The Cycle of Resentment

Chapter 10 – Confronting One’s Own Mother

The sovereign elder naturally had proof, he wouldn’t make such a ridiculous claim without any. He reached for a storage pouch and took out a letter. This was the same one Wu Zetian had given him – the one which contained both Wu Mei’s message and aura.

“Yes, I do. Please examine this letter.” The sovereign elder replied.

Tiangong had once again used his ‘Ethereal Eyes’, there was still no sign of him lying, nor was there any distress. This sovereign elder firmly believed that Wu Mei, Tiangong’s own mother had poisoned both him and his father.

Closely examining the letter, Tiangong had taken note of one small detail. It was a small red stamp with the figure of a lion at the back of the letter, one which only the clan chief would have access to. And this clearly didn’t look plagiarised.

Wu Mei’s aura was also clearly being emitted from this letter. There was no denying this was written by her.

However, the contents of the letter were what shocked him the most.

Why would his mother want the downfall of her own family? What gain would it bring her?

Unanswered questions were constantly spinning around Tiangong’s head.

“This can’t be... “ Tiangong could not accept the evidence in front of his eyes, but he had no other choice.

However, it actually all made sense. His mother’s reaction when he had last seen her seemed very forced, like she really didn’t care about the well-being of Wu Jing, and was just feigning concern. Tiangong had noticed this on the day but did not take it to heart, or even question it. Not to mention his mother disappearance from time to time, in fact, Tiangong had spent less time without her than with during the time he was still an infant.

He knew all this, and felt hesitant to confront her, however at this point it was something he must do. Without further thoughts Tiangong put the letter away into the bosom pocket of his robe and proceeded to travelling back towards his house, returning after a week outside.

It would not take long for him to reach. His bloodline strengthening didn’t only help him awaken another innate ability, it also effectively let him reach the brink of the peak Cosmic realm. Tiangong was already on the verge of a breakthrough, not having used the cultivation resources provided by those who attempted to flatter him.

When Tiangong had arrived, the usual welcoming aura had completely disappeared leaving behind one of utter dread. It was unbeknownst to Tiangong why it now felt the way it did, nothing had changed in terms of the exterior of the house.

“What is this strange feeling? Something is wrong here...” Tiangong muttered to himself, whilst cautiously walking inside.

As expected, the interior was also untouched, however, there was one significant thing entity missing. Wu Mei had left, leaving no traces of her existence, or the direction she fled in.

This strangely brought Tiangong some relief, he did not want to confront his mother nor did he want to punish her for what she did - no matter what the reason may be. Him being able to avoid all of this, was actually a blessing in his opinion.

“She’s not here...” The sovereign elder was following Tiangong, however, he was much too fast, so he had only caught up now.

“Indeed, she isn’t. My mother hasn’t left any traces either, it would be incredibly hard to find her, so just drop this matter for now. I will investigate this matter myself. You can free Wu Zetian, she has done wrong, however, it seems she was manipulated. Her father’s death was enough of a punishment.” Tiangong spoke with a tone throng with domination.

The sovereign elder had no reason to not comply with his wishes, and even if he did, he would most definitely not express them. After bowing towards Tiangong, he swiftly left.

Tiangong didn’t dilly dally, he was already on the verge of a breakthrough. He might as well do it now before going to the Xin Empire. With Tiangong’s past memories he knew all too well that you could never be too careful, in the world of cultivation.

“Time to breakthrough!”

With a flick of a sleeve, Tiangong had started his attempt at a breakthrough. Cultivating the ‘Divine Flow’ technique circulating natural energies in the surroundings. This was a beautiful process, thick strands of radiating natural energies were all traveling to one area of Tiangong’s body – his Dantian.

A few minutes and changes were clearly noticeable, Tiangong had entered a state of absolute concentration. One of which cultivators could only dream of experiencing, however for him this would be a normal experience.

Tiangong was the might Qilin in his past life, his attainments in his past life were like heaven and earth compared to his current cultivation. The once thick natural energies were now even thicker and vibrant. If they were running towards Tiangong before, now they were galloping.

This lasted for only slightly under an hour before the flow of natural energies had calmed down and eventually stopped entirely. The inside of Tiangong’s body was experiencing a slight change.

His Dantian had doubled in size, and the energies inside were ten folds purer and potent. Tiangong’s skin had grown another bulky outer layer protecting both his bones and organs in addition to making his body much more robust and sturdier - a breakthrough, he had reached rank 1 Multiverse in little to no time at all.

He was already able to match the strength of a rank 5 Multiverse cultivator, now that he had broken through it would surely be much more.

However, he was not done there, he still had the resources given to him by his clanmates. Even though it wouldn’t be enough to help him breakthrough again it would be more than enough to stabilise his cultivation.

He had spent the next ten minutes consuming the natural energies in the cultivation resources before eventually finishing.

There was only one thing left for Tiangong to do, which was naturally traveling to the Xin Empire.

The sovereign elders had actually walked in whilst Tiangong was breaking through to deliver the map he had asked for, however upon realising they left it in his living room before leaving. But that was not all, the sovereign elders had also prepared a grand carriage for him – Tiangong was ready to set off immediately if he wanted to, and frankly, he was in a rush.

Without any further delays, Tiangong had not wasted time and done so. He had set off on his journey towards the Xin Empire.

What was oblivious to Tiangong, was when he left his home, ripples had spread across it covering its entirety and the physique of a woman started fading into existence. One which would make any man lustful. This was Tiangong’s mother, she had appeared almost out of nowhere just as fast as she had disappeared.

“It seems like I had misjudged Tiangong. He is much more than a genius in the Wu clan; he can even make an impact in the Xin Empire.”

Tiangong’s mother was much more than just his mother, much more than the husband of the clan chief. She was infamous around the Xin Empire. Her status far superior to any entity in the Wu Clan.

She could kill the current Tiangong with just a stare, however, she didn’t. What was going through her mind was unknown to all, but she was most definitely scheming something.

The cruel sun hammered down, it's one malignant eye unblinking, and the sky was its associate with not even an inch of cloud to soften the harsh rays. Three days had passed and Tiangong had seen a Tavern insight, it was in the middle of a desert, however from the distance laughter was extremely audible.

Tiangong could do with a drink before continuing his journey.

The Tavern’s exterior was made completely of oak. The interior was dimly lit, the bar had a polished oak countertop, round tables with stools, the scent of cigarette smoke was present all across the room.

This was Tiangong’s first time in a Tavern, however, he already felt a sense of comfort. He walked towards the front, all the way to the bar and made his order.

“Can I get a variety of your most flavourful dishes?”

“Are you sure you can afford that kiddo?” The man at the bar had replied whilst cackling at him. He was quite short, almost dwarfish, but he was also very muscular. If one saw him, they could only burst out laughing. It was truly a bad mix. Luckily Tiangong had a high tolerance.

Tiangong was only 16, naturally most people his age wouldn’t be able to afford this Tavern’s most delicate dishes. He was no longer in the Tiantang Kingdom, he was now in the Xin Empire.

“Did your dog ears not hear my order?” Tiangong scoffed at the man at the bar whilst taking something out of his storage pouch. It was a treasure he had taken from the first floor of the Wu clan’s ‘Treasury Tower’. This was only one among a handful.

The expression of the man at the bar instantly changed, however, it was not only his. The tavern was previously incomparably loud, but now it was completely silent. Everyone was now eyeballing Tiangong.

“Little friend please forgive me; I’ll start preparing it now.” He had completely disregarded being insulted earlier and started preparing his order.

Tiangong had sat down, still being ogled by the crowd. That treasure was simply too priceless to people of their kind.