The Alma Chronicles

Chapter 5:

Just as Jiang Le was still staring at the dragon's gigantic skeleton remains, Yueling had quietly walked to its tail portion and had taken a tiny bone fragment. She proceeded to grind it into powder before mixing it into a wine cup.

With a soft sigh, she proceeded to take out a red pill and dropped it into the wine cup, "You have no idea how fortunate you are. This is the Sacred Dragon Blood Divine Pill, a precious celestial treasure of the Tranquil Palace. Now it will be given to you. Gulp it down."

Jiang Le was startled, "What is it?"

Yue Ling replied, "Do you want to improve your internal strength? Then drink it."

Jiang Le almost jumped out as he said excitingly, "Your meaning, my internal strength will increase after drinking this? I have only heard of miraculous herbs and pills that can improve internal energy cultivation but I have never seen any. Surely it is not real…"

Without hesitating, he grabbed the wine cup and gulped down every single drop.

Immediately he was feeling hot and full of energy!

Yue Ling gently placed her hands on his back, "Don't move. I am helping you to dissipate your vital energies throughout your body or you will surely die."

Jiang Le was perspiring already as the internal heat swelled from within him. He jokingly said, "Alas, it is really my lucky day. Say, how much do you think my internal strength will Improve?"

Yue Ling answered coolly, "One period."

Jiang Le was stunned. One period means sixty years of internal strength!

Sixty years of internal strength cultivation could propel anyone to a super exponent!

"This is not real?" Jiang Le was blinking his eyes nonstop dreamily.

All of a sudden he felt like grabbing his protégé teacher and kissed her foot. Moreover she was such an alluring maiden! And even grabbing her to bed…

But he soon shook his head as he thought, "I mustn't have these awful thoughts. She is my protégé teacher and it is taboo for such a relationship. Jiang Le, are you such a beast for repaying kindness with evil? You have prided yourself as an iron blood man!"

His thoughts quickly returned to reality, "Who are they? If they can get one period of internal strength this easily then they must all be super exponents and they can easily dominate the martial fraternity. But why didn't they? Are they really a true celestial clan?"

Yue Ling heaved a soft sigh, "It is done. Continue to circulate your internal energies for a little while."

Jiang Le nodded as he took a deep breath. He felt so light yet he was seemingly so energetic and full of strength, "I feel like I am reborn again!"

Yue Ling nodded gently as she seated herself, "That's good. Now I shall tell you the origin of our celestial clan."

She heaved soft sigh and said, "Listen and pay heed. Our celestial clan was found thousands of years ago and is an ancient order. The founder was the Lady of the Tranquil Mists and this dragon skeleton remain was her dragon and steed. She was a Dragon Practitioner, the last of her kind who was able to tame and communicate with the Dragon Kind. She had found the Tranquil Palace to aid the potential celestial practitioners to ascend to the Celestial Realm."

Jiang Le was muttering, "Thousands of years old? Hold! This doesn't sound right. Aren't you just…"

Yue Ling interrupted softly, "Aren’t I the 24th protégé grandmaster? Jiang Le, do you know how old I am? I am already eight hundred years old!"

Jiang Le was shocked, "Are you an Immortal or a Fox Vixen Fairy. No one can live this long!”

Yue Ling firmly said, “We are celestial practitioners. We are able to overcome the limitations of life and death. From now on, you are one of us. However for that to happen first, you have to overcome your Divine Calamity first before you can begin your celestial practice.”

Jiang Le muttered, “What Divine Calamity?”

Yue Ling answered, “That is part of your heavenly tribulations that will obstruct you from being a Celestial and your ascension to the Celestial Realm!”

Jiang Le asked, “What is it like? Is it deadly?”

Yue ling said, “You have witnessed it already.”

Jiang Le was puzzled, “Have I?”

She took a melancholy look at him, "That day when we have first met. I was facing my Divine Calamity."

Jiang Le smiled weakly at that and he quickly muttered, "Well, it doesn't look so deadly."

Yue Ling replied with sorrowful eyes, "You are wrong. You will die if you fail to overcome your Divine Calamity."

Jiang Le was startled, "I will die?"

