Child of Destiny

General Samuel led Arthur to an isolated courtyard of the Springfield Household before saying in a very serious tone. “You are already on the verge of breaking through the Ascension Realm. You better get ready to go back to the Ancestral Land to awaken your Dragon Viens before it happens.”

“Don’t worry. It will only take a couple of days to complete everything – an entire week at most. But given that you have already built a very solid foundation, it will only take you a short time to complete the entire process.”

He then paused for a moment before continuing. “We have been attracting quite a lot of unwanted attention recently, so it will not be ideal for a young dragon like you to break through here in our household.”

“It will cause another huge commotion given that your bloodline is much purer than any of us. It will be better to send you there to avoid the eyes that are directed at us.”

Arthur thought for a moment before nodding his head. “I understand, Grandfather. I’ll start preparing now.”

The Dragon Viens was one of the unique features of the Springfield Family.

Due to the powerful Qi that the unique core that the Springfields had – the Dragon Core – their veins, meridians, and Qi channels needed to be strong enough to support them.

This was when the Springfields poured their powers to nurture their bodies and create strong veins that were tough enough to endure the burden of the powerful flow of energies throughout their bodies once they had been promoted into the Ascension Realm.

Ascension Realm was one of the major realms of Martial Arts while the Ethereal Opening Stage was a core milestone for this path. This was where most of the changes occurred in the bodies and energies of a Martial Artist.

Once a member of the Springfield Family reached this point in their martial journey, they would be undergoing a great transformation.

Their Dragon Cores would become more powerful, which would lead to producing a stronger flow of energy than what it usually had.

The shock that the individual would get from this sudden change and the burst of power that they would be receiving alongside it could lead to a serious injury – or worse, death, if the body was not strong enough to withstand it.

This was why the ancestors of the Springfield Family had created a special technique that would let their descendants survive this ordeal.

That was when the method of producing the ‘Dragon Viens’ was created. It became one of the major requirements of a Springfield before attempting to break through the next major realm.

The Dragon Viens also became one of the factors why the Springfields were much stronger than the other Martial Arts Families in terms of physical might.

Supported by their powerful bloodline powers and unique Qi circulation techniques that complement these factors, the Springfield Family become one of the most powerful Martial Arts Families within the continent and even listed at the top of the rankings around the world.

A powerful bloodline, a higher form of energy, a world-class Martial Arts, and a sturdy body to support all of these – the Springfield Family possessed everything they needed to become the best on the path of Martial Arts.

This time, it was Arthur’s turn to awaken his Dragon Viens, preparing for this critical conjecture.

General Samuel instructed Arthur on all the things that needed to pay attention to when he was breaking through as well as how should be preparing for them.

The old general only let Arthur leave after making sure that this grandson of his had fully understood everything, regardless of the risks and the importance of the preparations needed for the breakthrough of a Springfield.

Contrary to Arthur’s usual lazy and leisurely behavior, the young man was quite excited for his breakthrough. He had been waiting for this for quite a while now, so it was impossible to hide his excitement.

General Samuel could only shake his head when he saw this. He understood that this grandson of his was carrying a lot of burden on his shoulders and suppressing his emotion in his chest after Bernard’s death, so he could not blame Arthur for his hunger to get stronger.

He was only thankful that Arthur was not led astray by his rage nor formed an inner demon.

He was also quite thankful for Shin’s presence as Arthur somewhat returned to his usual self when he ‘returned’.

…

Later that day, Shin entered his gaming cabin but did not immediately log into the game.

He was in the middle of an important quest, but fortunately, it could be paused in the middle of each round. It was some sort of resting place where he could log out of the game and recover his state of mind.

The trials would be resumed once he logged into the game once again.

Instead of logging into the game, he went to the virtual space of their Adventurer Team, which was prepared by Arthur and Cloe for the members to train.

He was quite familiar with the design as it was using the same system and model as the one that the military had. Given their background, Shin naturally had used these virtual spaces during specific and targeted training before going into a special mission.

He might still be young, but the main purpose of these virtual spaces was to train young cadets and develop themselves through intense yet somewhat risk-free training.

The younger an individual trained through these virtual spaces, the more developed their experiences could be.

Swoosh!

Right after logging in, Shin was sent into a secluded corner of the virtual space and was immediately greeted by an amazing sight. “What the heck is this place?”

What he was expecting was to see a place filled with training equipment, obstacle courses, and other things that could be used to strengthen someone.

But what he was seeing right now was a garden filled with exotic yet beautiful plants and flowers.

There was even a waterfall not far from where he stood with a huge plunge pool right under it where he could see some of the members playing with the water and swimming leisurely.

The corner of his mouth twitched when he saw that scene before asking himself. “Did I come to the wrong place?”

He then quickly pulled out the information panel to make sure that he did not log in to the wrong channel. After that, he raised his head and saw Alucard and Akailu chatting not far from him. “Hey! What the heck are you guys doing?”

“I thought that this was meant for training purposes!? Then why does it feel like you guys are having a vacation?” he added with a deep frown.

Finally noticing Shin, the pair simultaneously greeted him.

“Oh! Vice Commander, you finally have the time to hang out with us?”

“You have been away for quite a while? What are you up to? You have not joined us in the Awakened Continent either.”

Shin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but quickly shut them up once again and continued with his question. “Answer me first? What is happening really?”

Hearing that, Alucard chuckled as he replied. “I see that the vice commander has not been informed about our virtual space. I thought you were the one who designed it due to how meticulous it was prepared.”

From his understanding of Shin, he knew how amazing their vice commander was when it came to planning and designing. He was even more impressed when they learned that the Shin was the main designer of the Golden City. It was on the level of being a professional.

Shin thought for a moment before answering. “From what I’ve heard, the main designer is Arielle (Cloe) with my big sister helping her. As for the other arrangements, Siegfried (Arthur) has gotten the system from our family.”

“I see,” nodded Alucard before continuing. “This area is a resting place meant for guys. The girls are in a different segment of the virtual space, which is restricted to us for obvious reasons.”

“This is also the main ‘entrance’ for us whenever we log in,” he added before explaining their current situation. “The two of us just finished the individual training routine assigned to us, so we are now resting while waiting for the team training.”

He paused for a moment before saying. “If there is any. After all, we don’t have any team training scheduled for today.”

“I see,” said Shin as he nodded his head.

“Are you here to train too, vice commander?” asked Akailu as he leaned on the edge of the pool.

Shin thought for a moment before nodding his head. “I am originally planning to check how you guys are training. But since you are all resting here, I guess I can only try the training tools we have here.”

With a chuckle, he left the pair and headed toward the other segment of the virtual space.

The two stared at Shin’s back for quite a while before exchanging glances with one another.

“I feel like the vice commander has become even more powerful than before,” commented Alucard as he shook his head.

“I know that this should be coming given his rate of improvement. But I don’t expect that his growth would be such a degree,” responded Akailu before turning to Alucard for another time. “Say, who do you think will win if the vice commander fights against that Evil God dude?”

Alucard frowned deeply before shaking his head. “I don’t know. That guy is scary and powerful. I feel like I will suffocate just by standing in the space like him.”

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“But the vice commander is giving off a similar feeling right now. It may faint, but there is also another aura shrouding him in the mix.”

He then paused and turned in the direction where Shin disappeared before adding. “All I can say is both of them are currently a notch or two levels higher than any of us.”

Akailu went silent for a moment before mumbling. “If you are asking me how to describe them, then I will give you a few words.”

Alucard turned at him with a curious gaze while waiting.

Akailu then turned to the direction where Shin disappeared just like what Alucard did earlier before saying. “A genius monster and a diabolic fiend.”

……