Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

"Who wants to go first? They'll be rewarded with headpats! For the ladies, exclusively, my skeleton minion shall even bestow a kiss on my behalf!" Han Xuhan shouted once again. Zhanxian's consent was not brought into the equation.

Even though it was everyone's intention to take part in the third test to become a real cultivator of law techniques by entering one of the five inheritance platforms, when their most hated captor announced the reward, they felt another wave of anger and hatred coursing through their veins.

Heavens, why not strike this scourge to death with a lightning or ten?

Feng Jun stepped up to volunteer before anyone else could. His plan was very simple.

Since he was bound by the contract to those sinister fellows, as long as he stayed away from them, they wouldn't be able to impose any unsavory commands on him on a whim. This third test could be an excellent opportunity to put some distance between him and those hateful bastards.

But he wasn't the only one who had realized this fact. So a verbal battle broke out in order to determine who gets to be the first guinea pig.

"Aye, it is gratifying to see how enthusiastic our slaves are! They don't even care about their own lives, willing to sacrifice themselves in order to ensure our safety. It sure seems like we're the best masters a slave can hope to submit to!

Hey, fellow cultivators, wanna make this contract a permanent thing?"

It is unnecessary to state who spoke those words. It is also unnecessary to state how many bloodshot gazes were directed toward his direction. It is even more unnecessary to describe how satisfied the speaker looked upon seeing the reaction his words had generated. Had this been a multiplayer game, the system would have shown notifications by now along the lines of:

{ you have reached the limit for maximum stackable aggression points. Acquired new achievement and unlocked hidden mission - [ Kill On Sight ]

Mission details- you're the target of the mission. Why are you reading this and not running for your life yet, you daft fuck? }

In the end, after much discussion and some half-serious brawls, Feng Jun managed to snatch the position of the 'selfless martyr for the masters' and rushed toward the metal platforms.

The rest of the cultivators formed a long line behind him. Even though this would mean that Mu Ran and Qian Yun, the two cultivators who were the most eager to explore the Holy Land of laws would have to go last, neither of them seemed particularly dissatisfied with the arrangement.

With nervousness laced in his movements, Feng Jun stepped toward one of the five platforms. He had already chosen which type of law techniques he wanted to study further. Without any hesitation, he chose the platform bearing the title: Elemental.

Han Xuhan threw him an emerald orb to activate the law fragments on the platform.

Then Feng Jun's own qi poured out in a frenzy as he directed them to come into contact with the complex laws on the platform he had chosen.

Seconds passed. Everyone waited for something to happen with bated breath.

On the platform, Feng Jun started sweating profusely. It was taking up too much qi. He didn't know if he would have enough qi left for whatever procedures came next. There was no opportunity for him to sit down and recover some qi.

The platform sucked in more and more qi continuously. Gritting his teeth, Feng Jun gave it his all and pushed down his entire qi reserve inside the obscure laws.

Just as the last trickle of his qi vanished inside the platform, a violet glow enveloped him, blinding the onlookers with a sudden flash of brightness.

When their sight recovered, they saw that the platform was empty. Feng Jun and the light surrounding him had vanished. What attracted their attention, however, were the lines of texts that glowed above the platform in the air.

A huge, semi-transparent leaderboard had appeared in the void above their head. The shining golden letters on it were hard to miss. It was titled:

The Magisterium

The leaderboard sported twenty-one ranks, exactly the number of cultivators present there. The first five slots were emitting a bright golden hue, with the top spot being occupied by Feng Jun's name. There were some interesting miscellaneous information beside his name in the slot.

Cultivation Base- sixth layer of physique transformation

Qi Quality- 5.8 / 10

Dao Base Quality- 6 / 10

Law Proficiency- 3 / 10 (limited to physique transformation realm)

Chosen Inheritance- Elemental.

Judgment- pending...

It looked very cool. Han Xuhan also immediately felt an urge to beat everyone, occupy the number one spot as a dark horse, and show his awesomeness in front of the entire world. But he was aware that even his dreams these days weren't that nice.

Besides, there were safety issues to consider...

Realizing that Feng Jun had been probably teleported to wherever the judgment was being held, the rest of the cultivators breathed a sigh of relief and rushed toward the platforms one by one.

Some chose the elemental platform like Feng Jun had, some chose the sentient contracts, some the force...

Soon, only Han Xuhan, Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou, Qian Yun, Zhanxian, and the legion of undead were the only ones left outside the platforms.

"Well, it looks like there aren't any further issues to be concerned about other than our own choices right now," Qian Yun remarked calmly as they observed the gigantic leaderboard above.

Feng Jun had maintained his position as the top dog in the ranks, despite the poor evaluation he had received from the Magisterium. The majority of the cultivators who had entered the leaderboard had scores lower than him in most categories. The handful of cultivators who surpassed him in a category or two were all ranked within the top five.

Qian Yun's heart was fluttering. His moment had finally come. The sentient contracts...It was clear to him which inheritance he wanted to pursue.

Just before he decided to say goodbye to his teammates, he heard Han Xuhan proposing a rather reasonable suggestion.

