Zilan spent an entire day in agony and during this time strange things were happening to him. For example he started to uncontrollably sweat whenever the pain grew unbearable. However, little did he know that this was actually the automatic defense mechanism of the [Survival of the Rain Dragon] ability.
The only difference was that instead of sweat, the Rain Dragon King would secrete a liquid that would cover it up completely.
In Zilan’s case, his body was covered entirely in sweat and occasionally parts of him would become invisible and in some instances his whole body would completely vanish.
It did not stop there though.
As the pain grew Zilan’s body suddenly reacted in a strange way causing his body temperature to increase so much so that his sweat was evaporating.
Surprisingly, this hot vapor that was now in the air started creating illusionary images of different scenery and environment.
It truly is astonishing how lucky Zilan is, as even in times of great suffering, he is still able to break through and advance one of his trump cards.
Unfortunately though, his body couldn’t keep up with the antics of his life saving technique in its weakened state and so he fell unconscious.
………..
The next day.
Zilan’s eyes slowly opened only to find that he was no longer in the cottage at the sacred ground. In fact, this place bore no resemblance to the tranquil, and refreshing atmosphere of the sacred land at all.
Before him was a lavishly decorated room, the likes of which Zilan had never seen before. Not even the Governor’s mansion in Morning Dew city could compare.
There were beautiful carpets, exquisite furniture including the large, comfortable bed he was currently resting on however, the rooms most striking feature was undoubtedly its sheer size, which was at least the size of the entire Dual winged sparrow.
Still sore all over his body, Zilan struggled to get on his feet but instead of being down he was actually quite excited.
“In just one days’ time, my injuries are all virtually healed. The recuperative abilities of my body are greater than I expected.”
His only regret was that for him to attain this knowledge, he needed to go through excruciating pain.
Just as he was about to make his way towards one of the doors he thought to be the exit, a different door in the opposite direction suddenly opened and in came Kifo, with an entourage of much older, dignified looking individuals following closely behind him.
“Good, he’s awake! Head Elder Mwizi will be pleased.” said one of the five Elders walking behind Kifo.
Zilan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the smiling expressions on the faces of the old men walking towards him. Just from that he could tell that these people were no good, after all he had seen that kind of grin many times before in the past.
Therefore he decided to find out exactly what was going on.
He took two steps forward and then deliberately tripped himself. Startled, Kifo lunged forward and grabbed hold of Zilan.
A light smile bloomed on Zilan’s face as he sent his consciousness into Kifo who immediately felt like water had just splashed on him and was steadily flowing down his body.
“A distant Descendant of one of the five Dark Feline Lords, cultivation is currently at a standstill at 91st level, possesses the Divine Abilities [Feline Perception] as well as [Dark Fortress] however subjects bloodline appears to be rejecting the [Dark Fortress]. Possible reasons include, extremely thin bloodline, a blood seal and unworthiness.
Analysis of brain…….”
In that short amount of time between Zilan falling down, Kifo catching him and then helping him up, Zilan was able to get some of the information he needed. Due to mental blocks that he couldn’t get around because of his lack of power and current inability to reveal that he can open the scorched gates, Zilan couldn’t get any more information from probing around Kifo’s mind.
Which was too bad because the biggest shock Zilan had received was that this fellow actually had not one but two Divine abilities, which in this world was even rarer than the existence of a Beast with an Ancient Emperor bloodline.
“Are you alright?” asked Kifo as he supported Zilan to stand up.
“I’m fine.” Zilan stared into Kifo’s eyes with a curiosity he’d never thought he’d possess towards the affairs of another person of similar age. After all, he was a person who’d seen, comprehended and adjusted one of the Universe’s principles and made an entirely new way of cultivation.
“Why are you here?” he already knew the answer to that question as he had already delved into parts of Kifo’s mind however, staying quiet and just following along didn’t seem right.
“The Head Elder would like to see you.”
“Oh! Was I not supposed to meet with your father, the Clan leader?” coughed Zilan as he straightened himself out and removed his arm from Kifo’s clutches.
“Father isn’t around, thus the matter of what should be done about the incidents that have taken place over the last few days will be addressed by the Head Elder Mwizi as well as the other esteemed Elders.”
“Can I not rest?” smiled Zilan.
The faces of the Elders in the room immediately turned sour.
“Ah! It won’t take long, young Master will be back in bed very soon.” said one of the Elders as he forced a smile.
Zilan very nearly burst out laughing after hearing that but he somehow managed to hold it in.
“These people look at me and think of all the treasure they can exploit out of the ‘son of a Dragon’. They can’t even hide their own emotions.” sneered Zilan.
“If it won’t take long then I suppose I can go along.” He looked towards Kifo and noticed the threatening glare he was giving the Elders who were all smiles. Unfortunately, none of the old men bothered giving any attention to Kifo, who they only brought along because this was the fastest way to get Zilan to the negotiation table.
…………
In order to annoy them even more, Zilan reduced his walking speed to a snail’s pace as he followed behind the group. The amusing thing was the fact that the fake smiles of understanding on the Elder’s faces never faded.
Half an hour later, on a trip that required less than ten on normal occasions, the group finally arrived at their destination.
One of the Elders moved forward and pressed against the large pitch black door before mumbling a few words.
A few seconds after he had moved away from the door, it suddenly vanished and a large hall came into site.
It resembled a theatre with the hundreds of empty seats, raised platform where three thrones could be seen, and otherworldly lighting that came from an unknown source.
One by one the Elders went inside and naturally Zilan was the last one to enter however, something peculiar happened the instant he walked in.
His mind abruptly went completely blank, to the point that he could not see, hear, smell or feel anything, there was only infinite blackness. His body began swaying and just as he was about to fall over an explosion occurred in his mind.
It blasted away the darkness in his mind and cleared away all of his unnecessary thoughts.
The only problem was Zilan was no longer inside his body, he had somehow become a transparent entity with no physical body.
“What’s going on?”