Yue Ling nodded, "Yes. But once you have overcome your first Divine Calamity, you can begin your celestial practice at the Lower Genesis. There are seven celestial divinity to overcome in order to transcend to the Celestial Realm; Genesis, Enlighten, Emotion, Transverse, Seventh Sense, Crisis and Ascend. There are three tiers to each of the celestial divinity; lower, middle and upper. There will be heavenly tribulations that awaited you at every stage. This will be a long journey for you before you can ascend."

She looked at Jiang Le and asked gently, "Have all these sink into you?"

Jiang Le was muttering nonstop, "Overcome my Divine Calamity, Genesis Stage, be a celestial practitioner, eight hundred years, Immortality…"

He bowed to the ground earnestly, "Protégé teacher, protégé mistress! What must I do to experience my first Divine Calamity? What must I do to be a celestial practitioner? What must I do to attain the Genesis Stage? Please enlighten me!"

Yue Ling nodded in approval as she said gently, "The celestial arts of the Tranquil Palace will be imparted to you. I have already given you the Sacred Dragon Blood Divine Pill so you should have already reached the pinnacle level of mortals. All you need is a trigger point for your Divine Calamity."

She took out a blue pearl and looked intently at it, "This is the Divine Alma Pearl, the most sacred treasure of the Tranquil Pearl. It's a precious divine treasure that our first founder had left behind. Do you know how precious this is?"

Jiang Le had recognized it. When he had first seen his protégé teacher, it was clutched tightly in her hands. At that time his mind was occupied by something else…

Yue Ling groaned softly, "Why are your ears so red? What are you thinking?"

Jiang Le turned even redder as he quickly said, "Nothing. It is just that Protégé Teacher you are really just too beautiful."

Yue Ling was startled by his reply. She quickly regained her composure and chided him gently, "You mustn't have any thoughts for me, is that understood? I am your protégé teacher and moreover the protégé mistress of the Tranquil Palace. I forgive you this once."

She quickly returned to the Divine Alma Pearl and it up, saying dreamily, "Naturally you won't be able to comprehend how precious this is because you are not a celestial practitioner. Listen Jiang Le, you must safeguard the whereabouts of this Divine Alma Pearl and never divulge to any one that is not from the Tranquil Palace of its existence. Can you make an oath?"

Jiang Le nodded and lifted his hand, "To the Heavens I swear, I shall tell none about it or else I will be destroyed by the Heavens!"

Yue Ling nodded and said quietly, "This Divine Alma Pearl contains the essence of the Universal Force, the most powerful force in the entire universe. It is able to give insight of the Divine Calamities to the celestial practitioner and help to avert the worst possibilities. However it cannot be used more than three times by each practitioner. I have already used it for the third time and that is the time when you have first seen me."

Her eyes were full of melancholy as she continued, "I can no longer use the Divine Alma Pearl anymore…"

When Jiang Le saw her sorrowful expression, he was heartache so he said loudly. "Protégé teacher, you don't have to be so sad. I, Jiang Le will find you another one!"

Yue Ling smiled, "I am afraid that it will be quite impossible. Moreover even if you found one, it is futile as this limit is still restricted by the power of the Divine Calamities. There used to be two others, so I know."

Jiang Le asked, "Used to be?"

Yue Ling nodded, "This is the only Divine Alma Pearl that is left now. One was consumed when our founder first ascended to the heavens and the other was destroyed by a Divine Calamity."

Jiang Le asked curiously, "It can be destroyed by the Divine Calamity? Then how do you use it?"

Yue Ling looked intently at him before saying, "The willpower of the celestial practitioner is particular important. If your will is weak then the Divine Alma Pearl will be destroyed as well. In order to gain the insight from the Divine Calamity, you must be able to survive its furies with sheer willpower and strength. Only then can the Divine Alma Pearl protects you and preserve your life should you fail the Divine Calamity."

She paused before saying quietly, "You can be destroyed but not the Divine Alma Pearl, do you understand? The fate of the Tranquil Palace depends on this last remaining Divine Alma Pearl. You still have no idea how precious it is. If you fail your Divine Calamity, the Divine Alma Pearl will protect you if your will is strong enough. Nothing is more precious than life itself to the celestial practitioners. Do you know now?"

Jiang Le nodded and said slowly, "Nothing is more precious than life itself…"

How would he not know? All this while, all his life, he had been trying to live and fighting to keep his life!