"Seeing the Devil Ancestor showing no interest in you and even being perturbed having to deal with you, the elders will easily in act the next part of my plan without any further effort on my part. You will be branded as trash by the clan, a blind devil descendant, having a meager Soul Dao, who not even the Devil Ancestor saw any use in."
"All devilry resources freely allocated to you will be completely cut off. Even your fathers hands will be tied in the situation. From then on any devilry resources you need will have to be gotten with your own efforts! It's easy for me to determine how my lineage will react to my stance on the issue, I know them best ha ha ha." Kogthoz gloated over his devilish plan.
"Why do I have to be trash!" screamed James. He felt wronged. He was supreme talent, the best of the best! Rarer than phoenix tails and dragon scales! He might even be able to found his own James Abyss one day! ~This blind young master should be able to strut around arrogantly with the clans full backing. ~
"It is the best way to protect you. The tree that stands tallest is the quickest to be cut down by a storm. Let me ask you this. Do you know my n.o.ble t.i.tle little fellow?" questioned the burly devil, hoping to bring James closer to reality.
"You're a mighty Devil Count aren't you great grandfather?" said the young teenager feeling indignant. His great grandfather is a dignified Devil Count lording over a huge territory where his word was law. ~Why can't he be a typical arrogant young master. Whatever thought James, I'll be the trash of the Count's Family, arrogantly throwing my weight around. Who dares stop my path.~
"That's right, looks like they at least are teaching you young fellows the basics." laughed the burly devil.
"To be precise my official t.i.tle is Devil Count Kogthoz Hudson, Lord of the Wesser Forest, Warden of the Hudson Rift. The Wesser Forest and the Hudson Rift are parts our Clan Estate. A Devil Count is a n.o.ble t.i.tle held by devils that have reached the fifth realm of devilry. The only way to be given a fief, becoming a land holding n.o.ble devil lording over countless commoners, is to perform exemplary service to the Empire."
"When I was first given this fief I was a mere Devil Baron in the fourth realm of devilry. As my personal power and the strength of my clan has grown so has my n.o.ble t.i.tle." The burly devil inwardly reminisced about his devilish heroics during his youth. If only there was a prologue where you could read about his escapades.
"n.o.ble t.i.tles in the Xertzul Abyss are systematic, all connected to a specific realm of devilry. Land holding t.i.tles are typically held by the strongest devil in a clan. All devils take up n.o.ble t.i.tles consistent with their devilry realm. The n.o.ble t.i.tles are as follows in ascending order: Esquire, Knight, Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquess, Duke, Arch Duke, King, and finally Emperor.
All these n.o.ble t.i.tles have a corresponding devilry realm. Congratulations, as a member of the Hudson n.o.ble devil clan at the first realm of devilry, vein opening, you are now a Devil Esquire of the Rez'gal Empire." Said the burly devil smiling.
"Now considering I am only a Count and the strongest devilry pract.i.tioner in our entire Hudson House you can see why being too talented would quickly get you killed. Devil Count is five and Devil Emperor is ten. The rise of every new Devil Emperor clan is built on the bones of countless other n.o.ble houses.
"No n.o.ble clan that competes with us for territory would allow you to rise knowing you had such a possible future. So it's best you get used to being considered trash, the label will protect you better than any guards I can send." said Kogthoz with a hint of embarra.s.sment.
It never helped to feel weak as a devil. He was a powerful devil that lorded over many lands but at the end of the day there were plenty of devilry pract.i.tioners and even members of other races more powerful than him.
"There are many strong demon beasts within Wesser forest. I was given this fief to reclaim these wild lands for the Rez'gal Empire. It is one of the many Empires in the Xertzul Abyss. Our territory lies within lands that they have staked a claim to so no other Empires or Kingdoms can fight us for this territory without going to war with the Rez'gal Empire.
However that does not prevent other Rez'gal n.o.bles from seeking a redistribution of Empire territories. Officially all of Wesser Forest is a part of my Estate however most of it remains unclaimed as the demon beast inhabitants are simply too powerful and constantly growing in number. I am only a Devil Count, I suspect there are Duke level demons or stronger within the forest but I have never ventured that deeply."
