“Yes, Calron… you have the blood of the beasts within you!”
*thump*
*thump* *thump*
“But my parents were both human! Teacher, how is this possible?”
Calron asked in a shaky voice, as he felt his entire world crashing down.
Since childhood, he had grown up thinking that he was a human, and now it appeared that everything he had thought about himself had been a complete lie. If he truly was a beast, then would that not also make him the enemy of humanity?
Thoughts like these frantically raced through Calron’s mind.
“I was planning to tell this to you once you were ready to break into the Vajra stage, but it seems like you will not leave me alone unless I explain right now.”
The Voice stated in an exasperated tone, as it glided in front of its student.
“You are not entirely a beast, Calron, at least not at this moment. The beast bloodline within your family has been dormant for many centuries, and if it was not for the Azure Lightning, then you probably would have lived your whole life as a human.”
The Voice said gently.
“The Azure Lightning… “
Calron muttered under his breath as he lightly touched his chest.
“I’m not sure why or how the beast bloodline died within your family, but your very first ancestor was definitely a beast, and furthermore, he was a primordial beast with the lightning attribute!”
The Voice continued after shooting a quick glance towards its student to make he was still listening.
Meanwhile, Calron remained seated on the ground with a blank look on his face. If he had not been so distracted by the current revelation, then his curiosity would have been piqued as to how the Voice even knew about his family’s ancestry.
“When you inherited the Azure Lightning, it somehow started to reawaken the dormant beast cells within your body. I only started to realize that your beast heritage was slowly emerging when I saw the strange behavior of the little beasts around you. Calron, are you listening?… CALRON!”
Hearing the Voice’s abrupt yell, Calron instantly burst out of his daze.
Taking several deep breaths to regain his composure, Calron softly placed his hands on the ground to steady himself.
“Teacher… does that mean that in the near future I will turn into a beast?”
Calron asked quietly in a whisper.
“I don’t know, kid… Your family’s beast bloodline has been dormant for centuries, and your human blood has diluted it even further. I am not sure what the future holds for you, but you are who you believe yourself to be. Whether it be a beast or a human, your soul will remain the same, and besides, I still think of you as that snively little kid I met five years ago!”
The Voice teased, as it swiftly exploded into a burst of smoke and darted towards its student.
“Hey! That’s a low blow! At least I am not an ugly, old fart like you!”
Calron retorted as he quickly swept away the dark smoke from his face.
“You arrogant little brat! Here, take this!”
The Voice shouted, as it suddenly flew into Calron’s nostrils.
*cough* *cough*
“Hahaha, alright, alright, I give up!”
Calron surrendered immediately as his Teacher began tickling his insides.
After quieting down, the Voice slowly turned towards the young boy.
“Just focus on your training, Calron. The future is still unknown, and the only thing that matters is whether or not you are strong enough to seek what you desire. Take some rest for today, and we will continue again tomorrow.”
The Voice said softly, while it prepared to return back into Calron’s body.
“Teacher, why did you say before that you were only planning to tell me my beast heritage when I was ready to break into the Vajra stage?”
Calron curiously inquired just as his Teacher was about to leave.
“Dammit, I thought we were done with this! Sigh… Calron, have you ever seen a lightning beast in your life?”
The Voice asked in a overly calm tone.
“Well, the golden jaguar cub is the only beast I’ve ever met with a lightning attribute.”
Calron replied after thinking about it for a few seconds.
“Unlike human cultivators, some lightning beasts are able to absorb bolts of lightning from nature and use it to advance to the higher stages. Do you know how this is possible? It is because the majority of the essence within a beast is concentrated within its muscles and bones, rather than the core itself!”
The Voice explained while glancing at Calron to see whether its student understood what it was implying. Seeing the puzzled look on the boy’s face, the Voice continued.
“Calron, if you were able to store your essence within your muscles and bones, don’t you think that you would also be able to endure a bolt of lighting?”
The Voice finished, as it bent forwards to look into Calron’s eyes to gauge its student’s reaction.
“But that’s simply impossible. For humans, their entire essence is solely focused in their cores, and to-”
“That would be true, except that you are not entirely human, kid. What if I told you that there is a technique that would let you channel your essence and store it within your muscles and bones?”
The Voice quickly interjected, as it interrupted Calron.
“Don’t tell me… that is what the last stage of the Thunder-Bird technique is?”
Suddenly, a shocked expression flashed through Calron’s face.
“Hahaha, that’s right, kid, the third stage of the Thunder-Bird technique grants you the body of a beast and lets you store your essence within your own body.”
The Voice stated with a smug look on its ghostly face.
“I personally like to call it the Mighty Bird’s Blessing! … Eh? You don’t like it? How about the Heavenly Beast Transformation? … Screw you, kid, you try coming up with a better name!”
The Voice conveyed in an annoyed tone when it saw the disgusted look on its student’s face.
“Leaving aside the horrible names; with your current physical strength, I doubt that you will be able to maintain the third stage of the technique for even a few seconds, so we need to rapidly increase the toughness of your body. The stronger your body, the longer you will be able to use the technique. This was why I had you stop cultivating your essence, as the essence in your core will not help you advance to the Vajra stage.”
“Why would I need to use the technique longer than a few seconds? With the Azure Lighting, I can refine the lightning essence in an instant, so in the end I would only need several seconds to absorb the bolt of lightning.”
Calron curiously asked his Teacher.
“I sometimes forget how dumb you can be… ”
The Voice replied while shaking its smoky head.
“Oi… “
“Kid, when you are under a lightning storm, the thunder clouds could spread for miles and it is simply impossible to know where the next lightning bolt would strike. If a bolt of lightning suddenly strikes you, then even I would not be able to save your life.”
The Voice quickly stated, before the boy could quip about the earlier ‘dumb’ comment.
“Things just seem to be getting more and more complicated by the day, Teacher…”
Calron quietly responded, as he slowly stood up from the ground, and gingerly touched the various bruises and bite-marks spread across his body.
“Haha, get used to it, kid. Nothing will be easy from here on out. The other reason why I did not want you to enter the inner range of the Desolate Mountains was to prevent the higher ranked beasts from discovering you. Once they realize that you have the same blood as them, but still remain in human form, they will stop at nothing to force you to reveal your secrets. You just need to get stronger before we decide to go deeper into the mountains.”
The Voice said somberly, while it turned its head to gaze into the far distance.
“Let’s do it!”
Calron suddenly stated with a resolved look on his face.
“Huh, do what?”
The Voice asked in confusion.
“Train. I want to train more!”
Calron replied back, as a ferocious tenacity gradually seeped into his eyes.
“Well, there goes the nap I was about to take… ”
The Voice whispered softly, and began to prepare another round of training for its student.