The female Veilmaster kept on staring at Simon with his hand still stretched out, and after a while, Simon asked with a light smile.
"What about this? Aren’t you taking it?"
The female Veilmaster seemed to be taken out of a trance. She looked at the blood soaked condensed shadow essence, then she shook her head.
"No. You’re meant to keep it with you. You’ll still need it."
Simon glanced at the tiny black marble in his hand with raised brows, then he nodded and kept it in his robe.
"What am I to do next? Or do I wait for the others to be done?"
The female Veilmaster shook her head, then she turned and pointed beyond the stone bridge behind her.
"You’re to enter that place and locate the withered tree. It’s the only withered tree in the valley."
Simon tilted his head and looked at the stone bridge.
"Is that the second trial?"
The female Veilmaster shook her head. "No. If you’re able to get there, you’ll meet an instructor who would tell you what the second trial is."
"I see." Simon muttered softly, then he bowed slightly at her.
"Thank you once again. I’ll be off."
Without waiting for a response, he walked past her and the other Veilmasters, then he began walking on the narrow stone bridge behind them.
All the Veilmasters and the clan members who were to act as guards looked at him with varying thoughts and emotions.
A few seconds later, the female Veilmaster asked.
"Who is he?"
One of the Veilmasters placed a finger on his temple, then a few seconds later, he spoke.
"According to the records, his name is Blackmoon and he was admitted into the trial three days ago."
The female Veilmaster looked at the Veilmaster who just spoke with a frown behind the mask.
"Three days ago? We stopped accepting candidates a week ago."
"The Grave Lords were the ones who ordered that he should partake in the trial."
The female Veilmaster froze, then she looked at Simon who was calmly walking on the bridge despite the heavy gusts of chilling wind that caused the narrow stone bridge to sway wildly.
’He’s using his demonic energy to attach himself to the bridge? What a talent!’
Her eyes shone brightly the more she observed Simon.
"You said his name is Blackmoon?" She asked.
"Yes." The Veilmaster replied.
"Just Blackmoon? No last name?" She asked again.
"Yes. Just Blackmoon with no last name." And the Veilmaster replied with the same answer again.
The female Veilmaster frowned deeply behind her mask.
"How could that be? With his talent and exceptional use of demonic energy, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was from one of the six clans or a kingdom."
She looked at the Veilmaster.
"Then what about his bloodline talent? I can see that he’s just a Minor Lesser Demon and that he awakened his chaos flame not too long ago. Surely, his bloodline talent must be at least in the Royal rank or a Supreme Noble bloodline at least for the Grave Lords to make an exception for him."
The Veilmaster paused, and a strange silence engulfed their surroundings until the Veilmaster broke the silence.
"Supreme Common."
The female Veilmaster was stunned.
"What?" She asked with a baffled tone just to make sure she had not heard wrong.
"He has a Supreme Common Bloodline, and he awakened his chaos flame three days ago."
This time around, it was not only the female Veilmaster that was stunned. The other three Veilmasters were also stunned.
"What?"
"How can that be?"
"Just three days ago?"
The three Veilmasters all exclaimed in disbelief, and even the Veilmaster who spoke also had an expression of disbelief.
"Are you sure about that?" The female Veilmaster asked with a solemn tone.
"I am." The Veilmaster nodded.
The female Veilmaster looked at the bridge Simon had crossed with so many thoughts running through her mind.
Simon was no longer present on the bridge and had long entered the Valley’s depths, but she subconsciously recalled Simon’s appearance and demeanor.
Especially his eyes... His sky blue feline eyes that showed no sign of fear even when he stood before her.
She closed her eyes.
"So, a child who just awakened his chaos flame three days ago was able to kill a seventeen year old child who has become a Fiend?"
She asked no one in particular, and she could not help chuckle in intrigue and disbelief.
"So many things are strange about that boy and the circumstances regarding his admission into the trial. However, since it is the will of the Grave Lords, then so be it. We can’t do anything about it."
She paused, then she looked at her fellow Veilmasters.
"Tell the watchers to observe that child. The Grave Lords must have placed him in the trial for a reason."
"As you wish." One of the Veilmasters bowed, then he vanished.
The female Veilmaster turned to the front with her arms folded and her eyes closed in thoughts.
’I don’t know what the Grave Lords are thinking putting a boy who just awakened his chaos flame in this year’s trial. Have they forgotten about the variables of this trial? And about that other problematic child?’
’Did they forget that majority of the children in this trial are seventeen year olds who are Fiends and have spent a year refining their chaos flames?’
’Just what are they thinking?’
She released a sigh and opened her eyes.
’And everything about that boy is so strange. I already knew that he was the weakest because of his pitiful amount of demonic energy and also his mixed race of a one-horned demon and a demon cat.’
’But because of what he did, I somehow believed that he had a Noble or Royal Bloodline.’
’How foolish of me.’
She shook her head while inwardly mocking herself, but then she froze and looked at the bridge Simon used.
’But wait, the bloodlines of a one-horned demon and a demon cat are Lesser Bloodlines, and both bloodlines are not compatible with each other, so how his bloodline a Supreme Common Bloodline of all things?’
’Just who is that boy?’