James slowly but surely started to comprehend what his Devil Ancestor was telling him. He awoke an inborn ability that would make him a target of clans and other powers stronger than the Hudson Estate should they find out. For their own safety and livelihood there was no way the Hudson clan could openly admit to fostering a descendant with an inborn ability.
James would have to gain all his devilry resources with his own effort in the clan. This would surely slowdown his progress in practicing devilry. Considering his Dao was the lowest rung of Soul Dao anyway everyone would look the other way. This would be good tempering for him as well as a smokescreen to outside powers. His Devil Ancestor was truly clever with this line of thought, however James didn't think like other devils.
"So I can finally live my dream of being an arrogant young master?" James was ecstatic his face br.i.m.m.i.n.g with glee. His main goal in life was to be a rich n.o.ble devil, surrounded by numerous beauties, living his days in squaller, and looking down on the poor commoners.
"I'll definitely make you proud Devil Ancestor! Don't worry I'm already ten steps ahead of you!" James had tears of joy in his eyes. All that improve your devilry this, master your devilry that, and contribute to the clan stuff taught by his father was for commoners!
He could finally let his true personality shine since he would be no longer be fostered by the clan. It would be a load off his back. He was finally a bona fide Devil Esquire. His good days were to come. He could finally morph into the useless arrogant n.o.ble young master he was always meant to become! The entire Hudson Estate would become his playground!
"That… That… That's not what I said at all!" the Devil Ancestor Kogthoz seemed to age 10 years listening to James spout nonsense. It looks like he would have his hands full the next few months teaching James. He would have to instill a since of pride and accomplishment in this youth so his masterful plan could be enacted. Other wise he would really have another useless descendant.
"Can you clarify how you reach the stronger tiers of devilry." questioned James. His grand plans for arrogant young master ascension were already rolling through his head. He would need many resources and loyal lackeys. He at least needed to know a bit about the devilry realms so he could know how to recruit his lackeys. Also so he didn't step on the toes of the wrong person. Being an arrogant young master would be hard work.
"Good it seems we are back on track. For now you only need to know the first 2 realms of devilry which are Esquire and Knight, describing the realms afterward would only lead you astray. For the Knight realm you must slowly fill your veins with Devil qi. Acc.u.mulating Devil qi into your veins until they can hold no more. The Devil Esquire realm is sometimes called the Vein Opening realm because a devil gradually opens his veins and fills them with Devil qi."
"Once your devil veins are filled to the brim the only method to become stronger is for you to find a place to hold more Devil qi. Devils choose then to establish their own Devil Heart. They do this by pooling Devil qi at their heart until a Devil Heart is formed breaking them into the Devil Knight Realm."
"A Devil Heart is able to store and pool Devil qi, much like the dantians of humans. You will understand it better when you began practicing devilry. So the Knight realm is sometimes refered to as the Heart Establishment realm. The only realms you need to be concerned about right now are Vein Opening and Heart Establishment."
"You may be wondering why Daos are important and valued so highly by devils after I have explained the first two realms of devilry to you. It would seem like the Daos devils unlock have nothing to do with practicing devilry. All devils have Devil qi and increasing our Devil qi is what the goal of devilry is right?"
"Devils can change their Devil qi into other qis based on the Daos they have mastered. Crafting armaments a blacksmith would need Fire qi so they would have to understand the Fire Dao. Fire qi can have different properties depending on the devil creating it and their understanding of the Fire Dao."
"A devil with a little understanding of Ice Dao and good understanding of Fire Dao could create Icyfire qi which could be used for different things than normal Fire qi but still is a type of Fire qi."
"This is where your problem comes in and why everyone in the clan will view you unfavorably. Devil qi isn't much different than Soul qi, they share many of the same uses. It's about the same as Fire qi compared to Icyfire qi. All devils no matter what Dao they practice strengthen their Devil qi by practicing devilry."
"They can use this Devil qi to perform most of the things done with Soul qi. To learn Daos requires hard work and effort. The ceremony opens a door to a Dao for devils that they would be proficient at. It not only grants a devil initial understanding of a Dao but forcefully breaks them into the Esquire realm, making them official n.o.ble devils. So using your chance to get free Dao understanding in Soul Dao you are a step behind everyone else."
"Your usage and control of your inborn ability is directly connected to your understanding of Soul Dao, so you have to practice it even though it is not very helpful to devils." Said Kogthoz, explaining all these things was tiring to him…
