Ryu first opened up the enchanted restrictions around this black structure. The enchantments were not simple, it was a Brown Tier enchantment!

The Seven Forgotten Professions are ranked by tiers as follows: Black, Brown, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Red and so on. You usually advance to the next tier after every fifty levels in cultivation or else the strain on your body would be too great. Since Ryu is level 60 at the moment, he can safely use Brown Tier enchantments as well. Ryu was taught directly by an accomplished Enchanter of the Orange Tier who was in the Deity level in the past. In theory he could use higher tiers of enchantment at the risk of harming his body.

“This is strange, the founder of the Infernal Fist School was supposed to have reached level 40 only, how did he accomplish such a feat?” Ryu asked himself silently.

The black rectangular room was a solid material that was extremely durable, comparable to rank 8 or 9 items by Ryu’s estimate. He could try to break in with brute force but that might damage whatever is inside. Thankfully he didn’t have to. Putting his hands on the black material, a circle of light appeared and a small opening was formed.

“Whoa.” Was all his grandparents could say. They could tell that this black material was not ordinary but somehow their grandson just parted it as if it were water. Ryu actually used another of the Seven Forgotten Professions, True Alchemy, to transmute the black material. This was taught to him directly by Prince Na'Vi, transmutation allows him create an objects from existing materials, manipulate them or deconstruct them.

The trio entered into the room slowly. Once they were inside, there was nothing but two caskets out in the open. The caskets looked like they were made of white marble but well decorated, there were gorgeous jewelries and exquisite weapons around it. Seo-Yon and Sheng were protected by Ryu’s barrier so they couldn’t sense it but from one casket an overbearing stream of fire Qi was being emitted while the other had a freezing cold Qi surrounding it.

“Who dares disturb the tomb of the Infernal Emperor and the Diamond Empress?” A petrifying screech rang out from all directions. The air around them trembled and attempted to injury them, even Ryu’s barrier which was visible since it was made of dense Qi deformed a bit.

“Sorry for the disturbance. Junior is here to pay respects to the founder of the Infernal Fist School.” Ryu stood his ground and shouted back. The aggressive Qi that was directed at them was instantly shattered by Ryu’s profound inner strength.

“What impudence! Don’t you know you are in the presence of the great and mighty Sha-Hi-Ra? ” A raging roar followed by a sea of flames flooded around them. Sheng and Seo-Yon couldn’t help but be terrified. These flames looked as if they were alive and one could make out what appears to be skulls in them. The flames also seemed to be burning indefinitely, draining the shield Ryu had erected in the process.

“This tomb is meant for his descendants, how dare a mere King Domain kid break in here?” Sha-Hi-Ra said tauntingly. He seemed to be proud of his actions and disregarded the values of their lives.

The raging fire attacking Ryu’s barrier suddenly swirled around into a small ball of flames and floated around Ryu. Ryu was well versed in all elements, this wasn’t too hard for him to accomplish. He had pinpointed the source of the voice and with a wave of his hand, a crimson orange spark flew from one of the caskets and into Ryu’s hand. This was the first time that Ryu had seen the raw gaseous essence formed by someone in the Emperor Domain.

“You… what are you doing, let me go!” The orange spark or more accurately, Sha-Hi-Ra, shouted with wrath.

“Ryu… what is that thing?” His grandpa asked after regaining his wits.

“It’s an essence… essences are formed once one reaches the Emperor Domain.” Ryu explained as he examined it.

“Emperor Domain?” Seo-Yon exclaimed. Since she is from a small town, Heaven Domain experts are already legendary. Emperor Domain are things from myths to her.

“How dare a lowly commoner touch me? Let me go now!” The orange spark hollowed as it tried to muster more strength but slowly realizing that he couldn’t. Ryu had already nullified the connection between the orange spark and its surrounding. Sha-Hi-Ra was previously using the Qi around the room to attack them, right now he is completely at Ryu’s mercy.

“Wow, are you a salamander?” Ryu ignored its threats as he lifted the spark up and squinted at it with one eye. He had read about such creatures. With his second vision, he can see the world outlined in Qi. Right now he sees a silhouette of a dark reptile with fiery aura inside.

