Chapter 10: Power // Trial

Lan'er repeated the strange lady's words.

"...Power?"

The lady smiled.

"Indeed. Power. Do you want it?"

Lan'er didn't respond as she remembered her brother's lesson to not talk to strangers. She wanted to wake her brother up, but strangely, she didn't feel any danger from the woman.

This only made her even more apprehensive since she had learned from her brother that the most dangerous people in the world were those who strived to make you let your guard down.

Seeing Lan'er's lack of response didn't bother the lady, as she began moving towards the other side of the room.

"You see... I've been observing you two siblings... no. You two aren't blood-related at all, right?"

Lan'er wasn't bothered since she already knew that her brother wasn't her biological sibling. He had already explained to her what their parents' relationship was, as well as how they met their end.

The lady looked at her with interest before continuing, "What I did see is your struggle and unwillingness to live as a weakling. You want to be useful to your brother, right?"

The lady didn't turn at her as she mocked. "But what was that performance of yours earlier? "Oh Brother, please help me!" It was such a weak and pathetic display."

Contrary to getting Lan'er worked up, the latter's face only grew colder and colder. She didn't rebuke what the lady said because she agreed with her.

The lady observed her before continuing to speak. "Now that we established that you're weak, useless, and incompetent. What would you do if I said I could change that?"

She smirked as she noticed Lan'er was looking at her now.

The lady moved closer to them again and this time she crouched down to stand face to face with Lan'er.

"I'm saying that I can make you powerful! I can make you so strong that you would be the one to protect your brother." She grinned as she began to exude an inexplicable sense of danger.

Lan'er thought that she could see dark light permeating around the lady's body. The scent of blood trickled through the air as Lan'er saw the depravity in her eyes.

"So long as you call me your Master, I will help you achieve your goal. With my guidance, being an Immortal is just a stepping stone to reaching the apex!"

Lan'er felt afraid and terrified, and tears began to form in her eyes as the aura that the lady was releasing was too extreme for her.

Nonetheless, she still looked at the lady's face with a determined gaze.

With her soft and trembling voice, Lan'er answered. "I don't need to reach the apex nor become an Immortal. I just want to become strong enough to protect my brother."

A strange glint flashed through the lady's eyes. "Is that so? Well then... I'll teach you enough so that no one can bully you or your brother ever again."

Lan'er took a deep breath as she made her resolve. She wiped her teary eyes and looked at the lady.

"Master, what do I need to do?"

The Lady let out a wicked smile, but unfortunately, Zed was asleep throughout the whole event. He knew that Lan'er was a smart child but... he didn't realize that her frustrations clouded her judgment.

This resulted in her easily accepting a stranger's guidance in exchange for power. Lan'er couldn't be blamed for being a naive 6-year-old.

The Lady smiled because, with all these conditions, it would be easy to coerce a person and even easier if that someone was a child.

-

It was in the middle of the night when Lan'er carefully and gently laid Zed's head on the ground.

She slowly walked out of the room before following the Lady's back.

The Lady led her to the basement where they saw the burnt ashes of the men whom they captured earlier. She didn't spare them a single glance while anger flashed in Lan'er's eyes when they passed through them.

They continued to walk before stopping in front of the sealed door. The Lady turned to see Lan'er's apprehensive look towards the ominous sealed door.

She smirked as she ordered. "Strip off all the talismans."

"Mas-" Lan'er was about to speak, but the latter cut her off.

"You only need to follow your Master. No questions."

Lan'er could only nod weakly as she followed her orders. She started removing the talismans, but some of them were quite hard to remove and she ended up chipping her nails.

Her nails bled but her Master was ruthless.

"Continue!"

With one cold order from her Master, Lan'er pushed through the pain and continued.

'I'm doing this for brother... endure for brother...' Lan'er kept repeating the same sentences in her head so that she could endure.

After half an hour or so, Lan'er succeeded in ripping off the last talisman.

She had yet to hold the knob when the door opened by itself, releasing an intense pressure, a dreadful aura.

'!!!' Lan'er was pushed back by the force and began to struggle with her breathing.

Her heart fell when she thought that her master had tricked her. Lan'er hurriedly tried to see where her master was, only to find her standing beside her.

Her master had an emotionless look as she sighed.

"M-master... what's-" Lan'er tried to speak but the lady pointed her palm towards her.

Dangerous Qi gathered, it was as if she was gathering power to harm her.

Lan'er realized that she had indeed been tricked. She gritted her teeth as she cursed herself. 'Damn it! No one is trustworthy other than a brother! Damn it!"

She began to cry as she finally understood what her brother said.

'A single mistake can cost the lives of you and the people you care about.' She lamented her naiveness.

The room started to tremble as the powerful attack on the Lady's hand was complete.

Lan'er closed her eyes and prepared for the incoming pain.

'Forgive this foolish sister of yours, but Brother, as you said, we cannot drag each other's lives down with our deaths, and so... you are now free.' Tears flowed down her pale cheeks.

In the face of death, Lan'er felt slightly lighter as she thought that she would finally stop becoming a burden to her brother.

Still, though, she would miss him very much.

The thought of never seeing him again, touching him again, hugging him again, speaking to him again, hearing his voice again, hearing his lectures again - everything about him. She felt sad that they couldn't be together anymore.

'Sigh...'

The palm closed in on Lan'er, but the pain never came. Instead, the overbearing pressure went away.

Lan'er's eyes remained closed as she thought, 'Have I died? Did she kill me painlessly?'

But a cold voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What are you doing?"

'...Huh?' Lan'er opened her eyes and saw that she was still in the basement.

