Chapter 1290  A Shameless Family

"Not yet or anytime soon," answered Arthur with a smile. "She"s currently on a mission to save a few thieves from getting themselves killed. Once she"s done, she should join us here. Then we can start training."

"Alright then, let"s head out to the training ground," said Benjamin as he rose from his seat. "I can teach you the basics and give you a quick guide on how the disciples of the clan train their wrath."

Arthur followed his grandfather as they went outside. Although they had a lot to catch up on, such as whether Oren had made it to the Uncharted Lands or not, and what Seref was like as a child, they had only a month to master the Nine Paths of Enlightenment.

Benjamin was similar to Arthur in many ways. The two of them were both diligent and wasted no time. After reaching the training ground, they found many disciples still at it, even though it was already the afternoon. Many of these disciples sat on black boulders while placing a white rock over their heads. Then, they just sat there.

"What are they doing?" asked Arthur, confused.

"Those boulders have been infused with wrath. Anyone that comes in contact with them loses their mind. The goal of this training is to keep the white rock over their head while their hearts are tormented with wrath. The disciples must first learn to control their bodies before they can control their minds."

"That reminds me of a bridge I once took as a test," said Arthur, surprised. "I didn"t think they would employ the same method. This makes me wonder, how can wrath be infused? Is it an energy or a concept? What is wrath, to begin with?"

"Wrath is the energy that fuels ambitions, similar to many others. Emotions are powerful as they stem from the soul. In its purest form, the soul is unblemished, with no greed, wrath, or even love and loyalty. However, human beings feel these feelings because of spiritual energy."

Benjamin made sure to explain the fundamentals to his grandson, who had spent his entire life outside the clan. Arthur listened and learned, connecting the dots with what he already knew about souls. He realized that the creator, who had once entered his own creation, was also mystified by the soul"s ability to feel.

"In normal humans, wrath is a result. But for the Netherborne Clan, wrath is a resource that can be manipulated. Mana can change its nature to fit the wielder. Spiritual energy is the same, but many fail to understand that our emotions can also make us stronger."

"Then, does that mean I have a disadvantage as the creator? The more powerful I grow, the fewer emotions I have," said Arthur, confused. "In essence, the creator wanted to live to experience these emotions."

"You are right, Arthur. The creator indeed wanted to experience these emotions. However, due to his nature of lacking them, he finds it hard to adapt. This is also the reason that the First Seeker would later become the creator. They were just compatible."

Arthur began to understand the relationship between King Arthur in his subconscious and this creator that wanted to experience emotions. If the two of them were not one and the same, it made sense why the creator would choose the king as his vessel. Benjamin walked toward the black boulders and found an empty one.

"Go ahead. You can touch the boulder briefly to understand how hard it is to remain calm under the influence of wrath," said his grandfather, gesturing toward a boulder. Arthur might not be able to see, but he could tell that the rest of the disciples were eyeing them, awaiting his fall.

Arthur could not help but chuckle at the fact that even in his own clan, he was an outsider. At this point, the t.i.tle felt more like a curse than a coincidence. Without delaying any further, he walked past his grandfather and placed a hand on the boulder. Countless voices invaded his mind, but Arthur did not flinch or back down.

"I understand."

The two words echoed through the training ground under the eyes of the disciples. Benjamin stared at his grandson with intrigue as the boulder of wrath began shaking. Then, under the shocked eyes of the crowd, the black boulder began changing color. Wrath rushed toward Arthur, entering his body and becoming a part of his strength.

Just a few moments later, the boulder was completely white. Arthur let go of the boulder, confused, as he turned toward his grandfather. "Is that all the wrath it had?"

"What just happened?" asked one of the disciples.

"I have no idea. He just touched the boulder and it turned white."

"Nothing like that has ever happened before."

"Should we call the teachers?"

The disciples were alarmed by what happened, but not more than Benjamin himself. He examined the boulder with trembling lips as he tried to keep his cool but failed. Then, he broke into nervous laughter as he grabbed Arthur"s shoulders. "You little devil, did you just absorb the wrath?"

"Is that not what I was supposed to do?" asked Arthur, confused, unable to understand their reaction. If the goal was not to a.s.similate wrath into their bodies, then what was the point of this training?

"You were just supposed to fight against wrath, not absorb it!" said Benjamin with a nervous grin as his brows twitched. "I have no idea what this means, but it just means you are an oddball!"

Arthur did not appreciate the name that further alienated him. He could feel the gazes of the crowd land on him, judgmental and fearful of the new disciple who just did the impossible. For him, wrath was the same as mana at this point.

Before they could flee, Nyx was already at the scene. She stared at the boulder with confusion and then at Benjamin, who was still patting Arthur"s back with pride. In response, Arthur just tried to evade the old man"s ma.s.sive hands from dislocating his bones.

The incident spread like wildfire in the clan. Everyone was curious about this new disciple who not only trained using the boulder but stole the wrath within it. After it changed colors, the boulder could no longer be used for training. Benjamin and Arthur were once again summoned to the Black Pavilion where the leaders meditated.

"It has been just a few short hours…" muttered the Patriarch while rubbing his temples. "You already went ahead and rendered one of our treasures useless, Arthur Netherborne? Did you use the golden mana of creation?"

"I believe the boulder itself had very little wrath," said Arthur, with his grandfather nodding beside him. "The moment I touched it, it turned white. Maybe the rest of the students have already emptied the thing. No one can know."

"Why are you treating it like a flask?" the Patriarch asked with bulging eyes as he almost coughed up blood from anger. "The boulder is not something that can be drained! They were created by our Forefather who could infuse his wrath into items. The wrath in them should increase with every use, not decrease!"

"With all due respect, how good is that forefather?" asked Arthur with a frown. "Am I to blame for the failure of someone I don"t know? I can slam the golden mana into your boulders all day and it would still be the same. He should have considered the possibility, right?"

The two clan leaders were speechless. This shameless man was not only insulting their ancestor but even twisting the argument that their forefather was the one at fault here. Furthermore, he talked about this "possibility" as if it was something that could occur with anyone. Arthur clearly treated himself as the victim!

"We will let it slide this time," said Benjamin with a nod as he cleaned his nose and flicked his harvest to the side. "If it happens again, we might file a complaint. Please ensure the boulders are functioning."

After their shameless behavior, the grandfather and grandson left the pavilion looking proud of themselves. The two clan leaders almost vomited blood, but they couldn"t even begin to explain what was happening. The only explanation for this occurrence is that Arthur had a purer wrath than their forefather, but who would even dare admit such a thing?

After successfully gaslighting the clan leaders, Arthur and his grandfather hurried back to the pavilion. They knew that they were in the wrong here, but no one could prove it. After all, this had never happened before. But just to be safe, Benjamin decided to change tactics to avoid Arthur emptying the entire training ground of boulders.

The two agreed that external help would prove ineffective for Arthur. While the disciples trained on how to handle wrath, Arthur needed a more internal approach to control the wrath inside his kingdom. Benjamin was a bit sorry that he was lacking in that department since he never had wrath to begin with. However, the old man proposed another idea: spying on their compet.i.tors. And the best compet.i.tor the two had was none other than Nyx.

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