감사합니다 for the chapters to author and translators. (-)

    a month later

    In the open space, a tree had fallen, cut at the trunk about 2 feet above the ground. Spring stared blankly at the fallen tree as a euphoric look emerged on his small face. Yet when he lifted his head, he saw that August's figure was already slowly walking out of the forest.

    "Heh heh, tomorrow I will show father, I am sure that he will be pleasantly surprised." Spring grinned. He was so ecstatic that he immediately tried to replicate this achievement. He shot out a blade of wind. A tree was felled. He shot out another. Another tree lay. Again. Again. Repeatedly. This is called 'Getting carried away.' Getting carried away is bad for health. Waves of pain emitted from his arm, surprising nobody whatsoever. He hastily lifted his sleeve only to find that his entire arm was covered in blood red marks, so much so that there were even places where the skin had peeled back as blood continuously oozed out. This is probably a bad sign. I think. Maybe.

    "Hss..."

    Overdrawn mana. His mana circuits had been overworked, so much so that some of them had popped, leaving his arm covered with blood. As if in a trance, Spring wandered off deeper into the forest.

    Overexertion of mana had caused a large physical fatigue on him, thus leading to confusion and shock due to pain. Of course, overusing mana has a mental impact as well. He walked, as though controlled, compelled, constrained. Alliteration is awesome. Probably.

    Approximately 10 minutes later, a steep cliff appeared before him. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of his surroundings. His mana had partially recovered, to the extent where regular mental procedures wouldn't be a hindrance. He cautiously looked around, before following a path of jutting rocks down the cliff, uncertain how he had gotten here to begin with. How does one reach the top of a cliff without realizing it? Even the narrator has no clue. Luckily, he had not jumped off, or else I'd be fired. I'm supposed to provide him with plot armor, not to throw him off cliffs. Jumping off cliffs is bad for health.

    Spring was quite unfamiliar with this part of the forest. However, as he carefully descended, there were no accidents. After a while, a cave that was hidden from sight by a few huge rocks appeared before him. Yeah. Go in. I've prepared adequate plot armor for this occasion. I think. Maybe.

    Slowly entering into the cave, a cool and refreshing feeling blew away the stench and sweat on Spring's body. Compared to the blistering hot weather outside, the cave was like a different world, and a great place to take shelter from the heat. Curiosity got hold of him as he ventured deeper within.

    The inside of the cave was not extremely spacious. Other than a 6-10 meter wide rock pool at the center of the cave, there was nothing else special in this cave.

    Walking towards to the rock pool, one would see that it was filled with crystal clear water, and atop the water, a slightly cold breeze floated back and forth.

    Warily checking the water for threats, Spring got an irresistible urge to enter.

    Arriving beside the rock pool, Spring quickly took off his clothes, and straightaway jumped into the water. The slightly cold air caused his body to shiver for a little but he quickly adapted to the cold.

    This is what I mean. Look at him recklessly entering a mysterious body of water without an inkling of caution. This is the kind of guy who walks off cliffs while I'm not looking.

    After Spring soaked in the water here, he unknowingly felt his mind become particularly sharp and he was able to enter into a state of deep concentration. It felt odd, strange, yet pleasant. Unsure, he asked

    "Is it just me?"

    No. It is not just you. It's me.

    As he laid in the rock pool, Spring cupped some water in his hands and watched it slowly flow off.

    Spring leaned against the edge of the rock pool, as he relaxed, his head facing upwards with his eyes shut. His thoughts ran wild for a while before unexpectedly, he gradually fell into a deep sleep. Yeah. Fall asleep in a pool of cold water. Absolutely nothing bad will ever happen. Have you heard of chronic obstructive lung disease? Have you? This period of training was too extreme for him and now that he had finally found some time to relax, his pent up exhaustion started to spread out from his bones.

    As Spring soundly slept, the cave once again became peaceful as the pool water gently heaved about.

    "Plop..."

    Amidst the silence, a disturbance suddenly started in the clear water. A dark red drop of blood rolled down from Spring's injured arm and quietly fell into the pool.

