Chapter 8: Tribulation

“Where are we?” asked Ren, yawning and rubbing her sleepy eyes as she stood next to her mother. 

 

A few days after the Prince’s party, one night Anya and Xendar took their daughter on a trip, outside of the Capital. It was still before sunrise when they stood at the edge of a pretty big open-pit mine that was spiraling downwards before them for around 400 meters. 

 

“We came for two things.” explained Xendar “One, we will do your Coming of Age ceremony. Two, I'll attempt to advance.” said with a serious face while Anya looked at him worriedly but said nothing. 

 

“Why do it here?”

 

“This is an old Element Shard mine that has been depleted for around 300 years so nobody will come here and disturb us.”

 

“Are we… going down? It will be a long walk!” said Ren, looking down from the edge into the giant, man-made hole. 

 

“No. I’ll go down after we finish with your ceremony.”

 

“Anyway, what is this ceremony? You never told me about it, I always just hear of this thing!”

 

“Here, hold this.” said Xendar as he put a Shard into Ren’s hands.

 

“Wha-” but her words stuck in her throat because as soon as she touched the Shard it started to vibrate and the energy it transmitted into her hands were pure, undiluted and exactly the same as the one behind the Sky. 

 

She immediately recognized it and sat down to meditate while holding onto the Shard. While she guided the energy through her body the so called “bubbling” feeling in her veins became stronger and stronger, transforming into the feeling of electricity running through her. At first it was numbing and a little painful but soon it eased and became natural, like it was always a part of her.

 

“I see… so somehow the pure energy from back then crystalized. It stimulates my constitution, awakening the dormant energy I inherited from my parents. No wonder I have the same affinity as Father. This must be hereditary. Then what about my mother's side?” she thought as she tried to feel the energy that was coursing in her and soon a faint feeling of water trickling down on her spine was felt “Ahaha, it tickles. It’s faint but it's there, maybe I could cultivate it later. It won’t hurt to try.”

 

“Did you feel it too?” said Anya, whispering to Xendar as they watched over their child 

 

“Yes. It was faint but it was there. She doesn’t disappoint” grinned Xendar “She has dual affinity. She inherited from both of us.” 

 

“I wonder how strong she will be when she grows up.”

 

“Stronger than both of us added together. If not, I'll spank her.”

 

“You always say that but you couldn’t lay a finger on her~” chuckled Anya, hugging her husband’s waist 

 

“I could spank you, you think I wouldn't spank her?” whispered into her ear

 

“Meanie~” 

 

Soon Ren finished meditating and the Shard in her hand crumpled into fine dust while spewing out violet sparks, as she stood up, a little dazed. 

 

“That was… awesome! I feel stronger already! Dad, do you have another?” 

 

“Ahaha, easy there my little champion! These only work once. Why do you think I could hold it without any reaction? Those who went through it never can do the same again, that's why this is an important part in every cultivator’s journey. Usually when you start refining your body is when you have your Coming of Age ceremony and make it into an event to show the world your talent… but you are an oddball Ren, doing things backwards and ahead of time.”

 

“Fufufu, I'm just too good! Ocuh! Moooom!” moaned Ren while holding her forehead which got a hard flick on it

 

“You little imp! Keep your ego in check!” 

 

“Well, we are done with the easy part. Now comes the hard one.” stretched Xendar and from nowhere Hal showed up, holding black armor pieces and helped Xendar putting it on.

 

“Uncle Hal? When did you get here?” 

 

“I have always been here.”

 

“Hal, I'll have the defense of the perimeter for you.”

“Just leave it to me My Lord.”

 

Anya stood before his husband and gave him a slow, long kiss, not saying anything, only smiling at him before she stepped back, holding Ren’s hand as they distanced themself. Xendar after wearing his heavy armor, now looking more like a giant warmachine then a man jumped into the air and his body was cackling with purple lightning bolts. 

