Sovereign of the Karmic System

"I told you he was lying.." Said Daniel to an annoyed-looking Der. Due to the amount of respect which Der subconsciously felt for the Golden Cauldron old man, he had felt inclined to believe that the old man was a righteous, and fair individual. That was why, when Daniel had expressed his doubts about the old man’s intentions, Der had disputed them right away.

The five old cultivators looked at the two of them with surprise. They hadn’t felt their arrival in the least. They had simply appeared, as if they had been there for the entire time, and had allowed themselves to be seen just because they felt like it.

"Who are you?" Asked one of the late ninth rank old cultivators with caution.

It was after his attention was drawn by the new arrivals, that the eyes of the leader of the School of Everlasting Fury landed on Der. The two had always been sworn enemy, and now that the two had met once again, he had recognized him instantly. "Father! That is the Rulin traitor!!" He shouted to one of the five old individuals.

For the very first time, the face of the Golden Cauldron old man turned from one of indifference, to one of surprise. He had finally realized who this middle aged man was. The same was for the Silver Alchemist, whose attention had moved from the eighth rank cultivators which surrounded his group, to the newly arrived individuals which were flying high up in the sky.

The moment the Silver Alchemist had seen his father arrive, the pressure on him had eased greatly. He knew that he was an experienced and old cultivator which could definitely handle more than one individual at the same rank. That was thanks to his comprehension of time essence, which in Nestreia, along with space, sound, and dark essence, were almost impossible to find.

What everyone found odd, was that they couldn’t feel any form of essence sustain Daniel’s and Der’s weight. They were floating in the air thanks to a power that was unknown to them.

None of the cultivators on the ground aside from those at the eighth rank, were able to see the two of them, and the other six powerful cultivators.

Of course, that was not the same for them. The moment they arrived, Daniel and Der had quickly scanned the battlefield with their eyes.. Managing to recognize many individuals.

"It seems my reunion will come a little sooner than yours.. I’ll leave the rest to you.." muttered Daniel to Der with a slightly emotional tone. He had waited for this moment for a very long time. He was nervous, and couldn’t help but wonder if his sister, whom he could see look around in worry, would recognize him.

Without getting himself hung up on his doubts, he forced his immortal essence back, causing his body to plummet on the ground while in a standing position.

*BOOOOOM*

A loud crashing sound was heard when Daniel landed on what was a rocky path just moments earlier.

As the fragments of rock stopped flying about, only a cloud of dust remained.. And inside it, was an unhurt Daniel.

The first person to recognize Daniel was none other than the son of the leader of the School of Everlasting Fury. The two had met each other once in the past, and a clear impression of Daniel had remained deeply buried into his mind.. To a point where he was able to recognize him right away.

"Father.. It’s him." whispered the young man to his father.

The middle aged man had great expectations for his oldest son, whose talent had taken him to being a seventh rank cultivator at the age of twenty-eight. He also approved of his cold and calculative character. For that reason, he knew that If his son were to say something, he was sure that that would be something that regarded an important matter.

Daniel had already recognized the young man and heard his words, but he decided to ignore him. These enemies weren’t his to deal with. Instead, he turned towards the back of the large armies that were surrounding the group where his sister and teacher were, and walked in that direction.

A few of the eighth rank cultivators turned to look at this unknown young man’s casual behaviour with odd expressions. One of these generals directly walked up to him, and tried to stop him, but then, he froze in front of him.

After a simple look above the man’s head, Daniel placed a hand on the general’s chest and forced a heavy stream of immortal essence to seep into the his body. He then turned it into fire essence.. Which caused the powerful general to be engulfed into flames in a matter of moments.

The sight of how easily Daniel had killed an eight rank cultivators came down on the head of the hundred thousand cultivators like a bucket of cold water. They looked at Daniel as if they were looking at an angel of death.

The most surprised amongst these people, was the Golden Cauldron old man himself, which had recognized the power used by Daniel to freeze the general in place as a power of which he was extremely interested in.. time essence.

Daniel kept approaching the army of warriors, but this time, people made way for him.

Of course, Daniel would have never killed all of these soldiers. His father had been a soldier once, and he had grown up with the notion that soldiers hardly have a fault in the decisions that their general make.

A good soldier could have easily been forced into a vicious act.

With exception made for people with an undeniably bad karma like the general he had just engulfed in flames, he wanted these people to prepare for what was to come, not to become their dictator.

He kept walking through this massive army as if they could never be of a threat to him, and as the last few parted ways to let him through, Daniel finally appeared in his sister’s sight.

She was standing there, amongst a small group of scared cultivators which Daniel could recognize slightly, and his spiritual cultivation teacher.

"D..Dan.." She muttered with a broken voice.

