Way of the Knights

Chapter 5: Heavenly Cloud Institute

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"Tsk…"

Inside the bathroom, Raven could be seen naked and sitting cross legged while being submerged in a hot bath.

The water could be seen swirling about even though he wasn't making any movements. There's also some floating herbs and flowers that could be seen in the water itself. Raven had been submerged in this medicinal bath for about an hour now, the efficacy were mostly absorb by his body already and not much was left.

The surface of his skin had already turned red from the heat, but beneath the redness of skin was the efficacy of the bath working it's magic. The residues from the bruises and the blood clots that he got from cultivating are mostly gone, he figured that after this bath, he should be able to get rid of those and start his formal practice.

It has been a week since his treasure hunt. Not much had happened to him except running here and there to gather herbs for his medicinal bath and spending time with his family. The same can't be said for his father though.

The night he received the inheritance of the Sun Warriors Clan, he immediately started converting his cultivation to match it along with the use of those elixirs that Raven found as well. He could now tell just how tyrannical and how fierce this inheritance was.

His Energy Essences had practically doubled over the course of one week. It also contained a tinge of fire attribute which was extremely suitable for him. He also found out that he is very close on achieving a breakthrough in his cultivation. Luis gave the credit to the inheritance when in truth, this was the result of Raven's treatment.

He also learned the main combat art and main movement art of the inheritance and his elation grew to the peak. With this, he could confidently say that he was unmatched on a same realm when it comes to raw power. This will help him to solidify his position on the army.

Raven was of course happy for his father. The Gravity Suit that he asked for was fulfilled, his father also threw in a D ranked Spatial Ring along with some bonus allowance as well. Not a bad trade for something that he obtained for free.

***

"Hoo…"

Raven stood up from the basin of water. All of the medicinal efficacy was been absorbed his body now and the hidden injuries are cured. He could now continue cultivating once more.

He dried his body and took out the Gravity Suit. The appearance was like that of a one piece suit, it had a zipper ran from the neck down to the abdomen. It was dark colored and covered most of his body aside from the fingers of his hand and toes, as well as his head. On the wrist part of the suit, there was rune that could be activated which functioned as the device to control the gravity on his body.

What's more is that the gravity forms from the inside of his body and not outside so he does not have to worry about dragging others with him to suffer the weight.

Raven adjust the gravity. He started with 1.5 times normal gravity and felt some resistance, he then pushed it to 2.5 and decided to maintain that weight. This was enough to make it difficult for him to move but not enough to actually hinder his movement.

He took out some garments and placed it on top of his gravity suit. When he's done, he briefly checked himself out on the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

After eating his breakfast, he went outside to meet his father. He saw him waiting for him in front of a horse carriage. He smiled and walked towards him, they waved goodbye at Eva and rode the carriage away.

That's right, it's time for Raven to go the Heavenly Cloud Institute and for Luis to resume his duties at the army.

All along the journey, Raven was peeking out of the carriage and taking in the familiar view of the Kingdom's Outer Ring. The bustle and noises of regular people warmed his heart, though he didn't know who most of them were, he can't help but be thankful that these people are alive and well.

He still can't believe that he got to see this view once more, he felt eternally thankful that he had gotten the chance of experiencing rebirth. This time, he will do things right and prevent the destruction of the kingdom. A responsibility that wasn't forced on to him but one that he will willingly shoulder, for this kingdom was his home.

***

The Heavenly Cloud Institute is the only academic platform that is present on the entire kingdom.

Almost ninety percent of the important figures of kingdom studied and graduated from this institute. It boasted sole hegemony for this matter and a power that cannot be offended, even by the Royal Family.

The institute is divided into three massive divisions, namely the Outer, Inner and Core Divisions. The locations of which, follows the division of the kingdom as well.

Each kid, as long as they desired to be stronger and walk the path towards knighthood, will end up at the Outer Division regardless of their background. Commoners, nobles and even a royalty would end up the same.

That is not to say that their background is worthless here, it's just that the institute favors talent over background, which was the reason why everyone starts at the same line. So long as they prove that they are worthy to be nurtured, then it doesn't matter where they came from, they will receive endless care and resources from the institute.

"I'm off Dad! Be safe at work!"

Raven yelled as soon as he stepped out of the carriage, Luis waved and watched until his son's shadow entered the institute, only then he climbed back inside the carriage and moved along.

Inside the Institute, Raven saw many buildings that have multiple functions. He also saw multiple paths leading everywhere and some students walking about and running some errands.

A serene and melancholic smile appeared his face, after showing the proof of enrollment, the guard let him through and now he was walking towards the dormitories. There weren't too many people where he was going, checks out since he wasn't going towards those enormously huge buildings that saw he earlier.

The road ahead of him lead towards a dense amount of greenery, after walking for quite sometime, he ended up arriving at his destination.

Behind all of the shrubs and tall trees, lies a three tiered stone house that was painted with a wooden color. Beyond this house was a vast field of grass and occassional flowers and hills. One could see some training equipments built around the house and it even has it's own pond.

Raven felt a bit emotional as he gazed at this stone house. There were too many fond memories that were forged in this place, he could even see some silhouettes of him and his brothers having fun in this area. They sweated, laughed, got angry, cried, fought and trained together all for the sake of making their parents proud and pursue their dreams of becoming a Knight, alas…

"Hey! What are you dawdling for!?"

Off to a distance, Raven saw a silhouette of someone who's very familiar to him. From the way he clothed himself, one could easily tell that this guy is a young master. He had brown hair, straight brows, a slightly buffed body and fair skin tone.

"What's wrong? Is it the Demon Lord?"

Another familiar voice echoed. The new guy had dark hair like Raven does. He was slightly taller than the previous guy, his clothes are ordinary and his temperament might be childish but it also carried a noble air.

Raven grinned from ear to ear, he placed both of his hands on his waist and puffed his chest out while saying: "Rejoice mortals. I, Demon King Raven, had graced you with my presence!"

The faces of the two guys ahead of twitched, they were trying their best not to laugh uproariously and carried along with Raven's antics.

"Hoh…" the guys with the brown hair smiled and raised both of his fist, turning them into a claw. "Well met Demon Lord. I, Paul also known as the Ravager of Thousand Mountains, hereby challenge you!"

"My name is Mark, Spear of One Hundred Suns! Challenge thee as well!" The other kid said, wanting to join the fun.

"Oh. Well met Paul, Ravager of Thousand Tits and Mark, Piercer of One Hundred Hymens. I, the almighty Demon Lord, accept your challenge." Raven said in a haughty tone.

He could swear that he almost saw a visible tick on the corner of their foreheads which made him laugh uproariously. The two guys ahead of him charged in a ferocious manner, Raven charged as well and made sure to hold back his strikes, this is just how him and his brothers played for fun. Even though he was being attacked by both guys, he didn't mind it.. This just shows how much he missed these brothers of his.