 

Suddenly the sky started to darken and looking up Ren’s eyes became serious as her pupils shrank to the size of a tip of a needle.  What they could see was a faint scar…but Ren knew it was the Tear in the Sky. Even though it was mended now it looked like a transparent, old scar that healed badly.

 

Xendar’s body suddenly resonated with the Tear as he was suspended in the air, above the mine. Hal’s energy vibrated out and soon the earth moved and erected a giant wall, shielding them from the energy burst coming out of Xendar’s body that was now suspended in the air. 

 

“Woah, Uncle Hal is a Harmony expert?” 

 

“Please don’t call me an expert, Young Lady. I harmonized with my body after only 5 refinements. I couldn't do more and take the risk of challenging more than five strikes. That's why I’m still inferior to your Father if we would fight.”

 

That was when the first lightning bolt struck down. It carried the air of pure energy with it, blasting Xendar downwards, to the mine while the impact rumbled out but was diverted by Hal’s earthwall. Before Anya could scream out, Xendar’s figure rose back up and as he roared and punched out, meeting the second lightning bolt, he was once agains sent downwards. 

 

“Don’t worry Mom.” said Ren, holding her mother’s hands “It’s my Dad, he’s going to be fine! This is nothing!” giggled, to ease her mother’s anxiety, but deep inside, she was astonished. The power each bolt brought down from the Tear was filled with tremendous energy that would tear apart a normal person’s body even before it reaches them. 

 

“This tribulation reminds me of the old days when someone ascended to demigod status… what the… how can this be so strong? This could turn out really bad!”

 

“Don’t worry My Lady, as the Young Lady said, the Lord will be alright. He finished refining his body for the 9th time for a long time now. This was inevitable and now that the Young Miss has stepped forward he can’t delay it anymore.” said Hal, renewing the earth walls as Xendar’s figure flew back up meeting the next thunderbolt and the shockwave tore out chunks of Hal’s defense once again..

 

His armor was cracked and some part of it already fell down and stayed at the bottom of the mine but everytime he was sent down to hell he rose back up, roaring at the sky, not yielding at all. The wind was howling and the scar in the Sky was like a wound that oozed out the lightning bolts, striking Xendar’s figure over and over again. He was gritting his teeth every time he was hammered backwards by the force of the bolts but he knew, if he stayed down and did not focus on guiding the energy that enters his body every time a lightning bolt struck, he's going to explode and die on the spot. No matter how much it hurt or how tired he felt, if he even stops for a second it means death.

 

When the final, ninth lightning strike fell on him, he didn’t fall back but stayed floating above the mine taking in deep breaths as the sky cleared and the Tear slowly vanished from the morning sky. 

 

His armor was falling down off of him piece by piece, revealing his slightly burnt hair and skin on his naked torso. Xendar slowly descended, landing on the precipice of the mine, taking some shaky, small steps but soon he stabilized his footing and the burned patches of skin on his body started to heal up visibly.  The aura radiating off of him was tremendous and every flexing of his muscles were followed by thundering noises.

 

“Congratulations my Lord.” bowed Hal who was sweating all over and looked just as exhausted, keeping the wall up so long. 

 

“I’ve succeeded.” said Xendar, letting out a long sigh, releasing all the leftover anxiety and that was when Anya landed on him bursting into tears. “Ahaha, don’t cry, don’t cry, I told you everything is going to be okay!”

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“Congratulations Father!” grinned Ren, looking at them with sparkling eyes “I can’t wait to do that too!”

 

“Oh you! Yes you can! Don’t even dream of rushing it!”

 

“I won’t, I won’t!” promised the little girl and soon both of them were laughing happily while the sun’s first morning rays shone on them.

 

…

….

…..

 

 “You need to work harder.” came the voice of Aerthus IX from one of the meditation rooms in the palace. 