    As this drop of blood fell, the originally peaceful water abruptly started boiling. One by one, bubbles with faint traces of blood-like color emerged to rise up from the surface of the water before bursting around Spring's resting body. Traces of faintly red colored liquid scattered in the air and as if they had a mind of their own, moved to twine around Spring's body before finally quickly entering through his pores.

    Just as these faintly red colored liquid seeped into Spring's body, it gave rise to a sensation as if the mana circuit in his body were violently compressed. Like a tide, a torrent of sweat gushed forth, converging together and then streaming into the water.

    This sensation was akin to ferociously squeezing out all of the water from a wet sponge.

    Spring suddenly awoke and shouted, "Hot!"

    It appears he does not enjoy being squeezed like a wet sponge.

    "Splash!"

    As he shrieked, Spring swiftly ducked his head and immersed his whole body in the pool. After a while, he finally broke the surface to catch his breath. A look of bewilderment was plastered on his face as shortly before he awoke, he felt as though he was being baked in a furnace, and the burning sensation he experienced was what caused him to involuntarily scream out.

    "Why would it be so hot in here?" Spring pondered as he stood in the pool for a while in order to cool himself off, before he finally decided to climb out. I wonder why. I really do.

    Standing beside the rock pool while thinking for a while, Spring wordlessly shook his head. Just as he grabbed up his clothes and started to put them on, his gaze suddenly paused at his arm.

    "Huh?"

    Spring stared at his arm in wide disbelief. He clearly remembered that this arm was previously scarred with bloody wounds after his mistake, yet now all of his wounds seemed to have miraculously disappeared.

    Perplexed, Spring gently stroke his once wound ridden arm, suddenly, his body stiffened. An incredulous look swiftly surfaced on his face as he discovered that the skin on his arm had substantially hardened.

    "How...is this possible?!"

    This discovery left Spring dumbstruck as he stood in a daze on the spot.

    "Illusion… An illusion… It must be an illusion!" Yes. If that's what you truly think… I'll just continue my loveless, thankless job here… No 'Thank you narrator!!!'? That's fine. If you thank me that's fine. If you don't thank me that's also fine.

    Foolishly gazing at his arm for a moment, Spring shut his eyes and firmly inhaled in a few breaths of air. Only when his mind gradually calmed down did he once again gently stroke his arm, though still slightly trembling.

    Under his touch, the outer layer of skin felt reasonably hard. Although it had yet to reach the level of hardness present while channeling mana, Spring's skin was clearly several times harder than before, despite him not channeling mana whatsoever.

    "How...did this happen?"

    Although he was still giddy from happiness and excitement, Spring had matured at an earlier age than most; therefore, he managed to regain his calm and wits after a while. His tiny face tightly wrinkled up as he started to recall all the details of this affair. Yet there was nothing strange about the cave, thus, after taking a slow look around the cave, his gaze eventually came to rest upon the rock pool.

    "Could there really be something strange about this rock pool?"

    Thank you, captain obvious.

    What had actually happened?

    How many times you ask same thing? One more time and I cut your lines by half.

    It could not possibly be because of the Redleaf as it was merely a grade 1 ingredient.

    "There was definitely something different today."

    I'm not even going to bother anymore.

    Spring tightly pursed his lips together, a stubborn determination on his small face. He understood that it would be of utmost importance to him to discover the mystery within.

    Spring squatted beside the rock pool, his brows tightly knitted together in thought. His palm subconsciously moved to stroke his arm, and he froze. His gaze slowly moved to fix on his arm, where many traces of blood used to be.

    "Blood?"

    Spring's eyes brightened. He suddenly pulled out a small dagger hidden in a slit within a pile of rocks near the rock pool that he had previously left behind.

    Spring gently sliced his fingertip with the dagger, causing a drop of blood to emerge He hesitated for a second before he carefully dripped it into the rock pool.

    "Plop!"

    The sound of blood dripping into the pool resonated clearly within the quietness of the cave. However, Spring kept his eyes keenly peeled onto the location where the drop of blood had fallen.

