopped on the beast's back. Instead of answering, Ken just jumped lightly and landed on the beast's back before sitting down. The beast's back was wide enough for him and stand and walk on it.
Krone sat behind him, and the winged lion started running and took off with a strong flap of its wings. Ken estimated the lion was at the fourth stage and had around the same strength as the bird he had killed in the forest before.
"How did you train?"
After an hour of silent flying, Krone couldn't contain her curiosity anymore. In the main sect, the kids of powerful people started cultivating when they turned 10. Their parents would supply them with pills to support their cultivation and had a technique to help them channel their Qi.
This way, if the kid lost control because of the pain, the parent could buy them enough time to concentrate again and take control of their Qi before they experienced a Qi deviation that could lead to an injury or worse.
The problem was that Ken's parents didn't have kids when they were in the main sect, so they never received the required technique, and even if they did, Ken wasn't 10 years old yet.
"When Dad watched over me, he took me with him to a class he taught. After listening to the kids recite their manual multiple times, I tried doing what I heard, and it succeeded."
"And is it true you're an alchemist and a formation master?"
"I can concoct a few pills and create simple formations; I don't think it makes me eligible for those titles."
"We've been told you created your own cultivation manual and pill formulas."
Ken just looked back into Krone's eyes and hid his irritation.
'How much did this idiot reveal to them about me?'
But instead, he thought of another answer. He knew Krone would be skeptical to believe that a 6-year-old boy could have so many achievements. After living for dozens of years, she only practiced existing techniques and arts. If creating techniques was something that even kids could do, wouldn't it mean she was a stupid cow compared to Ken?
"You must be joking, the art of alchemy is too difficult. I only slightly tweaked a simple formula to get results that were 1% stronger than the original pill, and Sol must have used this incident to get more money from you."
"What's gold in her eyes is only peanuts for us. A few fourth-grade pills and some Qi stones don't mean anything to us."
Krone shrugged and explained why she didn't care even if Sol exaggerate to gain extra rewards. They didn't take Sol's belongings after Ken killed her since looting the corpse of a poor outer disciple from a branch sect would make them lose too much face.
But both Krone and Norman were satisfied with his answer. He was already a terrifying genius, and if he could create original pills and techniques, he would become the treasure of their family. Given the fact that they crippled his mom in front of him, they didn't plan to let him become stronger than them.
"Let me give you a few words of advice to help you integrate into life in the main sect. The main sect is very cruel and unforgiving, and people get killed there all the time. Of course, there are some rules to prevent older geniuses from killing the younger ones who still couldn't develop, and to prevent groups from ganging up on a single genius, but you might still find yourself in peril."
"Thank you, Uncle, for your advice."
Ken answered indifferently and irritated Norman.
"I still didn't give my advice. Speaking before your elders finished is a bad habit that will limit your growth, you should work on it. Anyway, that's why it's important to have a family to back you up, this way you can get help when you're in danger. You should listen to your uncles and aunts, as well as to your cousins, so you can stay safe."
"Of course, I'm happy to have a supportive family."
"Exactly. You'll only need to make pills for us a few hours a day and you wouldn't have to worry about anything. We will keep you safe, but you also need to give back to the family."
Krone nodded virtuously and added a few words after Norman finished what he had to say. Ken was still angry and sad about his mom's injury, but he could control his emotions well. Although it was tragic, he didn't believe he couldn't heal her when he gets proficient enough in alchemy.
"I understand, I will be happy to contribute my part to the family with my alchemy talent."
The rest of the ride passed silently with a few monologues from Krone and Norman about how Ken should always help his family and listen to his elders since they know better until they eventually reached the main sect. Overall, the ride took a few days later including a few breaks.
The winged lion flew the whole way in a straight line above 180 kph (112 mph), yet the land was too big for the journey to take less than a day.
'The world of cultivation is much bigger than my former world. It makes sense, battles between powerful cultivators would destroy a planet of Earth's size. I also noticed that everything is much sturdier in nature.'
Ken compared the two worlds in his mind and realized the effects of Qi were much bigger than just letting humans and beasts cultivate.
"We are here, the patriarch told us to bring you straight to him. Follow me."
They landed outside a tall wall that had dozens of formations inscribed on it. The guards bowed and greeted them as soon as they saw Krone and Norman and took the lion from them.
Soon, they arrived at a grand complex made of 5 floors and went inside. After passing through another door, he found himself in a large room with a man looking in his fifties sitting on a large chair.
"Father, We've brought Haoran's son."
"Norman, Krone. You went too far with Haoran's wife. You can expect your punishments soon. You may leave now, let me talk privately with the kid."
"Yes, Father."
The two cupped their fists and left the room. The man and the child scrutinized each other with their gazes, carefully studying one another.
"Red eyes are quite rare."
The man remarked casually, but Ken understood his suspicions. Ken wasn't born with red eyes; his eyes' color kept changing from dark brown to red as he trained his killing intent and integrated it into his constitution. Now, his eyes were a dark shade of red, borderline brown.
As Ken improved his body and constitution all the time, he turned more beautiful than God intended him to be. He knew that people would confuse his gender if he changed his attire, as his face was quite feminine.
Although his skin was previously white, it turned tanned during his long training under the sun in the past year, but he didn't have a single blemish on it, and it was still soft and smooth to the touch.
On the other side, the man had black hair and dark brown eyes. His skin was rough, and his facial features were masculine even if one looked beyond his thick beard.
His face had a squared shape, and his straight, long nose coupled with his sword eyebrows gave him a sharp look. After another moment of silence, the man finally spoke again.
"Hello Ken, I'm Dominic Sue. You can call me Grandfather, there's no need for formalities between family."
"Hello Grandfather, I'm Ken."
"I know my stupid daughter left a bad impression on you, and I'm sorry for what she had done. I never expected her to severely injure your mother. We are all very upset about the absence of my son, but she went too far, and I will make sure to punish her accordingly. You can always come to me if anyone makes it hard for you in the sect or in the family."
Dominic apologized to the young boy standing in front of him without hesitation, and his voice was sincere and caring.