2 Chapter 2: Naming the Child.

Naerin flew through the dense spiritual clouds which was actually a security measure for the Jade Maiden peak and she was now met with the real vision of the sect itself, her presence already alerted everyone. Multiple disciples took a bow when she passed by. "This disciple greets Matriarch" they said as she passed, their gazes were full of both admiration and fear of her. "Where are the other elders" she questioned a random disciple as she couldn't sense anyone of them around. The disciples heart skipped a beat for a second before she diligently answered-"Ah sect leader, something amazing occurred in the world some minutes ago and-- "I see" she interrupted and left for her secluded quarters, the answer should have been obvious but she couldn't be too sure. Before she fully left she turned around to the disciples and announced to them "when they return tell them not to disturb my quarters unless it's absolutely important". The disciples nod diligently and gave a bow, and as soon as Naerin left the whispers began amongst them. *«Do you think the sect leader could possibly be close to breakthrough»* *«But won't that be too fast even for our sect leader»* *«Yeah I agree, even as much of a genius she is there's no way her cultivation could rise up that fast»* *«But what if it's something else, did anyone notice how indifferent sect leader seemed to be at the news of something amazing appearing in the world»* said another disciple out loud. *«Yes that is weird now that I think about it, there's no way the sect leader possibly couldn't have sensed it too right?»* the disciple who spoke looked around to find her other sisters nodding their head in agreement. *«Wait, before even this happened. Has anyone noticed how the sect leader leaves the sect way more frequently now than before?" *«Yes, that is very strange too. We almost never saw her come out in years at the longest or months at the lowest, now we've been seeing her at least two times a week»* *«What if the Matriarch has found a secret lover»* And instantly the whole crowd turned silent as they looked towards the one who said it, she had bright Auburn hair braided in a princess style, silvery dark eyes and seductively small heart shaped lips. In terms of beauty there was no way she was anywhere near the same realm as the Matriarch, but she was beautiful still, especially those eyes of hers which had a mesmerising feel to them. the silence continued for about 5 seconds before they all erupted for a slight moment but calmed themselves down and begun the wild discussions, the girl just turned around and left as her job was already done. She felt that whatever they were about to stumble upon was for more dangerous than what she just proposed and that's why she fully drove them onto this lane, with their admiration for the sect leader and how all her sisters on here think, they would absolutely believe it and also be compelled to keep quiet about it so as not to cause the Matriarch any problems. This was the best possible solution she could think off on the spot, and if you asked why she was going the extra mile to be this protective over the sect leader. Then the answer too would be her admiration same as every disciple here, even though she had never spoken a word with her before. But she knew that whatever the reason was for the Matriarch coming out more frequently wasn't something the disciples should poke their nose into, being too smart for your own good can sometimes cause the most disastrous results. She also won't trouble herself with thinking about it and instead just focus on her cultivation, Xun entered her quarters and dutifully continued her cultivation. [Meanwhile back with Naerin] After stepping into her home, she took a bath first and foremost before heading out into the yard which was like an Acre like space of pure space full of many spiritual flowers which she grew all for herself. Many types of rare plants were cultivated here and this place was one of the thickest points full of spiritual energy in the entire sect, and this space was also locked from anyone who wished to see or enter. No spiritual sense of anyone weaker than a Heavenly Immortal cultivator could hope to even glance into this place, this space wasn't something created by her own strength as even she was still far too weak for that. Instead it was something created by the first Matriarch of the Jade Maiden peak and it also allowed the next appointed Matriarchs the authority to step into this place, along with whomever the Matriarch allowed authority to see and step into this space. Naerin sent her spiritual sense into her spatial bracelet and selected the objects she wanted to summon out, then right before the shadow Lion beast and the egg which was given to her by those beings now lay before her, along with the ring which was floating around her. The shadow Lion beast lay right besides the egg, it's gaze never leaving it and immediately Naerin could feel the resonance again. She looked at the transparent crimson egg for a while, most specifically the child. Taking notice of it's abnormal features, a long and slender black tail with an arrowhead like tip and tiny little black dragon like wings at it's back. Naerin knew the time of it's real awakening was close, the connection between them is what made her know this. She was worried, what if it caused another phenomenon like last time, perhaps an even greater one than last time, it would be quite troublesome indeed. <<<CRACK>>> Her breath was held for a moment, then it kept on cracking and cracking. The Lion stood up, towering above and it's eyes full of