The Messenger of Death

Looking at his daughter, Darrel found it hard to believe that Natalia had taken in a disciple. Darrel was well aware of her inability to tolerate other people. "Who is this disciple of yours?" He questioned as he arched a brow. "And how did he make you break your oath?"

"Hmph! He's too talented and abnormal. If I don't continue cultivating, he's going to catch up to me in a short while and after he does, who knows what sort ways he's going to avenge all that I have done to him." Nana chuckled as she explained.

"Why will your own disciple want to take revenge… on you?" Darrel asked.

"Are you really asking me that question, father?"

Darrel shook his head in reply, knowing fully well that his daughter is crazy. "Then it has nothing to do with the person that you gave hairpin to?"

Nana frowned when she heard this, she then turned and looked at the elders that were seated around the room and found out that almost all of them avoided her gaze. This cowardly action of theirs received a sneer from Nana.

"It seems like the message I sent last time from the Sword Pavilion didn't make it to your ears, Father." She uttered gently.

"What message?!" Darrel frowned and looked at the elders seated around.

Those guilty, all reacted the same way they did when Nana looked at them, they avoided Darrel's gaze. Seeing this, Darrel confirmed that some information was hidden from him.

All his subordinates told him was that Natalia had stolen from the Clan's treasury and given an important monument to a stranger. However, they didn't tell him anything about who this person is or that Nana had sent some kind of message home. "I will deal with you old fools later." He uttered, sending fear into the minds of most of the elders.

"So, you gave the hairpin to your disciple?" Daniella spoke after a while. She had a faint smile on her lips.

Out of all of them present, she was the most excited to find out that her daughter cared enough for someone else that wasn't her parents or the parents of her parents.

"Yes, it fits him well. I did tell him not to take it off," Nana smirked as she said.

Understanding her intentions, her mother's smile widened. "So do you love… this disciple… enough to want to marry him?" Daniella probed.

"Why would you ask me such a question, mother? Of course, I would love my disciple, he became my property the day he took me as his master. Do I want to marry him? No, he's just a kid that has gone through a lot, and as his master, it is my duty to protect him. And I'm going to use this platform to warn you old fools," Nana started as she circulated her dense QI subsequently releasing her aura and causing the temperature around to drop.

A gust of mist spread out in the room that they were in and the lights dimmed down. Nana's brown eyes then started to change as specks of crystal-like ice appear in her iris.

Dust of snow appeared out of thin air.

"You can go after the hairpin all you want, send who you want to send to retrieve the hairpin, but if you cause the death of my disciple, or cripple his cultivation. Trust me when I say that even our ancestors wouldn't be able to protect you from my wrath." Nana threatened, and just like her father, she instilled fear into the minds of the elders in her clan.

Even those that didn't fear her previously had to take heed to this threat of hers.

Darrel released a soft snort that dispelled everything that Nana's aura caused, easily. Deep down, he was proud to see his daughter oppress the elders with her might alone. He placed his elbow on the handle of the chair that he was seated on and leaned his head on his hand.

"Natalia, why don't you tell us a bit about this disciple of yours, and if he is indeed worthy, there would be no need to retrieve the hairpin from him." Darrel probed curiously.

"Heh, no way father. You don't need to know anything about him until he comes to the Celestial Plain realm on his own." Nana refused.

"Preposterous!!" An elder stood up and yelled in frustration. "You want me to believe that a lowlife from the Lower Plain realm is more talented than the geniuses that are on the Celestial Plain realm!? You didn't even take a glance at the talented individuals in your clan, instead, you choose to take an outsider in!" The elder spoke his mind, letting all of them know his thoughts.

"Ohh, 5th grand uncle, you are displeased with my decision?" Nana asked with a playful tone.

"Of course I am!! We are a clan that has deep roots and is part of the Order that oversees the 3 Plain realms, why would you ruin our image like this!?" He questioned.

"6, 7, 8, 9… 9 should be enough if I ignore other things and just push through," Nana muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What are you counting for?" Darrel spoke up.

"Just how long it will take for my cultivation rank to catch up to 5th grand uncle's rank. If I remember correctly, he is still at the fifth rank of the Emperor realm, just 3 ranks ahead of me. It might take me 3 years to catch up to him if I go hard." Nana replied in a bored tone.

"Hahahaha!!!" Darrel burst into a fit of laughter. "Yes! That's the spirit! You are not strong enough to battle your 5th grand uncle now, so you cannot oppress him as you do to the others. But once you catch up to him, I'm afraid that he would have to stay quiet when you speak."

Darrel became overjoyed when he heard Nana say that she might have to cultivate hard. This was one of her drives when she was younger. Nana, during her teens, had a great urge to beat the hell out of the elders of her clan because they always tried to control her life.

At first, she could only take out her anger on the descendants of these elders, but as time passed by she quickly became as strong as most of the elders currently in power, and stronger than some. The day she reached the Emperor Cultivation realm, