Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 991 - 990 - Final Lesson

"I thought the point was not to advertise what you were. I also did not realize you were so angry." Delenn was looking at Lind with displeasure but he could only take it.

He had not realized how used to getting his way he had been. He had been the leader of powerful forces for thousands of years and when faced with an issue as just a cultivator in the present, he had exerted his actual authority.

He also could not blame it on his instincts as a Vermillion Bird did not elicit that much from his draconic blood. Feng had caused more of a stir and he had no issues with her.

He had no excuse other than he wanted to expedite things and knew he could. He had to correct that.

He would risk becoming the very spoiled brat of a young master he had faced on his journey through the cultivation world. Still, the current circumstances also backed him into a corner so any advantage was welcome.

Sorcha and Belia seemed to suspect something as they had been very quiet on the way back despite having clear fun with Felicia.

He appreciated that but he could not shirk his responsibility to them.

He moved to his Forging area and began to do some work. Delenn looked on and smirked at him not commenting on her words but his face told her enough.

It was good he knew his failings.

The fires burned bright as metals were turned into bright liquid. Elemental Qi danced around him in a beautiful storm. Demonic and natural Qi danced gracefully as flickers of Celestial Qi wove it all together.

Only inside his own wards could he work like that but she never tired of looking at it.

She was his master but he had long surpassed her.

The clang of metal on metal was heard as he brought a hammer down on a piece of molten metal. It was almost liquid but not quite as he hammer it into a basic shape.

It was simply a long bar but she saw him raise up two more melting pots with truly liquified metal in them poured onto the bar.

She circled behind him as he fused the metals together into an alloy. She noticed one metal was dark iron, a demonic metal but the other one was veined copper. Both were peak grade 4 metals but the base bar was very different.

It was tungsten quartz. It was a mix of metal and crystal that made a surprisingly flexible base for a lot of tools. It was also one of the few fused materials that could be used across the grades.

She watched as he hammered in the liquified metals into the bar and realized what he was making.

The sigils flared as weaving began to occur and she smiled. He was just amazing.

As the day passed, 14 rings were created.

He made it look so easy but she knew the difficulty in making rings even as a weaver expert. The ripple in space barely registered but a shocking thought came to her.

Crafters could not make storage treasures in the current world! It required the ability to manipulate space and that was locked away!

Lind looked tired but smiled as he set the rings on a cooling rack.

She then felt her jaw drop as he erected powerful weavings even more onto the rings and then Forged a final layer of elements into them.

It was not supposed to be possible to use grade 7 normally on grade 4 material but he could. It just showed how far he had risen beyond her understanding.

Each ring glowed with emerald light before it vanished. True shock filled her as she understood what he had just done.

"You can make artifacts that will not be corrupted?" Lind shook his head and pointed at the rings.

"Look closer." She used her experienced eyes to look before she nearly stumbled.

"L–Law Grade spirit tools?!" It was only then she saw how exhausted he was.

"I can only do it for rings or bracelets, but yes. I seem inclined to spirit tools in the first place. Ever since I made Protean, it became much easier to make them. I have no idea why but I can guess my harmony is a large part of it. When I became a Law Grade expert, even if I only just started on it, incorporating spirits was a natural step for me." Delenn stared at him.

He was a monster! There was no other way to describe someone like him!

"I am going to recover but tell the girls we will be having a lesson tonight." He walked off and she felt the sadness in his gait. He did not like feeling powerless.

The experience would be a good one for him.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Sorcha and Belia were chatting with their sisters. It was how they had come to think of them. The short time together had been wonderful for them all. The 2 humans had grown up in a village where cultivating was both a necessity and a struggle.

They were lucky to reach the World Realm!

Now, they felt like the Heaven Realm was in reach but both girls were hiding sadness.

The trip to the Ra Suite had been fun for Belia to meet Felicia but Sorcha had felt the change in their Master.

He seemed irritated and cold to others when normally he was kind and generous. Further, he seemed even more angry when they were called back to leave for the Oberon Suite.

Now, Lady Delenn was telling them to gather for a meeting with him. The look on her face was so gentle and sad that both Sorcha and Belia understood something bad was coming.

They were afraid their time with their Master was coming to an end. Had they failed him? Were they not good enough?

A pressure washed over them all and made the demons and humans look to the entrance of the courtyard as Lind entered. He was in crimson robes and his eyes were in their natural state.

They all lined up for inspection as they prepared to receive instruction but he only looked them over in the silence. The twilight sky was deepening to full night when he finally spoke.

"This will be my final lesson to you all. You have all done amazingly well but my situation has drawn too much attention. Enemies are coming I will not be able to so easily thwart. I have found a safe haven for you all here in the Golden Vermillion Inn." His first words caused shock to appear on all their faces with tears on a few but all paused on his last words.

He smiled at them before 14 rings appeared in the air in front of him.

"These are yours to keep. They are not needed for tonight but for the future. Bind them to yourselves." Each floated out and Sorcha felt amazed! Storage rings were very rare! She had never seen one save on the kingdom's officials alone! Even the guards did not have them!

She imprinted it with her Qi and felt shocked at how perfectly it suited her!

It was too good to be an artifact left over from some sect or kingdom. Tears formed as she knew he made them for them!

"You have built your foundations but all of you need to understand something important. The world is corrupted but you are not." Emerald scales appeared on his flesh and all of them became shocked as he became a dragon in front of them.

He clearly controlled his size as he still fit in the room with them. He casually floated in the air but his large eyes locked onto them all.

[I am not able to keep protecting you from the battles coming for me. I want you all to understand you are my disciples. I never abandon them even as they graduate from my tutelage.]

His words made Sorcha feel a tightness in her chest. She saw the others were just as emotional. He gave them some time to collect themselves.

[Your final lesson from me is the most important in cultivation. You have already experienced the darkness of this world but there is more. While that is true, there is also the good. The world is not one or the other but both interacting and seeking a balance. Do not run from the darkness in yourselves. You have to face it and accept that it is a part of you.]

The room fell away from them suddenly and Sorcha found herself back in her village but that time no one came to save her. She felt the horror as her flesh was ripped open again and again.

Rage filled her with the unfairness of the world and wanted revenge.

Her Soul Cores cracked as she pulled Qi far beyond her limits and the administrator and others began to burn! Her rage exploded outward. She killed them all and relished in it even as she died!

She snapped open her eyes covered in sweat and looked around the room. She saw all the demons were crying or enraged but Belia was the only one fine. She was just staring blankly ahead before she looked at Sorcha.

She realized she was not fine at that moment.

[The world is not kind. You have all just lived through the darkness in your own hearts. I created nothing, only gave a chance for you to experience what has resided in your minds for all this time. We will now discuss it individually or as a group as you wish.]

Lind returned to his human form and looked at all of them kindly. The rest of the night was spent as they learned about heart demons. It was truly the most important aspect of cultivation as it posed the greatest threat throughout their journey.

As a final lesson, it was indeed appropriate for a master to impart the wisdom of the battle to come in their tribulations. Lind had vast experience with them personally and Qing had taught him much in preparing others.

The night passed and the girls sometimes delayed moving on as they knew they would not see Lind after that moment. He indulged them a bit but the night came to end no matter how much they wanted to delay it.

The dawn came and the Oberon Suite was empty once more.