    Just as the drop of blood touched the rock pool, a wave of ripples emerged as the reddish hue of the blood gradually dissipated. Water bubbles swiftly emerged from the serene rock pool, startling Spring. A bluish liquid was faintly discernable within each bubble.

    Spring's throat clenched as he hesitantly extended his hand into the rock pool. Instantly, the water bubbles exploded and a gooey light-blue liquid stuck onto his palm. The liquid then slowly seeped in through his pores.

    As the light-red liquid seeped into his body, Spring's palm suddenly experienced a burning sensation. This sensation was the same as how he felt when he was abruptly awoken. Moreover, this time he could clearly feel that as the liquid seeped into his palm, the skin on his palm was gradually becoming tougher.

    "This is indeed the case!"

    For a wind mage, you sure are slow…

    As he noted the changes to his palm, Spring's tiny face instantly lit up. His had guessed correctly! The water in this rock pool required blood to activate their special properties.

    Spring gripped then extended his palm a few times, only to discover that the skin on this palm had indeed become much tougher than the rest of his body. His mana had also experienced a significant boost, nearing layer 4. Furthermore, this effect was achieved after only a short exposure. According to Spring's calculations, he estimated that the effect of this water was truly legendary and even exceeded the effects of those grade 3 potions, brewed from countless ingredients, sold in Turquoise Town.

    "Hmm, how is it that this water can bring such a remarkable effect that even surpasses that of a grade 3 potion?"

    Spring sighed deeply as he rubbed his forehead. This mysterious rock pool had overly excited his emotions and he decided to lie down beside the rock pool to take a breather. Regardless, even though he was unable to uncover the reason why this rock pool held mysterious powers, this discovery was still bound to be highly beneficial to him.

    Due to his injuries, August requires several potionss in order to nurse his health. However, these elixirs are expensive and owing to August's stubborn nature, he refused to accept any financial support from the Grassblade Family. As such, he would often try his luck and go hunt for ingredients by himself. Inevitably, this resulted in Spring being unable to enjoy the same privileged training conditions as his peers in the Grassblade Family.

    Hence, at this juncture, the effects of the rock pool was especially important to Spring.

    "The effects of this rock pool must absolutely be kept a secret!"

    Spring gripped his tiny fist. He understood that he not only required the aid of this rock pool, but that if news of this rock pool spread out, it will surely lead to a huge commotion. At that time, perhaps several other factions in the Turquoise Town may get involved and this may spell a small calamity onto the whole Grassblade Family.

    "Possessing treasure is no sin, but it will often lead to trouble!"

    Even though Spring was still young, he clearly understood this principle.

    As Spring tightly pursed his lips, he formulated a plan in his heart. Just as he was about to leave, something suddenly caught his eye and he softly gasped. He immediately turned his vision onto the ceiling of the cave as he caught a glimpse of light flickering over there.

    Under normal circumstances, if Spring encountered this situation, he would not give it even the slightest notice. However, now that he knew the effects of the rock pool, he became extremely attentive to the whole area surrounding the cave.

    Spring kept his eyes firmly locked onto the location where he spotted the flickering lights. Under his watchful gaze, the flickering light appeared again. However, it looked as though the light was flickering slightly more hastily. Soon after, a ray of light fell down into the rock pool.

    Due to the ray of light, a gentle ripple emerged on the surface of the rock pool.

    Spring stared at the location where the ray of light had fell into the rock pool. As he swallowed, he remembered catching a glimpse of what seemed to be a deep-blue liquid within the light. That liquid… it was exactly what Spring saw after his blood fell into the rock pool.

    "It seems that the secret is hidden above…"

    Well, the drop came from the roof, so the secret will be below the ground, right? It's plot armor! Go, climb up, then claim your plot armor!

    Wait. No.

    You can't fire me.

    What? I talk too much? Nonsense.

    Seriously. Stop that.

    I swear I'll talk less. Pinky promise. Stop. StoooooP!! In the name of Arnold! I will have my revenge!

    Spring softly murmured as his eyes brightened and he lifted his head to gaze above at the ceiling of the cave.