Daniel couldn’t help but smile after seeing her now grown up sister. She looked just like he remembered her, with her wavy hair, and clear eyes. Yet, she appeared more courageous. She was a cultivator now.

Of course, for him, she was the same sister for whom he had done everything he could to grant a good life to. But alas, he had failed in that. Even if she hadn’t ended up as the slave of a corrupted individual, his actions had still led her to be forced to conduct a tougher life.

These thoughts had been a constant in Daniel’s mind for years now.

But now that he had seen his sister, it was like they had never separated. He calmly walked in front of her, and said "Did you get any better at cooking?.."

With big tears forming in her eyes, Reila smiled, and threw a punch at his brother’s arm. She then said "You’re still an asshole.. I bet you haven’t found a girlfriend yet.."

Happy to see that his sister’s sense of humor had remained untouched, Daniel moved closer to her, and gave her an affectionate hug.

The moment Daniel hugged her, it was as if she was able to confirm that it was actually him. Deep emotions started to emerge, forcing the two big tears to stream down her face as she tightened her arms around her brother.

The two remained like that for a few seconds, until Daniel let go of her. He then turned towards the Silver Alchemist, and said "Teacher.. Glad to see you are okay."

"HAHAHA! Little Monster! Still kicking it.."

The leader of the School of Everlasting Fury immediately turned towards his father, which was one of the old warriors that were supposed to face the Golden Cauldron old man, and shouted "FATHER!! IT’S HIM! THAT’S DAN HI-"

His voice was interrupted by a scene that sent a shiver down his back.. One by one, the five old cultivators at the ninth rank, were falling down the sky.. Four of them were unconscious, while the fifth, had a bloody hole in his chest.

It didn’t take long for him to recognized who the deceased man was.. It was his father. He immediately looked in the air where the five were standing a moment ago, and there, he noticed Der casually clean his bloody hand.

The moment the five old individuals were defeated, Daniel teleported back up in the air, and said "I am Dan Hiel. The person whom I assume you have been looking for. If that’s the case, then tough break. You don’t have, and will never have the power to capture me, so this ends now. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

His voice was enhanced by sound essence, and powerful enough to forcibly weed out the fighting spirit of each individual present.

The many soldiers looked at their commanders, and soon enough, they noticed the terrified expressions on their faces. Each of the old individuals were cultivators at the late ninth stage of cultivation, which was considered to be the very peak a cultivator could ever reach. To be able to take care of five before they could even notice it, was a clear reminder of their inferiority.

"Sis, where is Mea? And where is Master Kye?" Asked Daniel to a confused Reila, which was woken up by her current state, by Daniel’s words.

"T-they were captured by him." She said while pointing at the Leader of the School of Everlasting Fury.

Before Daniel could even turn to look at the person which Reila was pointing at, Der had already teleported in front of him.

Der felt a deep hatred for this man. The two had always been enemies ever since they were young.. And that was enough for them to not wanting to have anything to do with each other.. But after finding out what the man’s jealousy had caused the man to destroy his family, his negative feelings towards him had only become stronger.

"Where is my daughter." He said with a low and deep voice.

The usually proud and stoic leader of the School of Everlasting Fury now felt like a chicken in front of a butchering knife. His father had already died, and before he could react to that, he was already on the verge of joining. "Der.. I-if you kill me, and you will never know."

"Speak.. And I will kill you quietly.. Or speak and watch as I kill each of your family members in front of you." Said Der with growing hunger. He had, of course, recognized the man’s son which stood right next to him.

"T-they are at my house.. In the prisons.." Said the man with deep fear.

Der turned to look at the man’s son, and with eyes that could cut deeper than a knife, he asked "Is that the truth?"

The young man, seemingly calm about the whole situation he was in, nodded in confirmation.

"Chose." Der added after turning to look back at the leader of the School of Everlasting Fury. He wanted him to choose between dying, or witness to the destruction of his own family.

The middle aged man turned to look at his son with an apologetic expression.. And with a tone filled with shame, he said "I.. I don’t want to die.."

Der’s eyes landed once again on the young man, which surprisingly, was still as calm and composed as ever. Of course, that did not mean that he wasn’t worried, it simply meant that he didn’t show it.

What Der found odd, was that the young man was not surprised by his father’s choice. He had discovered his father’s cowardly side long ago. The same cowardly side which had prevented him to face Der directly, and instead relied on the help of his father, as well as his schemings, to get rid of an adversary.

Now, his father had confirmed his beliefs by choosing to save his own life, instead of that of his children.

Just as the young man expected Der to kill him, He instead grabbed the man by the throat, and after pulling him closer to him, said "This is why I could never stand you.."

"Wait!! Wait! Please don-" *Snap*

With the body of the young man’s father still hanging from his hand, Der turned to look the young man once again, and said "I would start praying that they are safe and sound.. If I were you."