1 Chapter 1: Cousins

Bronze Dragon Duchy, Dragonhead City, Ethelric Family Manor's Training Ground

"Oh no! I think the Young Lord will pass out soon!"

"We have to stop him!"

"Who can stop the Young Lord when he is set on training? Even the City Lord will find it hard to stop him!"

"So what? Do we just let the Young Lord push his body until he fell gravely ill again? It is our duty to guarantee the safety of our Young Lord!"

Inside the training grounds of the Ethelric Family, a youth approximately twelve years of age can be seen running nonstop. No, what he was doing actually can't be described as running. It was more like he was trying to run but he did not have enough energy to do so.

He was exerting every bit of strength his body could muster but it was far from letting him run freely. His face was as pale as paper and sweat rolled down all over his body. His lips were parted as he tried to take air into his burning lungs.

His eyes were already half-closed as if he would pass out anytime soon but he didn't have any intention of stopping causing the guards of the Ethelric Family to feel conflicted.

On one hand, they want to stop their Young Lord from harming his own body but on the other hand, they are too powerless to do so. Who doesn't know how stubborn the Young Lord is?

No matter how frail his body was and no matter how unsuitable he was for cultivation he still continued to train to the point that it was no different from self-harm.

Even his father, the City Lord is powerless against this stubbornness of his!

"Quick! Call the Young Master! Only he has the ability to stop the Young Lord!" One of the guards said anxiously and the others looked at each other with conflicted expressions on their faces.

Who doesn't know the complicated relationship between the Young Lord and the Young Master?

However, now was not the time to hesitate. If they don't stop the Young Lord in time and let him get sick they would be the ones to answer to the City Lord's wrath.

Without a choice, a few of the guards went out to call the family's Young Master and it didn't take that long before he arrived.

"Zaven Ethelric! Stop right this instance!" A booming voice echoed inside the training grounds as another youth the same age as the Young Lord appeared.

The anxiousness on his face was even greater compared to the anxiousness of the guards and this was for a reason.

While the guards only served the Ethelric Family, the Young Master on the other hand is a blood-relative of the Young Lord. The two of them are cousins!

The Young Lord is named Zaven Ethelric while the Young Master is named Raven Ethelric! Even their names are similar to each other, a symbol of how close their parents were!

However, no matter how loud Raven's voice was it was as if Zaven didn't hear anything and he continued running non-stop.

Knowing that mere words are not enough, Zaven made his move as he controlled his cosmic energy to activate his Innate Talent.

On Raven's feet, his shadows distorted and from them, small black birds emerged. These black birds are the same as the Young Master's name, they are raven birds!

These birds flapped their wings and approached the Young Lord. As soon as these ravens entered Zaven's shadows his body immediately stopped moving.

The familiar sensation of having his movements restricted immediately causes Zaven's fury to explode.

"Raven! How dare you! You dare to attack Dragonhead City's Young Lord?!" Zaven spoke like your average third-rate villain as he stared at his cousin hatefully.

The feelings of helplessness, fury, and most importantly jealousy welled and erupted inside of him. He felt really inferior to this cousin of his despite being the next City Lord of the Dragonhead City.

"Do you think I also like doing this? If you're not acting like a madman, I wouldn't do this! You know how frail your body is! Why do you still insist on training?! Do you want to die?"

As the two of them are of the same age, although Raven is more mature compared to people the same age as him, he is still a hot-blooded young man. He too exploded not because of blind anger but worry.

Yes, worry!

He was worried about Zaven's health but the latter never listened to his or his uncle's words and continued to push his body, often falling ill as a result. If this goes on, who knows when Zaven's body will fully give up?

That is not something that Raven wants to happen to his cousin!

"S-shut up!" Zaven merely said two words but that already took everything of him. Now that he was forced to stop running, the adrenaline from earlier died down, fatigue washed over his senses and his consciousness blurred.

This was something very familiar to Zaven but before he lost consciousness, he still glared at his cousin.

"I-I am the o-one to i-inherit my f-father's p-position and m-make the f-family rise! N-not you!" Zaven said before he passed out and Raven could only clench his fist before ordering the guards to take his cousin back to his room. He also asked them to call the doctor to check up on the status of the Young Lord's body before dispersing them

When only Raven was left on the training grounds, a large hand held him on his shoulder.

"Raven, it has been hard on you" a mature voice filled with sympathy rang and Raven didn't need to turn his head back to know who the owner of that voice was.

"I'm alright, uncle. This is nothing new" Raven said as he turned his head back to give his uncle a smile yet hidden behind this smile was melancholy causing the older man to sigh.