excitement as the egg cracked completely and the child inside was fully revealed to the outside world. A calm wave of energy washed over the entire space, it wasn't domineering but instead just like a breeze. Naerins heart beat in her chest looking at the baby floating before her, yes the child was floating. The shadow beast stood up and did something that surprised Naerin, a massive cloud of dark purplish shadow energy began swallowing the beast whole. Then the cloud began getting smaller, but the surprising thing was the shadow beast actually getting smaller along with the cloud. And when it was finally finished, what Naerin saw before her was a small purplish black kitten with a very prominent purple flame marking on its forehead. Although quite surprising that a shadow beast knew how to do this, it wasn't something strong enough to shake her mentally so her attention returned back to the child. The only thing which was making her nervous right now, she reached out her hands and gently collected the baby from the air, holding him in a mothers embrace and smoothly caressing his face. The connection between them spiked upwards for a moment, almost overtaking her senses but it left the moment it came. He was so warm and beautiful, so incredibly fragile yet has this innate presence of absolute power. She couldn't describe or comprehend the new emotions that begun welling up in her heart as she looked at the child, it felt almost suffocating how good it was. But also incredibly scary at the same time because she knew she would have to take care of this child, she knew exactly what she had to become to the child. All the worries about how to do it, the doubts if she's good enough and what if she were to go about it the wrong way, she didn't want to disappoint those beings whom she owed her very life to. Then just at this moment the child's cute tiny little hands suddenly gripped onto one of her fingers as it's eyes opened up to meet hers with the child basically purring. And just like that all the gears in her mind stopped turning as it all became silent in her subconscious, then she smiled. *Yeah, one step at a time Naerin, one step at a time* she thought calmly to herself and watched as the child began looking around the place with some level of curiosity and confusion. And once it saw the little black kitten standing on the other side of it, the child slowly reached it's hand out to it and the shadow beast moved closer. She watched as it touched it's forehead to the child's palm, and although still not really sure of what was going on yet the child smiled and broke out into a small baby laugh. This just brought more joy to her heart, then it suddenly hit Naerin that the child was fully naked and she would need to clothe him. Also... Naerin looked down at her massive firm mounds and then at the baby who was already crawling out of her arms or was trying to, she allowed the child freedom and to her surprise again the child was doing something weird. Crawling on air, it wasn't floating visibly high up. No, it was only about 2.5 cm above the ground itself. The child of course seemed perfectly unaware of what it was doing and just played with the cat. "Is this some innate passive talent he possesses" she questioned, it most definitely was something that has to do with the child's physique. Naerin sighed mentally at the amount of incoming future troubles that would have to do with this child, but some of these would originate from what she planned to do very soon. But all these would be taken care of one at a time, for now she had decided to fully investigate the ring which those beings gave to her. She took the levitating ring from mid air and closely examined it, it was a beautiful ring no doubt about it. But she couldn't find any special markings on it, just the ring and the crimson red jewel atop it. Steadily wearing the ring onto her right index finger, Naerin felt that sensation again. Her power rose up to at least 40 times greater than before and was still slowly rising onwards, it was exhilarating, almost like achieving multiple simultaneous breakthroughs at once. But Naerin could feel her power was still in the same layer, but he quality of it was a whole other different matter. It felt like it rivaled that of a Heavenly Immortal cultivator but still not quite there yet, right now the only way she could describe it was as if she was only tasting the dog of that realm. The real thing still felt so far away from her, a Heavenly Immortal cultivator, that most legendary realm. It wasn't enough, she wanted more. A seed of greed was steadily growing in Naerins heart and pushing her further and further, but in an instant she seized control of it and destroyed it. Her heart and body remained calm once more, she couldn't allow that sort of deviation to take place in her. Step by step she would achieve it, her current power and age was something that made even the old monsters in the world envious beyond doubt because her potential was something that far surpassed theirs at the very source. And even they do not know that she had stepped into the Half-step Heavenly Immortal realm some days ago, she knew the moment they find out the target on her back will become even larger. She looked at the child who was sitting down mid air and just watching her with eyes of interest, she just noticed it now but even his eyes weren't normal. They were like that of a cat, but a little different, it could be closer to that of a dragon to be more precise. Crimson red hair, crimson red eyes with the pupil of a cat, a long and slender black tail with an arrow like tip, two little dragon like wings, beauty