Chapter 149 The Scabbard's Will...

Elder Harden was like the phonetics of his name.

Even his face showed his rigidness.

People like him were wholeheartedly dedicated to the teachings of the clan and the prosperity that had brought it thus far.

He was not even the kind of person that could be bribed.

This was something Chiron knew about. As a member of the clan, certain rumors no matter how you hide from them eventually reach your ears.

One of such was on this man.

It is said that he was was rigid that he would even dare to call out the chief if protocols were not duly followed.

It was his strict conformity to the clan and dedication to its prosperity that got him the position he currently enjoyed.

After all, a firm hand was needed to operate the power branch of the clan.

But Conformity was a double edged sword.

As it never allowed for the possibility of growth and development. The idea that a thing was to be done in a certain manner, was in on itself a cage.

It was an enemy of adaptation and it blinded the eyes to a better life.

Harden was the kind of man many would call an enemy to an easier life.

It was so bad, that it was the reason for his current ailment.

One look at the bags under his eyes and his pale skin, and Chiron knew what his problem was.

He was currently suffering from a disease that rooted itself in the foundation of Cultivation.

It had many names, but this clan was not aware of it until many years in the future.

This was called Beast core poisoning.

Usually, one could slowly absorb the essence energy of beast cores and turn it into one's own power. This itself was cultivation.

Although the process was a bit tedious, and much of the energy was actually lost to nature, it was far better than or rather it was easier than gathering the said energy from nature.

It also ensured that the promotion from one rank to another was a faster reality.

This had been happening for so long that people now think it was the proper or even best method to cultivate.

However, with Chiro's vast knowledge of this world, he knew for a certainty that this was not so.

Absorbing any kind of energy from beast cores was a terrible thing to do. At least it had its effects in the long run.

At least it was terrible when it was done the way it was.

The Chikitsa clan members would sit in a lotus position and absorb the energy from the cores.

This was like eating meat raw. Especially eating meat that had been dead for a very long time.

Naturally, this was not healthy, and in many cases, could be very poisonous.

A person absorbing beast core energy in such a manner takes in terrible impurities that can accumulate over time and can cause problems if not immediately purged out of the body.

It also limits cultivation in the long run.

For a long time, this had killed many cultivators. Bringing them to their end. With the blame being that it was an error in cultivation that caused this.

​ Ironically, such propaganda was actually being pushed forward by the Healer's association.

For a certain, some of those healers already knew the cause of this disease, but then again, telling the solution to this had more harm than good.

For one, Beast cores were used as the standard of currency specifically because of their importance to the most vital part of any clan which was its cultivators.

Although there was a more proper way of absorbing beast cores, none of those at the healer's association was probably aware of this, and even if they were, they would more than likely shut up.

After all, this was going to affect the economy, and then it was going to bring down the number of sick people that paid money for treatment.

After all, even those in the healing department of cultivation also had families that they needed to provide for, and they also had to eat.

With these specific reasons in place, many would die for the belly of another man to enjoy the prospect of a satisfying meal.

One such person that would add extra layers of fat to the potbellies of those in the Healer's Association was unfortunately this man that was Harden.

Even now, Chiron could tell from his eyes that he was tired but still maintained a strong appearance because of his reputation.

Ironically, those that had been afflicted with the beast core disease did not know that staying away from cultivation was the best thing. Instead, they would work harder than ever before.

Absorbing more beast cores as their lives depended on it.

After all, it was common knowledge that those with higher cultivations lived longer lives.

Chiron was currently about to be investigated for a crime that had the absolute sentence which was death.

However, he felt more pity for the man about to interrogate him.

In this case, this man was the real victim.

But then again, that was the way it always was.

The strong always fed on the weak. And even the definition of strength was relative, and probably most attuned to the abundance of knowledge one had that could translate into extending one's life a bit more.

Chiron remembered that this was the same way it was in his former world.

The ignorant were always trampled upon and led to believe that those in power and authority loved them. Meanwhile, this was never so.

Those in power never loved the weak! They only loved more power.

Harden cleared his throat as he looked at Chiron.

He was also one of the elders that had placed the Tamashi seal on Chiron's body all those years ago.

However, he was in a more peak condition then.

A man that conformed strictly to the ways of the land definitely did not like or approve of the Tamashi.

In fact, Harden felt that Chiron might be the person that had actually summoned the devils.

However, he thought that maybe Chiron did it for power.

After all, it was common knowledge that the Tamashi could not cultivate because he did not have a Dantain.

Also, a lot of very suspicious things were surrounding Chiron's life and existence.

"Place a drop of your blood here," Harden pointed to the rough-looking scabbard.

Chiron did as he was told obediently. However, his mind was calculating how he would get out of this situation in one piece.

He even contemplated using a rune on himself. But then again, the broad sword that belonged to the ancestor was blessed by the blood of a dragon that was at the Black core rank.

Which meant that the scabbard was probably the same.

Chiron was smart enough to know that a being of that level and greatness, practically had Runes flowing within the veins.

After all, the shell of the dragon egg was made of Runes.

There was no way that the mother was not far worse.

This meant that the sword and Scabbard also had runes.

Chiron was not even remotely stupid enough to think that the power of the runes he could produce could challenge that of a Dragon.

There was a reason that the Broad sword was called a blessed item.

Nevertheless, he still placed a rune on his heart.

Who knew? it might work. And if it didn't at least he saw it to the end.

And if it did, and he got out of it, there was still Emma. Luckily, he had placed a rune on her. At his will, her heart would immediately stop.

Her death was a small price to pay for his goals.

Also, he could just command Carla to go on a rampage and destroy all in sight.

That way everyone would think she sacrificed her family for power.

That one was a classic example of being the Chess master behind the chess piece. Afterwards, he could always make up a lie to set himself free.

Like saying that she was evil and he was under her devil's control. Knowing he had no cultivation, and therefore no power, it would be easy for people to believe him.

But that would indeed be a very terrible waste of such a rare resource. Especially after all the hard work he did to acquire a handy foot soldier.

Chiron calmed himself down.

All that was within the worst and best-case scenarios.

He placed the drop of blood on the scabbard.

However, the moment he did, he had a notification from the system that surprised him beyond reason.

<Does the Host wish to Form a Blood bond?>

This was truly a surprise. The system had asked him to form a blood bond with the Ancestor scabbard.

But why was this?

After all, it had never happened before. As his mind tried to come up with a reason, he smiled as he agreed.

However, another problem raised its ugly head.

<Alert>

<Blood Bond failed! Host must conquer the will within it>