"If... if my brother didn't die to protect Dragonhead City, you would be the City's Young Lord. But even if I want to give you your rightful position..." This middle-aged man was none other than Dragonhead City's City Lord yet this powerful man was not even able to finish his words because he was overwhelmed by his emotions

Hearing those words, Raven immediately shook his head. "You don't have anything to worry about, Uncle. I don't really care about the position of the Young Lord or even the City Lord. All I want is to repay you... and especially Zaven from taking me out of that darkness when my parents died"

"Uncle, Auntie, and especially Zaven are the reason why I'm still alive today. If not for your efforts, I might have killed myself already after my parents died. It was only because you didn't give up on me that I am still here today"

Raven's words were genuine. He doesn't care for the position that Zaven badly wants. All he wants is to repay his family.

"Don't say that, it was only because my brother, your father died that I became the City Lord even though I was not worthy. Even though Zaven is my son, he was born prematurely and his body is weak. If possible, I don't want him to become the next City Lord and just want him to live a carefree life"

"But alas... that child is too stubborn. He was born ambitious. From a young age, he always dreamed of becoming a successful cultivator so that the family could rise with him. But the cruel reality slapped him causing his mind to be twisted. The two of you were very close when you were younger but now, it's like he doesn't care whether his words will hurt you or not"

It could be said that Zaven was the one who brought Raven from the darkness of despair. They were very close when they were younger.

However, as Zaven's body grew frailer and Raven showed more and more talent as he grew up, their relationship soured. Until Zaven became filled with jealousy and harbored unnecessary hatred for his cousin.

To Raven, his cousin was his light and savior, how painful was it for his savior to constantly hate him? This was a very painful thing but even then, Raven hasn't given up on their relationship.

"Don't worry, Uncle! I will cultivate even harder and once I become a powerful expert, I will surely buy the most precious elixir for Zaven! I will make sure that he will be able to cultivate as he wishes! I'm sure that once his frail body recovered, we would be as close as before!" Raven vowed seriously and his uncle, Beltric Ethelric didn't doubt that.

There was a secret that only Belthric and Raven knew that would surely make the latter a top expert in the future!

"I'm thankful for that but waiting for that time might not even be necessary! I heard that there was an auction that will happen in Delta City that includes treasures found on an ancient ruin"

"There was even a Butterfly Egg that is said to have City-level potential! Even if Zaven has a frail body, with his Butterfly Magic innate talent, he could still become a City-level cultivator with the help of the cosmic beast that will hatch from that egg!"

"Fortunately, there are few individuals or families that have affinities for cosmic beasts and even if they are, they might not necessarily be interested. After all, it was evaluated that although the beast within the egg has City-level potential, the cost of nurturing it was too high and not worth it at all"

"Unless there is a special circumstance, none was willing to raise such a cosmic beast but don't we precisely have that special circumstance? Even if it is not cost-effective, as long as it is something that will help Zaven, I will get it at all costs!"

Upon hearing those words, Raven's eyes lit up. If Zaven was given hope to achieve his dream, wouldn't he return to his previous self?

However, Raven is also mature and smart for his age and he soon sank into a deep thought. Despite the fact that the beast inside that egg was evaluated like that, it was still a cosmic beast egg with City-level potential!

Even if few individuals and families have affinities with cosmic beasts and the cost-effectiveness ratio is low, that's still a cosmic beast egg with City-level potential!

Only a City-level cultivator has the right to become a City Lord. Of course, that's not the only requirement. One should either be from the lineage of Nobles or provide meritorious achievement to the Kingdom before they can become a City Lord.

With a City-level beast, wouldn't things be easier?

As such, it naturally wouldn't be easy for Belthric to win the cosmic beast egg on that auction. Not to mention, even if he were to win, the price would be astronomical and even a City Lord would feel the pinch.

However, no matter what, this is Zaven's hope! The Ethelric Family would do everything within its ability to give Zaven a bright future!

"Uncle, please make sure to get that cosmic beast egg at all costs! This might be the only thing that could bring Zaven back to how he was before!" Raven said with a tone that was almost pleading and at that, Belthric naturally nodded his head.

"Of course! I will do my best for my son! That's why, in the meantime, I hope you can work with Butler Wern on the management of the City while I am in Delta City. If you have time, also help your auntie in taking care of Zaven. Although on the outside he hates you, you know how down he is every time he thinks that you finally hate him" Belthric said with a helpless chuckle and even Raven giggled at that.

"You can count on me, uncle!"