enough to make even those ranked handsome geniuses commit suicide in shame, ability to float naturally and many more things she probably hasn't seen yet. Yup, she had the whole package on her hands alright. Naerin smiled at the child then entered a state of meditation, the child's head tilted a little to the side as he watched her. The shadow cat came to the child and nudged him which drew his attention away and he toppled the cat down, the shadow beast poofed out of the child's grasp which surprised him. But the child just reached out to topple the cat again but it evaded in a strange way that amused the child, then the child watched as the cat suddenly vanished from it's sight and then meowed from behind him. He tried to turn around but the cat was right in front of him, then it continued vanishing over and over again, appearing all around. It was like the whole place was now full of the black creature, the child's mouth hung open with childish awe and it's eyes burned with excitement as it watched the interesting scene before it. It levitated higher into the air and with great surprise the shadow beast as the child began doing exactly what it was doing, no. It was a little different than his, by some weird trick although it was seemingly moving at a speed visible to the normal human eye, there were multiple afterimages being created after it's movements. Then the child got faster and faster, all the while laughing with so much excitement. And to the shadow beasts surprise the child reached a speed where it was hard for even it to track it, although he's massively suppressed himself the feat was still noteworthy. Out of nowhere the shadow beast got toppled down onto the ground again by the child which made it yelp in huge fear and surprise which just made the child laugh. The child yawned and it's grip turned weak as it fell into a sleep sleep in a matter of seconds, the shadow beast understood that it may have overexerted itself with the movements he just performed, so he let the kid use it's body as pillow. Even when he was asleep the child's body was still levitating 2.5 centimetres above ground. Some minutes later Naerin left her meditative state after finding some new interesting features of the ring, but the most prominent one was the fact of how much it boosted her real cultivation speed.. She walked over the child and crouched down, the scene before her made Naerin smile as beast and «man» lay together in a peaceful rest. With the insane boost to her cultivation speed it was only a matter of time before she was fully able to destroy any opponent that dares threaten her, this child and the Jade Maiden peak also. A wisp of ice cold spiritual energy leaked off from her eyes for a moment, she didn't want to disturb the peaceful sleep of the child and so left them as they were. As if right on cue she already sensed the elders returning to the sect, this was good news because she would be making an announcement soon, not just to the Jade Maiden peak but to the whole Heng Yue sect. Meanwhile at the main ground of the Jade Maiden peak, the other sect elders had arrived one by one. They looked to be middle aged, somewhere between their forties and sixties but looked way better than most normal humans their age. The disciples outside gave their greetings and gave way as it seemed the elders weren't in too great of a mood. "Has the sect leader still not returned" said an elder angrily. "She must have sensed what happened in the world too so where is she" said another elder angrily. "Ah, um..um elder.." a disciple warily called and an the elders turned around to face the disciple who called. "The sect leader already returned a while ago" she said with a bowed head and instinctively clutching her beating chest at the suffocating pressure she was feeling from the elder. The elder coldly turned around and head straight for the main gathering house of the elders with the three other elders following her. Once they reached five meters within the palace like structure they could already sense her presence which surprised them as she hadn't been there in years, so they walked in to see the Matriarch seating on her throne and facing the direct entrance. The distance between the entrance and the throne was approximately 15 meters, and around the main seat were the four main elders who just stepped in. The width and breadth however was much larger as it measured about 30 meters in both width and breadth, Naerins cold and aloof eyes watched the elders as they approached. There was a different feel to her when she sat in this place. "Forgive me Naerin but can I ask where you were" the elder foremost of everyone spoke. Yes, they could call her by name instead of something formal. Naerin watched the elders with a hawk like gaze, none of them seem surprised to see her alive. She knew this because from the very beginning they arrived she had been reading their hearts from the very moment they arrived, what she could sense now was some anger and she could guess the reason. The elder grit her teeth at the silence she was receiving "even if you don't want to say it, was whatever you went out for more important than the incident that just occured in the world" "You can't say you didn't sense it right Naerin" she stared the sect leader straight in the eyes as she spoke. Naerin still maintained her silence for a couple more moments before she opened her lips and spoke "in an hour I'll be making an announcement at the main gathering hall, the sect leaders of the other peaks have been informed, enough disciples from each peak are advised to attend" she said with utmost calm. The elders were