    Then he got a heart att... Stop!!! Let him die!!! I will kill him if that's the last thing I…

      At the ER with June. Making sure he didn't swallow 2 AAA batteries

        Lol nope.. I'm not falling for this one.. I had to check 1st what was the last thing I copied and the answer is still a no for me 😄😅

          "Who the hell are you?" The bulky man asked him.

          He immediately put a violent reaction towards Tromer. "Go away from us! Or else..."

          "Or else what?" Tromer replied before the bulky man can finish his words. He placed his hand on the table. After a second, he removed it and surprisingly, five gold coins are revealed.

          "Keep calm. I am just asking." Tromer replied with a grin.

          The people on this table immediately know the meaning of this.

          Although Tromer can get the information easily if he uses brute force, for him, it has a lot of work and he doesn't want to waste his time and energy on this lowly mortals. Even his conscience cannot bear bullying the weak. It's just a mere five gold coins, nothing much for him.

          The bulky man looked again at Tromer but now, his face doesn't reveal any trace of hostility from before, instead he produced a wide smile of happiness then he said, "Or else... you can drink with us if you don't want to go away. Hehehe."

          Tromer just looks at this greedy man helplessly. It's true that money can change a man's attitude. Although the bulky man is the greediest, the smile of other people on this table is the same as him. Tromer shook his head for these shameless bunches.

          You cannot blame them for their attitude. Five gold coins have a huge value here in this world. It can buy them a decent house already. They can also please themselves with many women if they want to.

          Tromer sat beside the bulky man. This beefy man is called by his companions as Doval. Doval signaled to Sendo, the fat man to start telling his story to Tromer.

          After half an hour, Tromer, along with the bunch of drunkards emerged from the tavern. After Sendo had told him the story, Tromer requested to bring to him to his friend who saw the scene.

          They walked along the inner city. Tromer at the frontmost, surrounded by these men. They walked as if Tromer is their boss and they are the subordinates. Many people threw a frowning gaze unto them. These men are famous as the 'Drunkard Bothers' so, seeing them walking around the streets proudly, following a single-handed man like he is their sacred god is a bit surprising.

          They noticed their gazes, but they didn't mind them as long as they profited. After a few minutes, they arrived in the slums, and they entered the place.

          Gloomy feeling surrounded the place. Houses are mended of woods. Garbage are anywhere as the flies are flying above it. Darkness looms at everywhere even if the sun above is blazing. Children are playing while their garments and faces are full of dirt.

          They walked inside and they headed to a certain street and walked again for a few minutes until they arrived at a house made of putrid woods. Clearly, this house was built several years ago and withstood different temperature, from the scorching heat of the sun up to the flood of the storm. The fat man knocked the door three times.

          The door didn't immediately open, but a voice suddenly said, "Who are you? What is your business here?"

          "Orlie! This is me, Sendo. I'll just ask something." Sendo the fat man answered.

          The door opened and a man at his thirties emerged from it. Wearing rugged and tattered clothes full of dirt.

          "What is it?" Orlie asked him. He saw the people around, and he knows that they are all Sendo's drinking friends except for one guy behind him with a single arm. "Oh! You managed to recruit another drunkard huh?!"

          Sendo immediately refuted him, "Hey! No! He's not a drunkard. He's our benefactor."

          Orlie revealed a shocked expression and also a confused one. "Benefactor? What a joke! I know you're drunk so don't mess with me right now. Go and get drunk, just don't disturb me here. Go back when you're not drunk!"

          Hearing this from his irritated friend, he grabbed him, and he placed his arms over Orlie's shoulder then, he pulled him away and whispered him the whole situation.

          "Five gold coins! Heavens! That's a lot of money! He simply gave that? Are you sure?"

          "Yes, I am! Just help me with this and tell him what you saw that day and if he is satisfied, he might give you incentives." Sendo fuelled his mind with tempting words.

          After they talked for a while. Orlie has accepted the request and then go back to Tromer. Looking at this guy with a single arm, Orlie couldn't help but doubt his friend's words. How can a man that is in a pitiful state like this do have much money?

