The First Cultivator - Changing Existence - Chapter 761

Chapter 761: Father’s Secret – 761
Just as Skymender was about to leave, he remembered something. The Ruler of the Scholar Region had mentioned that, upon retreating to the island, they found nothing but skeletons.

If that was the case, then how did it happen? Presumably, it had not been long since they died. How could they have become skeletons so quickly? It took years for a human body to decompose into a skeleton. There was something suspicious about that.

He could do no research into the subject, but the question of how it could have happened lingered in his mind.

Skymender continued on with his life in the capital of the Scholar Region. After another week or so, he told Mora that he was about to leave the capital for a while.

“Why?” Mora couldn’t help but ask.

“I have business elsewhere. I will come back at some point, but I must go.” Skymender said.

“Is it possible for me to go with you?” Mora asked.

Mora valued Skymender. Skymender was the most intelligent person he had ever met besides his father, and his father would not teach him.

It was similar to how Skymender had initially viewed the Imperial Scholar.

Skymender thought about it for a while. Although the Empire was the enemy of the Mainland and would most likely end up going to war, especially considering the Emperor’s plans for world domination, it was not impossible to take Mora with him.

The Ruler of the Scholar Region already knew about the camp of the Continent of Wu.

However, thinking about it from another angle, there was really no benefit involved for Skymender bringing along Mora. It would be charity.

Skymender shook his head. “There really isn’t a reason for me to bring you.”

He was not completely explicit, but Mora understood his meaning. Skymender began to walk away, when Mora spoke up. “What if I promise to tell you a secret about my father?”

Skymender paused and looked back. “What sort of secret?”

“Something about his origins. Although he never tells me anything, I was able to understand some things he never intended for me to understand. It relates to the blood that flows through his and my veins” Mora explained.

“So you would betray your father?” Skymender asked.

“I don’t consider this a betrayal. It is just a bit of information. It may not even help you, but you will surely find it interesting.” Mora said.

Skymender nodded. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He found his horse at the stable he had left it at. He got on, and Mora rode behind him.

He left the capital at a normal speed, prompting Mora to question him.

“You know that there are plenty of fast horses and carriages in the capital, right? If you need, I can even buy one.”

Skymender shook his head. “No. My horse is special.”

Mora was surprised. “I didn’t take you for the emotional type, teacher.”

Skymender once again shook his head. At this point, they were outside of the capital and far enough away that nobody could see them.

“He’s not special in an emotional way.” As he finished his sentence, he gave the horse the signal to run.

Without wasting a second, the horse shot off so fast that Mora nearly fell off. He quickly grabbed hold and used all of his strength to not fall off.

“Wait! Wait!” He shouted.

Skymender stopped.

It seemed that Mora was really far too weak. If Skymender didn’t stop, he would have fallen off and been injured.

Skymender thought for a few seconds before taking a rope out of the pouch on the horse.

In just a few seconds, he tied Mora down tightly. It would be hard to fall off the horse even if he wanted to.

Mora felt a little humiliated, but on second thought, it was better than falling off and being severely injured.

He held his tongue as the horse shot off again.

It took a few days before they saw the large walls in the distance. Mora was clearly surprised.

“I’ve studied all the maps of the Scholar Region, but there was never anything here. I’ve also not heard any news. What is this?” He asked Skymender.

“This is a secret organization. To be honest, I should kill you just for seeing it, but I assume you can keep your mouth shut, right?” Skymender said.

Mora nodded, not daring to disagree.

As they neared the walls, Skymender asked a question.

“What was your father’s secret?”

Mora spoke. “He is not from the Scholar Region. He is from an island off of the Mainland that few people know about. The only residents there are from a group known as the Seekers. To put it simply, they have to hide because they worship the god of knowledge. To those of the Temple, this is the greatest sin. Worshipping other gods has caused countless people to be killed. There is a reason why only one god is worshipped all over the world.”

Skymender truly was surprised by this information.

“I was hesitant to tell you because I feared you might use this information to threaten my father. Releasing it to the Temple would be disastrous. However, I decided to trust you and the fact that you don’t seem like an ally of the Temple.” Mora said.

“Don’t worry. Nobody from the Temple will hear about this. To be honest, I can almost be considered to be the enemy of the Temple.” Skymender said.

The Emperor was someone the Temple would surely be willing to kill as soon as the opportunity arrived.

Skymender finally entered the city walls. Nobody stopped him for even a moment.

Mora was surprised to see people bow at Skymender and welcome him as the “Imperial Scholar”.

“Since I’m keeping your fathers secret, you might as well keep mine.” Skymender said.

Mora nodded, deciding not to speak a word of this to anyone, besides perhaps his father.

Skymender soon reached the palace in the center of the makeshift city, where he left Mora and his horse with the guards.

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Chapter 762: Meeting the Emperor – 762
The palace was not nearly as big as the Imperial Palace on the Continent of Wu. Skymender made his way to the throne room.