completely bewildered and without care Naerin gracefully stood up and went behind the throne to the secret room which lead outside. It took some moments before they recovered "She's making an announcement that requires all the sect leaders to attend? What could it possibly be" an elder asked. And it didn't take long at all as news travelled throughout the Heng Yue sect, the most seclusive Sect leader had an announcement to make in one hour. The drools of Hungry male disciples who had heard about the leader of the Jade Maiden was impossible to contain, stories of her beauty and power was something that spread and wide. It was said her martial arts are powerful enough to stalemate three other cultivators on the same level as her from the Inner gate of the sect, and she alone could wipe out the three peaks of the Heng Yue sects outer gate. To some she could be called the second most powerful fighting force of the Heng Yue sect after someone else, what an honour it would be to meet her. Enough disciples were picked from each peak to attend the meeting along with every elder, or most of the elders of each peak anyways. The outer gate sect leaders had no choice but to attend, but the sect leaders from the inner gate could ignore a meeting from one another, just the disciples were enough to attend. And so an hour later the main meeting hall of the sect was now fully stacked, waiting for the arrival of the Jade Maidens Peak Matriarch to arrive. [Back with Naerin] A little 9 year old girl was staring at the child clothed in an exquisite white flowing silk garment on Naerins bed, and right besides her was her little 6 year old sister watching the kid with interest also. The black cat which lay right next to the baby was also a weird one, Naerin stepped into the room a second later and they both turned to look at her. She paused a little and then flashed both girls a smile, "Seems you two are already acquainted with your Junior". "Ahh?" The Youngest exclaimed in awe and the eldest too had a look of surprise in her eyes. Naerin walked towards her bed and picked up the child whose eyes lit up like a flame when he saw her again, the black cat got up and jumped down the bed. "Chu Xuan'er, Chu Ling'er, I'll be back soon and you can all you want about your new Junior" Naerin told the two little girls as she left carrying the child in her arms with the cat following close behind her. Meanwhile at the Main meeting ground, an extra ten minutes had passed since the venued time and some were begginning to wonder what was keeping the Jade Maiden peaks leader. The elders of the three peaks residing in the outer gate began conversating amongst themselves, but then everyone stopped and looked up high in the sky. Mouths of disciples turned agape at the being which was coming down before them, what in the world could have created someone this beautiful is what they asked themselves. But the elders were different, as much as their eyes were on Naerin, they couldn't resist looking at the little thing she had in her embrace. **A child!?** Mentally exclaimed the three outer gate Peak leaders in unison, since when did the....and why does it have a tail?.....No. Conclusions couldn't be reached yet, they had to listen first. The disciples too also noticed the child in her embrace and were the most confused they could have ever imagined themselves being. Those beautiful crimson eyes like that of a dragon watched the multitude of people before it, then looked up at the woman holding him in it's bosom. "On one of the most turbulent days the world has ever experienced I have come to make a statement" Naerins beautiful voice carried an immense chill as she spoke, it felt almost crippling just how terrible it was. The atmosphere had turned an immediate 180° just as she spoke. Naerin looked down at the child for a moment before slowly releasing him from her embrace, and to the widened eyes of everyone present the child was just simply floating Her gaze returned to the crowd, "Look upon this child very closely, he is my son. And i vow before heaven and earth.... The sky suddenly turned gloomy and Naerins aura began rising up like a storm, a massive pressure spread all over everyone present. Most disciples immediately fell on their knees gasping for air while looking at Naerin with pure eyes of terror, the elders were barely holding on with their trembling legs. Not even while using their pressure could they resist the wave of power washing over them, it was too great, much too great. ...."The day any of you old cunning fools from this sect ever dares try involve my child in their enmity against me, on that day you shall witness with your eyes the end of the Heng Yue sect". "And all that shall remain will only be remembered as the valley of blood, this is my promise to you all. The heavens and everyone here is my witness, and if I fail to destroy you all....then may the heavens strike me down to oblivion". A huge bolt of lightning struck down at a nearby mountain, instantly vaporising the whole thing and the pressure released by Naerin climbed even higher, she looked like a raging goddess with endless might and power casting judgement on everyone and everything before her. She looked down into the child's eyes to find not the slightest bit of discomfort nor fear at the situation all around him, the child was in fact almost amused. Naerin smiled and looked up at the turbulent skies, then looked down at the child once more. His crimson eyes locked onto her starry violet ones, and with the most heartwarming of smiles she spoke. "I shall name you...Nezha". EnD.

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