Chapter 783 The World They Left Behind
“Sorry about that. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Dexter asked, looking at Elliot.
Elliot stared at him in shock. “Aren’t you... Dexter Feng?”
“And you are?”
“I served as the alchemy attendant to the seventh disciple of the Pill Pavilion’s Fourth Elder. Later, I became an officer in the Enforcement Hall.”
Dexter fell silent.
“Right. Well, good to see you.”
He clearly had no memory of the man.
“Kael, I can’t believe the old mine at Phoenix Reach has been leveled after all these years.”
Rook stood atop a gently sloping hill, holding a broken shard of spirit stone he had picked up from the ground.
Kael had no answer. He walked over and swept the area with his Spiritual Sense.
The hill was probably all that remained of the old mine. He had no idea what had destroyed it. The earth might have shifted, or perhaps a battle between cultivators had flattened the entire spirit-stone mountain.
Rook suddenly shot into the distance. He returned a short while later, thoroughly dejected.
“Damn it. The entire ancient forest is gone. There’s nothing but grassland now.”
He had returned hoping to relive the happier days of his youth, only to find almost nothing left.
“Let’s head back to the Star River Sect at a normal pace,” Kael said with a sigh. “We might still recognize some of the terrain along the way.”
“Let’s go.” Rook’s curiosity quickly returned.
Phoenix Reach was less than fifteen hundred miles from the Star River Sect. Kael could have crossed that distance almost instantly, but he deliberately flew at the speed of a Core Formation cultivator, mostly for the sake of the ordinary Star River Sect disciples trailing behind them.
“Father, is this where you were born?” a young man asked Dexter.
“Born? No, this is where your father made his name. Back then, I was drifting from place to place with some third-rate sect when I met my benefactor, Kael, in the Venomwood. From that moment on, my cultivation soared, and I even traveled to other galaxies. If none of that had happened, I never would’ve met your mother—a cultivator from the Silver Wolf Race—and you never would’ve been born. ”
“Father, could you please stop talking like that? I have some dignity too.”
The young man flushed with embarrassment.
“Mother, did you once live here?” Marius asked Harper.
“I did.”
Standing on her flying sword, Harper glanced at Kael with a contented smile.
“Was I born here, or is this where you met Father?”
“You’re too young to be asking so many questions.” Harper affectionately ruffled his hair.
“Mom, this place feels strangely familiar,” Tanya said, holding Aria’s hand as they rode the flying sword. “Almost as if I’ve been here before.”
Aria laughed softly. “How old are you again?”
Her gaze was filled with maternal affection.
...
“Son, back in those days, your father fought his way through one danger after another,” Rook declared.
“Kael and I escorted Aria and the others to Phoenix Reach, and bandits tried to rob us more than once along the way. Fortunately, your father was both blessed and capable. We reached Phoenix Reach in the end, and those bandits who tried to stop us were all— Wait. Are you even listening to me?”
“Dad, you’re never serious. I wanted the kind of father who looks stern and commands respect without saying a word, but you’re more like a complete...”
Rook’s son thought better of finishing the insult.
Kael listened to the steady murmur of conversation around him, a relaxed smile curving his lips.
This was the life he truly wanted—family and friends at his side, no worries weighing on them, and no one powerful enough to oppress them.
Then he sensed someone watching his back.
Kael glanced over his shoulder and found Seraphyne looking at him.
Kael suddenly remembered that he had meant to marry her on Skyfire Planet.
No matter. They could hold the wedding after they returned to the Star River Sect.
As they traveled, they found that mountains and valleys had shifted, forests had become open plains, and many rivers had vanished entirely. One particular valley, however, had changed very little.
Kael had once killed a bandit chief there, though he could no longer remember the man’s name.
Before long, the Star River Sect appeared on the horizon.
Strangely, a fence now enclosed the old sect grounds. A grander, newly constructed Star River Sect stood several miles away.
“Elliot, what happened?” Kael asked. “Why was the old sect abandoned?”
“There was a problem with the mountain itself. If we’d stayed there, a landslide might have injured some of the servant disciples.”
“I see. Then we’ll stay on the old grounds tonight.”
Kael opened the gate and entered first.
Over the following days, he did not cultivate. Instead, he accompanied his family and friends as they revisited every familiar corner of the old Star River Sect.
...
One day, Kael, Rook, Aria, Harper, Marius, and Tanya strolled down one of the sect’s shaded paths.
“I never expected Tanya’s talent for formations to be so much greater than mine was at her age,” Aria said. She crouched and kissed Tanya on the cheek.
Excitement welled within Kael. It seemed his daughter had inherited the very talent he lacked.
“Marius is doing well too,” Harper said. “He has considerable talent for talisman crafting. Unfortunately, there aren’t any truly accomplished talisman sects anywhere on our homeworld. Otherwise, we could send him somewhere for proper training.”
“Talisman crafting?”
Kael’s thoughts turned to Sunlance Academy.
Sunlance Academy was renowned for its talisman arts. Once he reached the Eternal Realm, he could raid the academy and bring back some of its talisman-crafting manuals for his son.
“We’re here,” Rook said, pointing ahead.
Today was the Star River Sect’s monthly recruitment day, when children around ten years old had their spirit roots tested. Tens of thousands of children from across the Heavenfall Continent had gathered around the testing monolith ahead.
They waited in orderly lines, stepping forward one at a time to press a hand against the stone.
Some were children of powerful cultivator clans. Others came from the families of small merchants or government officials, while many were the sons and daughters of ordinary farmers.
The Star River Sect cared nothing for background. Everyone who came had a chance to earn a place within its ranks.
“Ethan Li—no spirit root,” an elder announced after examining the monolith’s response.
The boy immediately lowered his head and trudged away. His family led him toward a waiting carriage.
“Useless!” his father scolded. “You’ve always seemed so clever. How can you not have a spirit root?”
The man appeared to be a wealthy landowner.
“Intelligence and spirit-root aptitude aren’t necessarily connected,” Kael offered. “There’s no need to be too disappointed. Your son may have a gift for business instead.”
The landowner gave him a disgusted look and flicked his sleeve dismissively.
“Where did this country bumpkin come from? Get away from me. Don’t stand so close.”