"I'm hungry. Who's got food? I need food. We should replenish ourselves before we start playing."

Yuen Zhou wordlessly pointed one of her hands toward her undead legion and a large zombie bird carrying a pouch flew over.

"Martial sister, your ability is really, really, REALLY cool!"

Han Xuhan rubbed his fingers in anticipation and caught the dry packets of food Yuen Zhou threw his way. Mu Ran also took some, and Qian Yun had no intention to refuse.

After the dry meal was finished, Han Xuhan produced a half-full water sack from his robe and passed it on to everyone after taking a swig. Together, they were the very picture of a team of classmates who had come to their favorite picnic spot. It was a relaxed scene straight out of a slice-of-life anime if you could ignore the legion of mutated zombies camping peacefully a few yards away. If the cultivators who had rushed into the third stage without any rest saw them right now, they would probably crush their own teeth from grinding them too hard. Han Xuhan regretted that he hadn't thought of this idea sooner.

"I assume each of you has made different decisions regarding which type of laws you want to study. Then it's time for us to part, brother Xuhan," Qian Yun finally said after resting for a bit.

"Let us hope we meet again in the future, alive and well."

"Yep, it was a pleasure having you as a bodyguard, brother Yun," Han Xuhan replied in a voice full of emotions. Qian Yun laughed and patted him on the shoulder before turning around and walking toward the platform sporting the title: Sentient Contract.

After he had vanished from his spot, all three of them looked at the leaderboard, awaiting his appearance on the ranks.

Soon, it blinked into existence and pushed its way to the top five with great momentum, occupying the third position!

Cultivation Base- fifth layer of physique transformation

Qi quality- 4.2 / 10

Dao Base Quality- 5 / 10

Law Proficiency- 6.1 / 10 (limited to physique transformation realm)

Chosen Inheritance- Sentient Contracts

Judgment- Pending...

His proficiency in the language of laws was unsurprisingly the highest one among all the cultivators on the leaderboard. He hadn't indeed lied about his past roots being connected to the Land of Laws.

"Underling Xuhan, do you want to try going together? After all, you're...slightly weak," Mu Ran voiced his concern.

"Thanks for the praise, boss, but I thought you had other reasons for coming here. Are you really sure you're going to stick to the procedures, obtain a cultivation technique and then go home?"

"Well... " Mu Ran rubbed his cheek awkwardly.

Indeed, Han Xuhan had addressed the issue he was worried about. He couldn't really afford to let another person tag along with him when he was about to accomplish his goals for coming here. What he was about to do... was anything but safe. Han Xuhan would probably get killed as soon as the shitstorm started.

"In that case, take care. And be careful. Trust nobody from the land of laws, especially if they claim to be authority-level figures. You're too weak to chase after the Inheritances here. And remember to run away fast if you see any fights breaking out."

Giving him another pat on the back, Mu Ran jumped on top of the platform bearing the title The Force . A few seconds later, he vanished as well.

On the leaderboard, a new name appeared, one that immediately pushed all the names aside and rushed to occupy the top spot!

Cultivation Base- Fifth Layer of physique transformation realm (?)

Qi Quality- 7.7 / 10

Dao Base Quality- 8 / 10

Law Proficiency- 5.9 / 10 ( Limited to physique transformation realm ) (?)

Chosen Inheritance- Force

Judgment- Pending...

"Impressive, impressive..martial brother Mu Ran sure rocked it, haha."

Han Xuhan laughed upon seeing the changes on the leaderboard and turned to look at the last remaining member of his bodyguard association. Both of them consciously ignored the question marks beside Mu Ran's stats.

"Martial sister Zhou, it's your turn. I'll go last."

Yuen Zhou looked quite pale for some reason. Looking back at her undead legion, she made a gesture at them to stand there as guards. Then she spoke to Han Xuhan in a rather strange manner.

"Ergh...martial brother, a word of advice, whatever inheritance this test ground offers, be careful not to risk your life for it. Your own life is more precious than any cultivation technique. Take care," she warned, her teeth gritted and her face stiff. Han Xuhan couldn't help but wonder if he had offended her somehow.

Yuen Zhou didnt stand on ceremony and hurried toward the platforms, choosing the same one as Qian Yun, surprising Xuhan.

Soon, a new name lit up and appeared on the leaderboard's top five. It actually occupied the second rank!

Cultivation Base- Third Layer of Physique Transformation realm (?)

Qi Quality- 7.3 / 10

Dao Base Quality- 8.2 / 10

Law Proficiency- 5.5 / 10

Chosen Inheritance- Sentient Contracts

Judgment- Pending...

"Oooooh, fuuuuck! Is she the lead antagonist or what?" Han Xuhan exclaimed in surprise.

Things were getting more and more interesting!

Deep within the fog, inside a large hall, Yuen Zhou's figure suddenly materialized into existence, streams of blood gushing out from her nostrils.

"How did this happen? Why has my mental connection to so many undeads been severed? Where did they vanish off to? How?

...Aghh, the backlash is still way too strong for me to take on at my level..."