          Then after Sendo formally introduced his friend to Tromer. Orlie began to narrate the things he saw at the alleyway near the slums.

          "Black-clothed people surrounded a young man. The young man has white hairs, oval shaped face with a pointed chin and a well-shaped body figure. I only caught a glimpse at the back figure of the man. While the people surrounding him are obviously professional hired-killers based on their swift and decisive movements. I don't know why they were trying to kill him. I only heard a few of what they said like 'demon' and they will report after they finished him. Probably, to their client." Orlie recited all that he saw that day."And after that, I ran 'cause I fear that they might kill me if they saw me peeking. I'm sorry for the lack of information." He added.

          Tromer just nodded in response. He is now certain that the man he described is Farjan, his one, and only disciple. As for the people behind this, he has some inkling now.

          While Tromer is pondering. Orlie is looking at him with eyes glowing brightly. After coming back to his senses, Tromer saw Orlies's expectant eyes. He broke the silence and said, "Bring me to that alleyway and I will give you gold coins."

          "Yes, I will!" He answered excitedly. His eyes are glowing than ever before. His smile ran held a trace of happiness, gratefulness and tantalizing. He is living in the slums, obviously, he's very poor that eating for two times a day is very hard to achieve, even only once. Acquiring gold coins is not this easy so, he immediately grabbed the opportunity and doesn't let it pass by his hands.

          They walked again. Outside the slums near the border of the inner city, there's an alleyway leading a shortcut to the Dowter clan territory. But these alleyway is somewhat dark and only a few people pass by here.

          "Few people from the other lower class clan of the outer city are using this way to go to their place. The Molan clan, the Dayen clan, the Girum clan and the Dowter clan had their villages beyond this alleyway." Orlie explained.

          Tromer examined the area and what Orlie said is true, this alleyway is dark and also dirty. He walked through it and suddenly he bent his knees and looked at the ground. Examining this place, his brows connected and his eyes narrowed. He examined it again and his eyes narrowed accordingly. After that, he sensed an evil intent and using his spiritual sense he saw black motes of light floating above the ground. "I sense something... demonic," He thought.

          Looking at the man bent on his knees and frowning from time to time. The 'drunkard brothers' couldn't help but think of this man as mentally ill. He casually throws gold coins and observing like a detective yet you can't see the slightest wisdom on his face. They just look at each other knowing the other one's thought.

          Tromer instantly got an idea of who is behind this. "That damned church, I think they like another beating from me." He said coldly.

          He turned to the drunkard brothers and said, "Lead me to the church!"

          Doval asked him, "Do you want to go to the church now? The grand priest and some other priest are on the outer city near the Dowter clan territory, but the church is still open if you insist on going, only some sisters or brothers of the church may entertain you there."

          "Bring me to those demons!" Tromer replied.

          "I will purify them using my hands, and I will let their god see them in a miserable state." He thought. Although he only has a single hand, he still said that he would purify them with his hands. Maybe he's not used to being a single armed person.

          Doval stared at him with a look of great confusion as his brows twitched and his eyes narrowed. "Demons? Did he mean the Dowter clan?" He whispered to the man beside him with a farmer's hat.

          "I think it must be the case? Otherwise, who will he call demon if not the Dowter clan? They are the only ones rumored having a connection with a demon." The man replied.

          Doval just nodded but still, the confusion is lingering on his mind as displayed by his constantly narrowed eyes.

          "This way." Doval walked forward straight the alleyway leading to the low-class clan including the Dowters; he is followed by Tromer and the others.

          After walking for several minutes they arrived near the Dowter clan territory, and to his surprise, Tromer saw a huge crowd of people forming a circle as they surround the church delegates and the members of the Dowter clan.

          Some people have different weapons like sword, iron ax, shovel or anything that can be used to injure a person. Some others are just onlookers waiting here just to watch the scene because of their curiosity.

          "Interesting!" Tromer said with a grin on his face.

          Ahahha that's the latest chapter of my book, Ethereal Heavens: Genesis. I didn't expect it to be displayed after I hit paste because I updated the latest chapter yesterday ahahah

            21 days later
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