Path to Transcendence

Chapter 739: You Know How He Is

Julius awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. It had been an honest mistake. Blowing himself up hadn’t been his intention. He’d gotten so distracted by his excitement that he hadn’t been able to control his new skill. That, unfortunately, meant he had to deal with the embarrassment of reconstituting himself.

It was a new skill, to be fair, but still a little mortifying.

At least he got something out of it.

[Lord of the Dying Sun lvl 1 -> lvl 2]

“Are you okay?” Marcus asked concerningly.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m good.”

Lily came running up to them and slapped Marcus on the chest. “Why would you do that?”

Marcus looked at her, confused as to why he was being scolded. “What did I do?”

“You pushed him too hard. You know how he is,” Lily said with a side eye towards Julius.

He didn’t know if he was more touched by her concern or offended by the implication of her words. She was essentially saying that Marcus was the mature one who should have known better, whereas Julius was just a kid who was going to blow himself up either way.

However, she wasn’t wrong. That was exactly what happened.

Lily turned to look at Julius, seeing him covered in his own blood. “You should go clean up or something.”

He looked down, noticed how gross he was, and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

While he was walking towards the showers at the edge of the training chamber, he spotted Angelina staring at him with a dumbfounded expression and a slightly pallid face.

He waved at her and saw her flinch ever so slightly.

What was that for? He thought to himself with a small pout.

***

The next day, Kaito reached out to Lily. He had already invited them as guests to Clan Yoshu’s estate. Marcus and Angelina weren’t so sure about this, but Julius assured them that Kaito and his daughter were good people. The others within Clan Yoshu were questionable at best, but as long as Kaito was there, they would be fine.

It was also a good time to discuss the woman who had tried to kidnap Elaria a few days ago. The woman and the other kidnappers had been imprisoned in one of House Violet’s “special” safe houses with several guards. Julius knew they were trying to gather information about what they were doing and such.

Perhaps they should have allowed the city guards or authorities to handle such matters, but Lily had considerable leeway during her stay in Goldmere. So when they strolled inside the city with a wagon full of unconscious people, there was barely a word said about it. They were simply let through without much of an issue once Lily displayed the badge the city lord had given her.

On another note, it seems Marcus had been investigating the limbs Julius found for the ritual. According to Marcus, these limbs had been specially treated and were meant as a sacrifice. For what, that was still the question. But considering that sacrifices of limbs weren’t exactly a good sign in almost any case, it said a lot about Celestine’s intentions and plans.

It was also quite alarming that she was working with the Conclave. Which meant it was possible that the Conclave was instructing her to do this.

When they arrived at Clan Yoshu, they were greeted by many servants. He didn’t know if this was Kaito’s idea, but the grandiose welcome was quite surprising. However, just as they were exiting the carriage, Julius spotted several of the servants move out of the way for a group of people

The first person he spotted was Hayden. The arrogant little prick looked the same as usual, swaying his shoulders as he strolled towards them. There were three other people beside him, though. The man at the center of the group was Hayden’s uncle, Haruto.

Julius hadn’t met the man personally yet, but he’d seen him once during one of his previous visits.

While Hayden was more bark than bite, and ultimately not someone to worry about. Haruto Yoshu was a totally different story. The man, by all accounts, was quite capable and merciless. A dangerous combination.

He’d been pushing for leadership of Clan Yoshu for the past few years, and it was only thanks to Kaito that he hadn’t managed to amass any more influence. But many of the clan's elders seemed to support Haruto. They were attracted to the promises of rewards and riches that Kaito’s uncle offered.

Haruto looked similar to Kaito. A very serious and sharp face, paired with a finely groomed goatee that had small flecks of gray, giving him a weathered but wise look. He was also quite slim, but that didn’t detract from the pressure Julius felt coming off the man’s aura. Wind magic was Clan Yoshu’s specialty, and as the brother of the current patriarch, Haruto Yoshu was a strong symbol of the clan’s strength.

Next to Haruto were two people who seemed like elders of the clan. One was an older woman with gray hair and a slightly hunched back; she was leaning on an ornate staff. The other was a man who looked around the same age. He didn’t have a staff and was walking quite straight, but Julius could almost smell the faint traces of death hovering around the man’s body.

Both were definitely out of their prime. Their auras were still quite strong, but there was a noticeable difference between them and people like Haruto and Kaito.

Julius was almost certain that they were stuck at Tier 5 and had no chance of advancing without an extraordinary fortuitous opportunity. However, from what he heard from Kaito, that was exactly what Haruto was offering to these elders. Or rather, Julius suspected that was what the Conclave and Celestine were offering.

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Haruto approached slowly and gave a shallow bow toward them. “Greetings, Lady Lily. My name is Haruto Yoshu. I am the brother of Patriarch Ryoku.”

Lily had already gotten a brief report from Julius beforehand, so she already knew that Haruto and Kaito were opposing powers vying for power within Clan Yoshu. However, she showed no signs of bias, greeting Haruto with a warm smile and curtsying.

“Thank you, Lord Haruto, for welcoming us inside your home. I see that claims of your clan’s eminence have not been exaggerated, ” she said kindly.

“You are too gracious, Lady Lily. Our clan is naught but a humble clan who prides ourselves on our hard work,” Haruto said in such a convincing manner that Julius almost believed him.

Haruto then gestured welcomingly at Lily. “Please follow us, my nephew is eagerly awaiting your visit,” he said, leaning forward conspiratorially. “I do hope you go easy on him though, he is not as experienced as one in his position should be, but his heart is in the right place.”

Julius held back a frown. While not everyone would have noticed this and would have thought these words were nothing but a loving compliment to his nephew, Julius suspected they were said only to plant the idea that Kaito wasn’t competent. It was a very sneaky way to do it too.

He didn’t know if Lily detected this subtle detail, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she did. She was probably already probing each thought from everyone around them, collecting information before she formed her own opinion.

She laughed with a bright grin and followed behind Haruto. “I will keep that in mind. Though, this meeting is only a preliminary introduction to see if our two families can form some kind of correspondence or beneficial relationship.”

Julius kept his expression blank and was about to follow right behind Lily and Marcus when a hand suddenly shot out in front of his chest.

“Not you,” Hayden’s irritating voice rang in his right ear.

Julius slowly looked down at the arm that was blocking him and then lifted his gaze to see Hayden’s cocky smirk on him. Julius hadn’t known if Hayden would remember him from the meeting at the City Lord Zheng’s estate, but the small petty spark in Hayden’s eyes confirmed that he indeed remembered Julius.

Hayden met Julius’s stare by flexing his aura, pressuring Julius with it. However, Julius had to hold back a dismissive laugh. The aura was quite pitiful. Sure, it had the strength of a Tier 5, but it didn’t have any of the depth or weight of a truly competent Tier 5. This kind of power was the one that, as the second you pulled back the veil, you would see the empty void behind it.

Julius ignored the man and brushed the arm away, pushing his way past. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be that simple. Hayden scowled and grabbed Julius by the shoulder, squeezing tightly. Julius didn’t really care all that much; his new body was pretty sturdy, and he could barely feel the pressure.

“Did you not hear me, boy? Only Lady Lily and Mr. Avery are allowed past this point.”

Julius stared at the hand gripping his shoulder roughly, a blank expression on his face. “Release me, please.”

“You are an arrogant little brat, you know that? A little boy like you should know his place,” Hayden said in a harsh whisper.

“Ironic coming from you.”

Hayden froze, and his eyes flashed with anger. “What did you say?”

Julius remained expressionless. “You make it sound like you’re the person who controls who is invited and not. You should be the one who is aware of your position. We are here for Lord Kaito, not you.”

Hayden’s aura control was so poor that his anger was radiating outward, and it was being directed towards Julius. Not that it was a big deal. Along with poor aura control, it was quite weak. Like he said before. An empty void of equally empty power.

Several people noticed this and shifted uncomfortably. But they were also used to Hayden’s antics and stood by silently. Julius, on the other hand, kept the same expressionless look on his face and reacted with his own aura.

He didn’t pull on his ruinous aura that much; rather, he focused on pure weight and pressure. He let his powerful soul peak out of the abyss, then turned it against the aura attacking him. It was pathetic how easily his aura overwhelmed Hayden’s.

Hayden froze like a deer in headlights. He was completely caught off guard by the retaliation. He probably thought he could bully Julius just because he was a Tier 5, but upon being confronted, all of that bluster threatened to collapse.

Hayden reacted in the only way he knew how to. He doubled down and let his domain expand outward. It shrouded around Julius and did its best to oppress him. However, Julius stood there with a soft smile, silently staring at Hayden’s panicking face as his aura slowly tore apart the domain with casual ease.

“That is enough,” the woman elder suddenly called out, using her own aura to create a divide between them.

They had created enough of a disturbance for Haruto and Lily to walk back to them.

“What is going on?” Haruto demanded. Julius doubted the man was unaware of what just happened.

Julius looked at the man emotionlessly. “Your servant seems to have gotten carried away and tried to assault me with his aura.”

He heard Hayden about to react to being called a servant, but Haruto quickly gave him a sharp look that stopped him in his tracks.

“He’s not a servant. That man is my nephew,” Haruto said evenly, but there was a warning tone to it.

Julius pretended to be confused and bowed low. “Oh? My apologies, I mistakenly thought with his infer— unsteady aura control that he was a servant. Still, he assaulted me first. As everyone in attendance can attest to.”

Haruto’s brows twitched ever so slightly but nodded. “If that is the case, then I must apologize on behalf of my nephew. I will give him a stern talking to later.”

Julius nodded gratefully. “Thank you.”

He looked over at Hayden, who seemed on the verge of popping a blood vessel. Furthermore, the man’s brow had a few beads of sweat on it from when Julius pressured him with his aura.

“However, he was right in that you will not be able to join us. This meeting is very exclusive, and we must insist that we limit the number of attendees,” Haruto added.

“He comes with me,” Lily suddenly spoke up.

Haruto smiled politely and turned towards Lily. “I’m sorry, Lady Lily, but this is just protocol. I ask that—”

He paused because he saw the drastic change on Lily’s face. What had been previously warm and friendly was now replaced with a cold, steely frown. Julius admitted he enjoyed the uncomfortable look on Haruto’s face.

“He’s with me, and he will accompany me to the meeting,” Lily said evenly.

Haruto was opening his mouth to say something when Julius spotted a certain someone approaching.

“What is going on here?” Kaito asked with a disapproving frown on his face.

“I was just informing Lady Lily that her attendant will have to wait here until the meeting is concluded,” Haruto explained.

“Him?” Kaito pointed at Julius.

“Indeed.”

“He comes with them. When I extended the invitation, I included him as well. He’s my guest and will be treated with the honor as such; is that understood?” Kaito stated, giving a pointed look at the people gathered around.

He saw several servants bow their heads, but Haruto, Hayden, and the two elders didn’t seem as pleased. They looked like someone had stepped on their toes. Kaito pretended to ignore them and instead stepped forward, grabbing Julius by the shoulder.

“Come on, we've got much to talk about,” he said with a polite smile, but Julius could feel the undercurrent of amusement on the man’s face.

It was only then that Julius realized that the man had likely planned for this and wanted to undermine Haruto's authority in front of everyone. It took everything within himself not to roll his eyes. These damn games.