Chapter 52: Whispers

Riven was angry. The whispers brought back ugly memories in his mind, and he felt a flash of anger deep from his heart. The villagers back in his place had done the same thing, their words like knives to his heart.

He turned, ready to say something horrible to them in return, but then he heard more whispers.

“Do you hear how she bullied that new kid last month because he couldn’t lift the weight and he talked back to her?”

“He was beaten black and purple. For these two weeks we’ve had rest, but now that she’s here you’ll start hearing the screaming again.”

“Why do they even make her a rookie trainer again? More like rookie killer!”

“Hush. Don’t let Senior Tong hear you. He has the moon for her, even though she won’t look his way.”

“Hmph! Why is she even trying to stay in this sect? She should look for a bigger one. There’s nothing here for her.”

Riven blinked slowly as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. ’…..Who is the bully and who is the bullied? Definitely not her….’

’…..This is the first time I’m looking at things from the bully’s perspective….. What should I do….’

He rolled his shoulder and turned, catching up to her as they began to climb the stairs that led up the mountains, the one on the left.

It was hundreds of stairs that led up, and they began to run. Riven didn’t have the time to ask her anything. But on the way up they met a lot of younger ones in the age range of seven to thirteen. They were those who had done their awakening and advanced to the first rank.

They must be part of the rookies that were referred to earlier. Some of them were carrying loads up the mountain or down. When they saw Kivara, their peaceful struggling expressions suddenly flashed with fear, and they froze like rabbits.

But Kivara didn’t pay them any mind and just continued to shoot up, her speed greatly reduced. Riven also followed behind as they ran up the twisting stairs.

At the top, there was a large gate that was opened, and beyond that was the ground of the sect. Kivara had slowed down enough to explain that the five mountains held the different buildings and Hall Pavilion of the different paths.

The one in the middle was the Sect Leader’s own and where the central administration was.

And the one they were walking on was for the low practitioners, from those who were just awakening to the rank one to three.

As they got closer to the door, Riven suddenly felt a surge of aura in front of him. The stone statue that was by the gate suddenly came alive.

The statue was tall and wore a stone armor that was etched with different types of runes that flashed and flickered. The pressure that was coming from it was so overpowering that Riven slowed down and hesitated before following. He felt like a hammer was hanging above his head and would smash down if he made any wrong moves.

But since Kivara didn’t slow down, he gently followed behind. “This is one of our strongest relics. They are units. Six of them. They guard the gate of the different mountains, and the last one directly guards the Sect Leader’s building.”

“Don’t let it fool you. It has intelligence and can also capture and store the memories of everything it sees,” Kivara explained.

Riven was impressed by what he saw. His eyes brightened as he stared at every inch of the relics. He’d heard about relics. Who doesn’t know about the treasures that can elevate the power of a practitioner?

Kivara walked up to it and just stood in front of it until it nodded. When it turned to Riven, the pressure increased and he twitched, feeling as if he should be holding his sword in his hand.

He met the cold, emotionless eyes with one of his own.

Kivara pointed. “Leave him. He’s with me.”

The statue paused and then nodded again, moving back into its dormant position. Immediately the pressure he was feeling vanished.

Riven gasped. “What was that?”

“I have a high clearance in the sect. I can bring you in. Everyone, including the workers, must have their faces stored with that relic. If you must bring a guest, then you must either have a clearance to do so or find one of the instructors or elders.”

Riven swallowed as he remembered the pressure. “And if you are unknown to it?”

Kivara smiled. “Then it will immediately go into battle mode and try its best to kill you.”

She hesitated and turned to look at him. “You really do not want that. Once I covered my face and tried to sneak in just so I could have the chance to fight it.”

Riven shivered and asked, “What happened then?”

She coughed. “I used three months to heal.”

Riven didn’t know if he should be impressed by what she did or just call her stupid. In the end, he just continued to follow her without saying anything.

They passed many buildings. And what Riven was calling buildings here were compounds unto themselves. Most of them even had more than ten buildings and high walls.

“So which Hall Pavilion are you from?” Riven asked her. From what she explained, each Hall was made up of different paths but in a very broad way so they could bring them together. Like Elemental to bring in the different Element Paths. And Internal to bring different body practitioners that have relating paths together.

She grunted. “None. I learn directly under my master. Alright, I’m in the Elemental Pavilion, but seriously, there’s no hall for me. They just put me there because there’s nowhere else to put me. And that is the Elemental Pavilion for this mountain.”

It was the biggest one Riven had seen so far. The walls were low and seemed to be made of black metal that shone glossy in the light.

Up to fifteen buildings were in there, surrounding a tower-like building.

But Kivara didn’t go inside. Instead, she turned, rubbing her hands as she headed another way.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep