92 Hal's Family Treasury

  Ryker looked at the elder in surprise. Not just him, even his sons and grandchildren looked at him in shock. 

  "I thought the elders' assembly only allowed for him to take one treasure, father," Solail said with a respectful but confused tone.

  The old man snorted, "Don't worry about it. If they ask, tell them I decided to allow him to take two treasures. All the responsibility would be mind to bear," he said, making Solail sigh.

  He turned his head to look at Ryker, "If the esteemed elder allowed it, then young friend, you can take two treasures from the treasury,"

  "Can I really?" he couldn't help but question, after all, the treasure in there would most likely be of high quality, maybe even Grade 5 pills, weapons, resources, and other items that would help one journey in cultivation.

  "Yes, just take the chance you youngin, " the oldest one in the room said, making Ryker nod. His siblings and lovers merely looked at the exchange with interest, though Ariana decided to try to hug another new person she met.

  "Oh," the old man let out, feeling the hug of a small 2-year-old. He lightly chuckled, using one arm to hug the girl. Regretfully, he removed his arm before lightly pushing the small girl back to her group, the girl enjoyed hugging new people.

  "Haha! To think a little girl is braver than most of you. Unfortunately, I have stuff to do so I'm going to lead him to the treasury. Solail followed me. The rest, entertained our other guests," the old man ordered.

  Hearing his command, his children and grandchildren nodded. Solance, Shuri, and the uncle led the rest to another room, while, he followed after the old man.

-x-

  He thought the treasury would be somewhere far, but he never thought it would be this far. He had walked an estimated half an hour, but they didn't even reach their destination. He wished to ask where they were but refrained from doing so, knowing the location of the treasury likely be a major secret.

  Besides, they might lie to him and he wouldn't know the truth. He was pretty sure they passed several illusion formations and mind-altering formations, making sure any intruders would be confused and forgetful of the path they had just taken.

  As they walked into a large area, he spotted a huge vault door, with a powerful formation inscribed on it. He was sure even Genesis Core, maybe even Genesis Source realm expert would have trouble breaking the defense.

  He watched as the two took out a small token each, before letting it fly to the door. Two small holes in the shape of the token appeared, entering it and making the door open. He waited until the door was fully opened before trying to take a peek.

  The two seemed to not mind it, letting him try to see the inside of the treasury. He wasn't disappointed in the slightest, the treasure inside would make even the kindest person attempt to steal everything inside.

  He spotted countless treasures, all arranged on their respective racks. He could see a plaque near each treasure, likely feeling the name and its usage. Just the front had sent him in awe. He was not sure if his heart could handle the more priceless ones located at the back.

  He waited for a while before the old man looked at him, "Get inside youngins, you the only one that can enter. As for the treasure, it's up to you to take which one," he told him. 

  Hearing the old man's words, he entered the vault, casting some astonished looks on all of the treasures.

-x-

  As the two waited for the young man to take his pick, the younger of the two looked at his father questioningly. 

  "Father," he called the old man, the old man giving him a look, "Why do you allow him to take two treasures? And don't say because he saved Solance. While you care for us in your own way, you still will only let him take one treasure. So what made him different?"

  Seeing how his normally polite son, at least to him, looked at him with a serious expression, he knew he would have to tell him.

  "Because I want to have him be the friend of our Hal Family," he answered. Solail looked confused, so before he could ask, he decided to explain.

  "That young man, his potential is terrifying. At the same age as both Solance and Shuri, he had reached the Genesis Foundation realm. Besides, I don't know if my instinct is playing with me or not, but his aura, while at the Genesis Foundation, could rival experts at Genesis Core," the old man explained.

  "What?! But he is still at the 5th Stage! If he was at the peak or even at least 9th Stage, then it made sense," Solail said in shock.

  The old man let out a laugh that lacked mirth, "And that's why I want him to be our friend. His potential is immense. He may even be an important figure in the Birak Kingdom, though that is for the future.

  For now, we should try to be his friend. From what Solance said, he is the type to care for his close one. Maybe, with his help, the Hal Family will rise," the old man said, Solail looked to the door vault, seemingly shocked by the high evaluation for the young man.

  "It's a pity he had so many lovers. If he had no lovers, I might let him court Shuri," the old man said, sighing at the fact his granddaughter would miss such an amazing young man.

  "Well, father..." Solail hesitated to tell about Shuri's little crush on Ryker. In the end, the look he got from his father made him tell everything. In his mind, he prayed the young man would survive his father's silent fury.

-x-

  Not knowing what happened outside and how much in danger he was in, he looked at every treasure with a calm look. He knew he would only get two chances so he should take what he needed. 

  He does have one thing in his mind, a treasure with an abundance of water energy. He planned to cultivate the Boundless Water Mantra. So a treasure with a lot of water energy would be the best. 

  As for the second one, a pill that could help him build his foundation or at least allow him to get to the next stage is what he's looking for. He had scoured every rack and had found one such pill.

  He needs to find a treasure filled with water energy. Though he had looked at nearly every rack and didn't find one. He hoped he would find it at the last one or he had to take a treasure rich with earth energy.

  At the last rack, he could feel an abundance of water energy. Heading there, he spots a pristine blue lotus inside a bubble of water.