Her master was looking at her with a questioning gaze. Lan'er was visibly confused, but the latter didn't explain anything as she began walking towards the entrance.

She beckoned Lan'er to follow her which the little girl did. Although she was confused right now, she was just relieved and thankful that she was still alive.

They walked through a narrow corridor that descended downwards. Though it was dark, Lan'er had no problem following her master's back as the latter led the way through the darkness.

Lan'er had no idea how long they had been walking, but by the time they stopped, she was plenty exhausted.

In front of them was another door that had ferocious dragon carvings. The door seemed to be made of a special wood as it didn't show any signs of damage. On top of it was a sign that said: "Here lies "The Fierce Dragon Immortal Empress", Tang Xiurong."

Lan'er looked at her master. "Master this is..."

She could vaguely tell the similarity between the aura that her master released and that of the tomb's.

The Lady nodded and affirmed. "This is my tomb."

She stood to the side and paved the way for Lan'er.

"Open it."

Lan'er looked hesitantly at her master as she didn't follow her orders blindly this time. The lady, also known as Tang Xiurong, looked at Lan'er with annoyance and ordered once more, this time with force behind her voice.

"I said. Open. It."

Lan'er's entire body trembled as she felt every hair on her body stood up. She felt shivers crawl up her spine and her teeth clattered in fear. Tears began to form in her eyes as she tried her best to stand up against the oppressing force.

Tang Xiurong glanced at Lan'er's body before looking at her in disdain. "Shameful."

It took Lan'er's entire strength to stand up by herself, even as her legs felt weak and numb, unknown to her that she had failed to control her bladder. Lan'er felt ashamed but her determination was as strong as ever.

She refused to cry even while enduring the embarrassment from the puddle she made on the spot she was standing.

"Hmph." Tang Xiurong grunted but inwardly, she was very impressed.

Not only did this little girl have great determination, but she was also brave and strong-willed. Most mortals would've collapsed or run in fear even to the tiniest exposure to her dreadful Qi, but Lan'er not only faced it but stood against it head-on, even losing a little bit of her dignity in the process.

Nonetheless, these were the traits that marked a future powerful Immortal, and Tang Xiurong could see it.

In the end, she sighed and spoke. "Look, you win. I don't intend to harm you as I plan to keep my promise."

Although her voice remained cold, her expression had visibly softened.

Lan'er's apprehensive gaze remained at her before she finally took a step towards the door. She decided to trust her Master one more time because she had protected her earlier.

Her steps made wet sounds as her feet were drenched, but she acted as if she didn't feel or hear anything. Seeing the little girl's strong attitude, Tang Xiurong praised her silently.

Even if Tang Xiurong didn't plan on taking Lan'er as her disciple, she was still looking forward to seeing what kind of Immortal Empress the little girl would grow up to be.

But since their fates crossed, Xiurong didn't mind raising Lan'er herself. After countless years of silence, Tang Xiurong finally found someone worthy to study under her tutelage, but whether Lan'er could pass her trial and live remained to be seen.

Lan'er stood in front of the iron door that was rich in dreadful qi. A normal person would have been repulsed by just a little bit of exposure to it, but Lan'er unhesitatingly placed her palms on it.

"Nh!" Immediately, she felt thousands of needles pierce her hands, causing her to moan in pain.

However, she refused to give up and poured strength into her arms. She gritted her teeth as she endured the pain.

"F-for... BROTHER!" With her entire strength, she pushed the door.

The two doors slightly cracked open, but her daze didn't last long as her Master immediately shouted, "Quick! Go in!"

Her body moved before she could think and slipped through the thin gap.

SLAM!

The doors immediately closed and would have no doubt crushed her body had she delayed for a second.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Torches with blue flames lit up one after another, lighting the entire room.

It was a small circular room that resembled a chamber or a prison. In the middle of it was a skeleton stuck inside a blue crystal. The skeleton was wearing the same attire as her Master, so Lan'er immediately recognized who the skeleton was.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" Her master said in a mocking tone.

Tang Xiurong appeared beside her while continuing, "I once was an Empress who ruled over an Era, and was titled to be the strongest in the Immortal realm, yet... my remains are buried forever in this place."

"Not even deserving a proper tomb in the Immortal Realm, but sealed inside a crystal down in the mortal realm."

Her master growled in hatred. "Years of hatred and bitterness locked in a disgraceful room beneath the ground of the mortal realm."

Lan'er subconsciously gulped as this was the first time she had seen someone so angry and hateful. Her master was a thousand times scarier than the most terrifying beasts she and her brother had encountered.

Tang Xiurong took a minute to calm herself before facing Lan'er.

She spoke to Lan'er in a grave tone. "To finalize your discipleship, touch the crystal. I do warn you for you will face an unimaginable pain that will make you wish to die instead.

However, if your will for power is great, you will survive and become my disciple."

Lan'er knew that her master was serious and doubts began to form in her heart, but she remembered the state of her brother when he went to protect her from the horrible beast that gave him that large scar across his back, as well as the events of the earlier morning, her eyes burned with determination as she swore to never let herself be a burden like that again.

Her hands stopped trembling and she pressed her palms to the crystal.

"AAHHHH!!!" Lan'er shrieked in pain.

Tang Xiurong placed a thick cloth she had prepared beforehand inside Lan'er's mouth so that she wouldn't accidentally bite her tongue. Her cold gaze continued to watch Lan'er's pained expression as the latter's screams were covered by the cloth.

However, deep inside, Tang Xiurong's cold eyes were in a hopeful light. She was truly hoping that Lan'er would pass through this trial.

Edited By: WorthyAdversary