Chapter 3 – The Sovereign's Gambit
The Blacksmith's Hut: A Father's Warning
In the dim, soot-stained hut of the village blacksmith, Tang Hao sat on a low stool, his eyes bloodshot. He had just seen the small, black Clear Sky Hammer in his son's left hand.
"In the future," Tang Hao rasped, his voice thick with emotion, "you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right hand. Forever."
Tang San nodded, but his expression remained unusually tense. "Father... there is something else. Another boy was awakened today. Lakan Diwa."
Tang Hao grunted, dismissive. "I know the boy. The orphan from the outskirts that has the weird marks on his body. Old Jack told me he had a mutation."
"It's more than that," Tang San said, his voice dropping. "He is Innate Level 20. But more importantly... when he looked at me, Father, it felt different. Everyone in this village looks at me like a child, but his eyes... they felt like he was looking at a peer. Like he could see the weight in my steps."
Tang Hao froze. A Rank 20 genius was a threat, but a Rank 20 genius with that kind of spiritual perception was a nightmare.
"He's joining Spirit Hall," Tang San added.
CRACK. The wooden cup in Tang Hao's hand shattered. A suffocating pressure filled the room for a split second before he suppressed it. "Rank 20... in the hands of the Supreme Pontiff," Tang Hao thought, his teeth bared in a silent snarl. "If that boy grows, the Clear Sky Sect will never be able to come out of hiding."
The Sovereign's Departure
At the village gates, the Spirit Hall carriage waited. Lakan Diwa stood before it, his bare chest revealing the intricate Batok tattoos that spiraled across his tanned skin.
To the villagers, these were just "strange markings" he had since he was three. But to Lakan, they are his Symbol—the physical result of his ancestral teachings, and the respect for all the knowledge that they made that he is using to become more powerful.
Su Yuntao looked at the tattoos with a mix of curiosity and fear. "Lord Lakan... those marks. Where did they come from? I've never seen a spirit master with such... decorative skin."
Lakan let out a soft, airy laugh, one that carried an effortless, playful confidence. He hopped into the carriage and leaned back comfortably.
"My parents weren't just simple commoners, Deacon," Lakan lied smoothly, his voice calm. "Before they passed, they found an Ancient Sanctuary deep in the Star Dou Forest's outskirts. They didn't have the talent to use what they found, but they brought back scrolls. The tattoos, the breathing, the bird... it's all from a sect that the world forgot."
It was the perfect explanation. It justified his power, his "weird" martial arts, and his maturity without hinting at his life on Earth, and also, he didn't have the audacity to claim the life hard knowledge of his ancestors as his own—unlike the certain fellow reincarnator would do in the future, he didn't have the shameless that he has.
"An inheritance site..." Su Yuntao whispered, eyes wide. "That explains the mutation! You've inherited a lost legacy!"
Lakan simply smiled and closed his eyes. Through the window, he caught a glimpse of Tang San watching from the distance. Lakan didn't wave. He didn't acknowledge him. He simply felt the "rhythm" of the world shifting.
"The inheritance of a lost sect... yes, that will do for now," Lakan thought, a smirk touching his lips. "Let them chase ghosts while I build a fortress."
The carriage lurched forward, leaving Saint Spirit Village behind. Lakan Diwa was no longer an orphan in the mud. He is the spearhead of a new era.