“Who are you… how did you know?” Sha-Hi-Ra suddenly changed his tone and asked seriously.

“I’m just a student from the Infernal Fist School.” Ryu replied politely without answering the second question.

Sha-Hi-Ra seems to be on guard now after its identity had been revealed. “I suppose you are qualified to meet him then… This place was supposed to be accessible to his direct descendants after they have reached an acceptable level though…EXOE YOU FOOL, WAKE UP!”

The last sentence was unexpectedly loud and caused ringing in all of their ears. Thankfully there was no Qi behind the scream or internal injuries would have followed.

Nothing happened for a while but suddenly the casket radiating fire Qi smoldered with conflagrations and the lid opened. A faint red spark the size of an apple flew out. The red spark flew out slowly and seemed to be disoriented at first but finally it spoke with a brash and echoing voice.

“Who are you? You don’t seem to carry my bloodline.”

“Apologizes. I’m the step son of your descendant. I noticed that the corpse inside the school seemed to be fake and a trace of Qi from the necklace on the corpse led me here.” Ryu explained.

“Seo-Yon pays respects to ancestor.” Seo-Yon said as she kneeled down and lowered her head to the ground.

“Well that’s disappointing… my descendant is not even in the Master Domain.” The masculine voice said cheekily. If one had to speculate based on his voice alone, one would guess that the founder was a very confident extrovert.

Seo-Yon’s face could only glow bright red with shame. If Ryu did not help her out with her cultivation, her level would be much lower.

“I suppose its fate. I only have a few centuries left remaining judging by my life force.” The founder’s essence spoke. “You are already at the King Domain for someone so young... I envy you.”

A long silence came as the founder seemed to be in deep thoughts. Suddenly Sha-Hi-Ra’s voice rang out. “Aren’t you going to rescue me? This kid even knows my true identity, suspicious I tell you! Are you thinking of entrusting him with your last will?”

“What choice do I have? Could you please let that lizard go?” The founder said with a laugh. Ryu let the orange spark go and a stream of verbal abuses rained out of the essence at the founder but he seemed to pay him no mind. After Sha-Hi-Ra finally ran out of things to say, the two essences fused into one. Even Ryu was surprised at this and waited for an explanation.

“Before we discuss anything else, allow me to tell you my past.” The founder said with a sigh. All three of them nodded. Ryu thought he knew what was coming, essences can show visions of their past. He assumed the founder would let them view his past in person.

However, contrary to Ryu’s expectation the founder started narrating. “I originally grew up in this town thousands of years ago. I was nothing more than a petty thief that shoplifted just to get by. A kind but eccentric blacksmith found me and taught me the basics of cultivation and blacksmithing. He also helped me awaken the special abilities from my bloodline. My bloodline… or should I say our bloodline allows us to dominate fire and devour it as we wish.”

Seo-Yon’s eyes widened and curiosity was written all over her face. She had never heard of such abilities from her ancestors, did that mean the ability was lost long ago?

“Later a series of unfortunate events happened and I was forced to flee this town with my master. We became nomads, selling random crafted items to get by. Eventually we came to a metropolis in the Xu Province. It was here that my master revealed my past to me. My master was my father’s best friend from the top sect in the Feng Province, the Heavenly Flames Sect. Due to mutiny from the elders and my uncle, the sect leader was killed and my father and master fled to the Lin Province to start new lives. This was where my father met my mother and gave birth to me. However, his past caught up to him and they were forced to flee separately. Somehow I ended up in this town.”

Exoe paused to let his words sink in. The trio waited eagerly for him continue. Ryu felt an abnormal feeling though, it seems as if the founder’s essence is growing darker by the second from within.

“I parted with my master and made allies and enemies along the way. By chance I was captured by a supreme expert that took me to a legendary dungeon. He used me to consume a fiery obstacle that helped me break into the Heaven Domain. Not only that, another expert that happened to be his nemesis showed up and the two mortally wounded each other. I was able to learn a few rare martial skills from them. Later I traveled to the Wudang Sect hoping to become a disciple but due to a few disagreements, I left.” Exoe paused again but this time he seemed to be reminiscing the past. Since he was an essence, no one could tell what his expression was except Ryu since he can see through the essence.