 

“Yes father.” replied Leinor who was kneeling before him, half naked sweating from exhaustion

 

“Take a little break, wash up and eat breakfast. After that, continue meditating and try to control the energy.”

 

“I’ll work hard.”

 

“You should. Your fiancé is already ahead of you and not by a small amount.”

 

“I can’t compare to her Father.” whispered Leinor and mentioning Ren he looked a bit mesmerized by remembering the scene where she was laughing and fighting. 

 

“Don’t sell yourself short. You are my son, you have the potential to catch up. But until you successfully start cultivating you can’t meet her.”

 

“But-”

 

“No buts. I won’t let my son be the submissive one. You need to have strength if you wish to stand on equal footing. So work hard!” said laughingly before leaving

 

“Father is right… I can't be a burden to her!” murmured Leinor and went back meditating immediately, fired up to succeed even before what the Emperor hoped so.

 

…

….

…..

 

Two years flashed by and the news that Xendar reached the Harmony Realm never spread far, only key officials and officers knew about it. What did spread around instead was the rumor of his daughter’s skills but most of the people just rolled their eyes as it was too wild to believe a five year old could cultivate and took it as spreading false rumors because of what happened with the fourth Prince.

 

Around a year after the rumors started spreading, the palace announced that the fourth Prince, aged 9 stepped on the road of cultivation and had his Coming of Age ceremony. It was a celebratory week in the Empire as it was a public event and witnessed by half of the Capital. When the young Prince saw Ren again, sitting with her parents on the guest podium his heart started to flutter again and even felt more nervous that she was there, witnessing his ceremony then before. When their eyes met during the event it seemed she was smiling at him which made Leinor even more confident to work hard.

 

After another year Leinor finally completed the first refinement of his legs, subconsciously following the pattern Ren showed and when he received his father’s praise he couldn’t be happier.

 

“Congratulations Leinor.” came a voice from a jade crystal 

 

“Thank you Eldest Brother! When will you come back? I miss you!”

 

“Ahaha, I would like to go back, but sadly I can't. We have had more and more small skirmishes against demonfolk in the northern forests for the past years. If this keeps up we will have to mobilize the full military to prepare for another war. I hope it won’t happen but until then me and your brothers can’t come back, we have our duty here.”

 

“If I reach second refinement I may be sent out to help you, that would be great!”

 

“Woah, woah kid, slow it down, we heard you are a pretty fast learner but no. Even if you do, you would still be too young. Stay home and practice. Your time will come, you don’t want to rush into the battlefield. War is not like in the stories told by bards. It’s brutal, messy and deadly. There is no romance on the battlefield, only misery.”

 

“Y-yes brother…” said with a sheepish voice

 

“Ahaha, don’t be down, I know you just want to help. You are a good boy, Leinor. I’m happy to be your elder brother. Anyway! Tell me, are the rumors true about your little fiance?”

 

“Yes! She is so awesome! You should have seen her!”

 

“Oh? So tell me, how are things between you two?”

 

“Ah. Um…”

 

“You never even spoke to her at all I assume.”

 

“Yes…” whispered Leinor

 

“Thought so. Anyway, both of you are still kids, why not visit the General’s family. You should go out sometimes to play and you are close in age, it could be fun. You should enjoy your childhood while you can.”

 

“Oh, that's a good idea brother!”

 

“Don’t tell me you never thought of it? Geez… Where are your thoughts?”

 

“On improving. Father always makes me train all-day!” 

 

“No wonder. Do what i told you and say hello to General Xendar in my name, okay?”

 

“Will do brother!”

 

“Good. Be a good boy now Leinor, we will speak again.”

 

“Stay safe Brother!” 

 

As soon as they finished the voice projecting crystal slowly crumbled to dust and Leinor sighed softly, still missing his siblings, but soon he shook his head and stood up with resolution in his eyes and rushed out of his room to ask his father to arrange a carriage for tomorrow as he wished to visit General Xendar’s mansion.

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