BUTTERFLIES (Arc 2&3; The Undefeatable Class 192)

Chapter 60: Old Ancestor?

  I was in an awesomazing, unreasonably large hall with all sorts of sculptures, artifacts and ancient stuffs I couldn't even name. And no, it wasn't dust-ridden and filled with cobwebs— it in fact looked as though it was recently set up by some wealthy clan head or something. In summary, it was a building out of the blues... haha, not so good in idioms.
  “Wow! The hell mehn!” exclaimed Blackie. “Now this is the main JAG Special! Just what is the purpose of this place?”
  Everyone had something to say, but none of these caught my attention, apart from a single thing that I had my eyes transfixed on. From the entrance where we stood, there were nine large sculptures about ten metres each in height, in the large golden hall.
  The sculpture most closest to me, at a stone throw towards the end of the wall by my left hand, was of a man. His eyes shone with insight. Not just “insight” as a word, but he seemed to have streaks of light — undisguised — around his eyes like my very Eye of Insight! Whoever carved this man must have been a grand sculptor, because it felt so real that I couldn't help but gasp and catch my breath.
  I was oblivious to the crowd while walking towards the ten-metre man. He looked extraordinarily familiar, but there seemed to be something stopping my memory from recognising him. It was so familiar I could almost swear to have met this person before. He was middle-aged and had a streak of gray on the middle of his beards.
  His robe seemed to be in motion, so to speak, like it was fluttering in the wind. His eyes were filled with wisdom. To me, this was the exact epitome of an expert or Grand Master who'd seen through the vicissitudes of life and still fought through it all. Yes, he had the aura of accomplishment about him. It was rejuvenating. I couldn't help but place my hand on it.
  Immediately I touched it, I seemed to have awoken the will of the sculpture! Time paused, and all the sounds from everyone around me froze. No, this wasn't Spatial lock. If this had a name, it was most definitely a time lock!
  A white will came out from the sculpture. Yes, it was indeed a will. After meeting with the likes of Teacher Kira and Old Ancestor, I came to understand that at a certain cultivation accomplishment, one could divide some life essence from themselves and store it for future generations.
  The man was head and shoulder taller than everyone in the hall, and by everyone, I mean Teacher Haggz. When he walked out of the sculpture, I'd taken two steps backwards.
  “At ease, child.” He walked closer so I could get a better glimpse of his burning eyes.
  “This... How can this be?” I was puzzled, jig-sawed, confused, baffled, riddled, in a conundrum, enigma, you just name it! Before me was...
  “Yes, yes... I just received information from the will that burns inside of your spiritual world. It seems you've met me already. I'm the fortieth generation Beast Tamer Asher, or rather, Old Ancestor.” His voice was calm. His eyes burnt with wisdom. His smile brought warmness to one's heart.
  “Old Ancestor!” I ran to hug him. Surprisingly, I simply staggered and knocked my head against the sculpture stone, passing right through Old Ancestor's body.
  “Haha, silly girl. You have to listen, I have little time left, as a will. Since you've awaken me, then it's time to carry out my job. Listen carefully.
  “The JAG Special is where you must develop yourself and become stronger! You must train hard and soar in your cultivation. Never take your cultivation lightly. The Demon tribe is more dangerous than you can imagine. From my estimation with your current time, in a few year's time, the Demon tribe should be gathering their second troops to infiltrate the Earth. Of course they'll have to get through the Gifted first. They're Gifted with the ability to become stronger by feeding on us cultivators. A child demon is born with the strength of a Cultivation Deciphering realm cultivator... so I don't have to explain how powerful your age mates would be!”
  I listened in shock, not interrupting at all. Someone born with that kind of strength? I'm actually 16 and I started cultivating this year. Just how strong would someone who started cultivating from infancy be?
  “Never forget to continue practicing your disguise skill. The will in your body can only awaken after you've broken from your Meditation realm. Normal cultivators should take four years, at least, to breakthrough, but not for your bloodline. It should take you two years, with diligence and hardwork.
  “And, yes! Try to go to the Acorn Forest as soon as you're strong enough and find the butterfly garden you saw in your spiritual world. Only you can find it. Remember I promised to teach you something when you become seventeen years old? There's a will there, waiting for you. The Acorn Forest Ethereal Hall was also created by me, so you'll obviously be unable to find it there. You must go alone, when the time is left, also never trust anyone but yourself! There's a clan I want you to avoid, they're called...”
  At this juncture, Old Ancestor's will began to flicker with sadness. Just when he lifted his head to mention the name of the clan, his will dissipated.
  I drew in a cold breath in anger plus a seasoning cube of frustration.
  ‘Just why did he have to hesitate before mentioning the name of the clan? Urgh! You're so unreliable! Now your time's already up!’
  It was then that I realised my hand had been placed on the sculpture. I hesitantly removed it, and stared at the sculpture in anger. Involuntarily, my Eye of Insight shone from my eyes as though in reverence to an old friend, just like how two soldiers would salute themselves when they crossed paths. Time had returned normal, and no one, not even Teacher Haggz, appeared to have noticed any anomaly. He just rested his back against one of the humongous pillar in the hall, letting the others enough time to muse over their surrounding.
  I began to ponder over what I'd been told. I had to become stronger. Life wasn't all about cruise, most things comes with a price. I had to breakthrough into Ethereal Opening realm within two years. It seems like the bottleneck of the Meditation realm cannot be rushed and easily overpowered. It had to go with months, and years of self-tempering. Old Ancestor had already made it clear that as a successor of his pure bloodline, I carried a responsibility on my shoulders to contend against the Demon tribe! Jeez... wasn't that the work of a boy?
  I also had to find the butterfly garden I'd seen in my spiritual world, in the Acorn Forest! How would I do that? Guess what — no clues! Wasn't he really something else? What's more? I wouldn't even get to ask him any of these questions until I'd already carried everything out and made a breakthrough in my cultivation! Just how frustrating could he get! He couldn't even speak quickly about the non-demonic clan I was supposed to be wary of! I'm tired of all these. I wanna go back home and keep playing with birds, chickens and insects...
  Listening to how unreasonable I was sounding, I pushed these thoughts behind my mind, just in time to hear Zhangkong's exclamation in surprise.
  “This place... Now I remember! I've read once that the ancestral images of the first generation Gifted Brothers were set up in a hidden location, known by many as Hall of the Gifted! It can't be that this is the Hall of Gifted, Teacher Haggz?!”
  Teacher Haggz stared on in indifference before forcefully saying, “Your clan lives up to its name to be able to teach its younger generation about these profound things.”
  Zhangkong was somewhat shaken. “You... You can tell what clan I'm from?”
  Teacher Haggz did not even consider answering the question as he gestured to the rest of the crowd and continued heading forward, towards the large door at the other end of the hall, waiting for us.
  I shot a curious glance at Old Ancestor's sculpture, once more, before my eyes advanced to the others. None of these gave me the same feeling as the first.
  The others all had rings on their fingers. They were most probably storage rings. I was so curious, right now, that I wanted to start asking my classmates to tell me all they knew about the nine people sculptures.
  Finally, the door we headed to was pushed open by Teacher Haggz in front. Without even batting an eyebrow, Teacher continued leading us all.