“There are many other events that happened but I won’t bore you all with the details... When my master was murdered by the same people from the Heavenly Flames Sect that killed my parents, I managed to take revenge on the ones responsible and free my aunt and her son that were prisoners there. It was a shame that I couldn’t bring down that bullshit of a sect. Thinking about it just makes my blood boil.” His voice became harsh and baleful, sending a chill down their spines. “I managed to learn that my mother was rescued by people of the Frozen Continent. I made a dreadful voyage there and managed to see her during her last moments. It was there that I met Yuni… the person in the other casket. She was the protégé of a second rate sect there. The Frozen Continent’s standard is higher than the Heaven Continent’s so even a second rate sect had Emperor Domain leaders. Yuni wanted to leave for the Heaven Continent with me but leaving a sect is the same as betraying it, we were hunted down. In the end after a long showdown, we managed to break into the Emperor Domain and won us our freedom.”

Ryu’s grandparents gasped loudly. This was beyond their wildest dreams. Resilient Gaia Sect is one of the top five sects in the Lin Province where they reside but its leader is only in the upper King Domain. Also traveling to another continent is extremely dangerous, there’s no way an ordinary mortal could cross continents in their whole lifetime. Ryu listened intently and his face showed the same surprise as his grandparents but something else was bothering him. There was a deep hatred and killing intent hidden within the founder’s essence. Although his essence is crimson red, deep inside it is pitch black. Ryu only noticed it when the founder mentioned parts of his story that riled him up.

“After we came back to the Heaven Continent, we decided to travel the land and fight for justice. Bandits, corrupted officials, dishonorable small sects, or evil clans were all taken down by us. Once we reached peak Emperor Domain together Yuni and I planned to take down the Heavenly Flames Sect. However unexpectedly our last adversary proved to be our downfall. The pretentious Hundred Spears General of the Lin Empire was committing genocide just to do experimentation on innocent mortals. We infiltrated into the capital for the first time to confront him but we underestimated him, I lost my body and fled with my essence. Yuni was also gravely injured. We retreated back here where my aunt was and helped them established this school. Yuni then sealed us below it waiting for a descendant strong enough to help us out.”

Sheng and Seo-Yon were so captivated by the story that they didn’t even realize that the founder had stopped talking until a few minutes afterwards. The foreign places, the earth shattering fights, the difficult path of cultivation, the painful losses, the evilness in the world, and his might had left them stunned.

Ryu’s expression remained neutral. Ryu having lived only thirteen years to his recollection, not counting his body’s real age, was not an ordinary boy. He had skyrocketed into the King Domain within a few years and had the most talent and potential than anyone else in the world. He had met extraordinary beings that would scare Exoe enough to wet his pants so naturally the scenes described to him were less shocking. What bothered him now was the uneasiness he felt from the founder. Although he is doing a great job at masking it, he can’t hide his blood lust, hatred, ambition, and possible deceit from Ryu. Ryu can literally see through his essence and see how dark and twisted his essence really is after he started narrating.

“My hope and last will was that one descendant of mine could reach at least Heaven Domain and inherit my possessions and real skills in order to avenge us. The Heavenly Flames Sect and the Hundred Spears General must be wiped off the face of this earth!” Exoe spoke with passion.

Ryu instantly responded and said, “Although I am not related to you by blood but I’ll do my best to help you out.”

“Ryu maybe you’ll see that general in the Yasha Province!” Seo-Yon said as she recalled that Ryu’s main body is heading towards the sword competition hosted at the Thousand Swords Graveyard where all major powers are gathering.

“Why would a Lin Empire general be at the Yasha Province? Are we at war?” Exoe asked curiously.

“No we are not but the greatest swordsman on the continent apparently crafted some legendary sword that every province is contending for. I don’t know who the general is but he might be there.” Seo-Yon explained.

“This must be a fate! Perhaps… I can be revived!” Exoe shouted suddenly with excitement. Even his essence that looks like a red spark quivered enthusiastically.