6 Unfair anniversary

Under a cloudless sky, the relentless summer sun scorched the earth, enveloping the air in dryness. Elias walked in the fields, his hands tightly grasping a hoe. Several other children and a few adults were working nearby, and everyone was busy.

Elias's current task was simple: He just needed to keep digging while others seeded. His muscles were sore, and his skin reddened, yet he did not complain. Despite having awakened his aperture, it was currently useless as he didn't have any manifestation yet. It was akin to having fuel but nowhere to use it.

Actually, in his case, he had no fuel either, as he was stuck between his talent and his rune. If the two forces continued to fight, perhaps one of them would eventually triumph.

'Even If I can't use one, I should start thinking about getting a manifestation. Not just a random one but one with high potential since they are permanent once you merge with them. But at the same time, being a slave is not helping. Let's not talk about rare manifestations and powerful rank 1 manifestations, I would be lucky to even find a weak one.' thought Elias while swinging his hoe.

Manifestations are special abilities possessed by aether beasts. By slaying one of them, they have a very low chance of "dropping" their manifestations under a form of a flame. Cultivators can then merge them into their aperture, gaining thus their power. Once they merged, they only had to use their own aether to activate them.

Naturally, like everything in this world, they have a rank and some limitations. For instance, a cultivator can only merge with a manifestation of the same rank as them, meaning that a rank 1 cultivator can only merge with a rank 1 manifestation.

In addition, each cultivator can only merge with a single manifestation per rank, meaning that a rank 3 cultivator can have at most 3 different manifestations that would increase in rank along the cultivator. That is why it would be essential to choose the right manifestations, as they could impact their future and would accompany the cultivator for the rest of their life.

As Elias was about to swing his hoe for another time, he stopped, noticing an old man beside him suddenly falling unconscious.

A slave overseer stood not too far from the fainted man. With a wave of his hand, the man ordered the other workers to fetch him. When the old man was removed from the field, all slaves began to resume their work.

Elias watched silently as the unconscious body was dragged away. It was not the first time it happened, and he knew that those who were too weak to work were probably going to die soon. They had become weak, and the overseer would not waste any food on them.

From what he has seen until now, it seems cheaper to buy another batch than to cure the sick or keep the elderly.

Elias then heard a sigh next to him. It was his mother.

"Elder Lei... He would often share his portion of food with me when I was pregnant," she murmured.

Elias fixed his gaze on the spot where the old man had disappeared for a moment, then shook his head and returned to work.

The child continued to work, his gaze seemingly fixated on the ground, and his mind was elsewhere. He had pondered about how to deal with his current situation, but unfortunately, there was not much he could think of, even with his knowledge.

Ultimately, he concluded that he could do nothing at the moment. He had seen countless people trying to escape only to be found and executed, so it was not a viable solution. It was not like he could defend himself, either. For now, he could only wait.

He could obviously share his knowledge with the clan, but that would be extremely risky so he did not bother dwelling on it anymore.

After working for a while, Elias was ordered to stop.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Go back and get your rations. You're lucky; it's the esteemed young master's fourth birthday, so you can have some meat for dinner. And tomorrow, you won't have to work, as per tradition. Your lot should be grateful!"

Listening to the man speak, the young boy did not say anything. 'This is the difference in status, ' he thought. It was also his birthday, yet only his mother cared and probably knew.

With his body aching all over, the boy could only follow the others and leave the fields of white flowers.

Like a herd of cattle, the slaves trudged through the forest for about 15 minutes, flanked by 2-3 guards armed with a spear and wearing armor.

Soon, they arrived at their campsite, where everyone resided. Looking around, it could be considered a small village.

All the houses nearby were made of crudely stacked stones, and the roofs were made of straw. A single dirt road led to the center of the village, which was dominated by a large stone building that looked like a barn.

Unlike the other buildings in the village, the stone building was well-constructed and had a sturdy roof. A few guards were even stationed outside the entrance. It was the warehouse where they stored smoky flowers.

As he passed the warehouse, a faint smell reached his nose. He then saw another group of slaves carrying the corpses of a few lesser Direfang toward the middle of the village.

As they approached, a large stone furnace came into view. Several other children had already gathered around, observing a man stacking wood inside the furnace and grilling meat. On the opposite side of the furnace, a younger man was skinning and butchering the slain Direwolfs before tossing their pieces into a large bowl.

"Well, get closer and line up. If you are hungry, then hurry! I can't guarantee that everyone will have some!" When the guard spoke, the children and some adults moved forward.

They then started giving everyone a piece of meat. The meat was not big and looked hard, but the slaves were very happy to have it. Looking at his bowl, Elias did not waste a second and directly ate the meat.

The taste was strong and extremely tough. It was far from what people could consider edible on Earth. Yet everyone around him seems happy. This meat was their treasure, as they were only allowed to eat it once or twice a year.

The guards around them looked at them in disgust.

"Can you believe they are eating that?"

"Yeah, it's disgusting."

"You would need to be crazy to want to eat this. Even if I am not a cultivator, I don't want to ruin my talent."

Elias knew exactly that the "young master" birthday was only used as an excuse for giving slaves some rank 1 meat. This small quantity was far from enough to forcefully awaken their aperture like how Elias did by consuming rank 1 smoky flowers.

But at the same time, eating this meat would lower their potential and risks. It was more of a way for the clan to control slaves and ensure they wouldn't revolt if they somehow developed their own aperture.

As he was about to leave the place, his mother stopped him and put her portion of meat inside Elias' bowl.

"You are still growing. Eat," she said with a smile.

Without saying anything, Elias nodded and began to eat without saying a word.

The woman looked at him and gently caressed his head, watching her son eat the meat she had given him with a smile. It seemed like she did not know that she was feeding him something that would destroy his talent in cultivation.

 Once he finished, they directly headed toward their home, which was one of the huts on the edge of the camp.