The Emperor sat on a throne not nearly as elegant as before, yet it was still full of majesty.

“You’ve finally returned, Skymender. What have you learned?” The Emperor asked.

Skymender began to describe everything he had learned about the Mainland, including how he had spent his time in the capital of the Scholar Region.

Even the Emperor was a bit surprised to learn that he had begun tutoring the son of the Ruler, though it didn’t seem so shocking when he considered Skymender’s intelligence.

“Did you ever meet the Ruler of the Scholar Region?” The Emperor asked.

Skymender nodded. “Only once.”

As far back as he could remember, he hadn’t really lied to the Emperor.

However, if he wanted to have any sort of personal success, then he could no longer be a faithful follower.

“He simply wanted to see if I was qualified to tutor his son or not.”

The Emperor nodded. He had no reason to believe that Skymender would lie to him. After Skymender reported a bit more, the Emperor dismissed him.

He told Skymender to come back later.

Skymender left, and the Emperor began to speak to Sword Grandmaster Shang.

“It seems odd. The Ruler of the Scholar Region should have taken an interest in Skymender. Based on his ways of doing things, he should have even attempted to recruit him. However, Skymender says that he merely wanted to see if he was qualified to tutor his son.” The Emperor mused.

“Perhaps Skymender is not intelligent enough.” Sword Grandmaster Shang said.

“Perhaps.” The Emperor said. “But that is extremely unlikely.”

“Maybe the Ruler simply hasn’t gotten a chance yet?” Sword Grandmaster Shang asked.

“With his way of doing things, he would strike as soon as possible.” The Emperor said.

“Then perhaps… Skymender lied.”

The Emperor neither agreed nor disagreed. “It is too late to say that. Even after so long, I still can’t fully understand the Ruler. His actions should not be variable in the exact same situation, yet they are. It is as if the change in the wind made from a single movement can influence his decisions, making them impossible to predict.”

Sword Grandmaster Shang did not fully understand how the Emperor felt about the Ruler of the Scholar Region, and therefore remained silent.

The Emperor changed the topic. “How is the plan going?”

Sword Grandmaster Shang’s demeanor shifted. “I can’t say I fully understand what I’m doing.”

The Emperor nodded. “Naturally. The Death Leech is something even I don’t fully understand. All I can say is that without it, it doesn’t matter if we win against the Mainland or not, we will still all die. You, a Grandmaster, must control it. Even if you can only use it for five minutes at the cost of your life, it will completely shift the tides.”

Sword Grandmaster Shang nodded his head with a determined look. “I will do everything in my power to not let you down.”

The Emperor nodded. “I know.”

After a moment of silence, he spoke once more. “One last thing, go and prepare the agents. It is time.”

Sword Grandmaster Shang nodded. He quickly vanished from the room.

The Emperor waited for a moment, and his entire demeanor shifted, becoming colder and more arrogant. “Skymender. If you dare betray me, I’ll kill you in every lifetime. You are the only hope for a change.”

It was impossible for Skymender to know that the tiniest lie would cause the Emperor to become suspicious of him. How could he possibly understand the Emperor’s greatest secret?

Although he and the Ruler of the Scholar Region knew that the Emperor was cheating, he could never imagine that the Emperor would be cheating in such a way.

Skymender stayed in the makeshift city for a day before being summoned by the Emperor again.

“So, I’ve heard that you’ve brought the son of the Ruler of the Scholar Region here.” The Emperor said.

Skymender nodded. “Indeed.”

“Why?”

“I feel like he could be useful to the cause of taking over the Mainland. Although the Ruler of the Scholar Region is his father, he remains at the top of the palace every day, never once showing affection for his son. In fact, it would be more surprising if I couldn’t get the boy to betray his father.”

The Emperor nodded. “A good plan. But I would give up on it.”

Skymender was confused. “Why?”

“There are many types of people in the world. Some would betray their closest friend for the slightest benefit. Some wouldn’t betray a random person they met for the world. With just a look at that boy, I was able to tell that, although his father may not truly care about him, he is simply a loyal person. No matter what happened, he would never betray his father. I suppose you could say he was born stubborn.”

“I see.” Skymender said. “If you say so, then I suppose there is no need for me to continue trying.”

The Emperor shrugged his shoulders. “Even the sky can be flipped if someone tries hard enough. Perhaps you can make him betray his father. Feel free to try. I just don’t imagine all the effort would be worth it in the end.”

With that, the Emperor moved on.

“Regardless, I have a new mission for you.”

Skymender listened.

“As the representative of the Scholar Region, I want you to participate in the Mainland gathering, a once a decade gathering held by four of the five regions in conjunction. There, all the greatest people of each region will compete amongst each other. Although the Scholar Region does not fit in as well as the other three, it still participates in its own way. This information was brought back from another one of our scouts.” The Emperor explained.

Skymender was surprised that he hadn’t heard of this before.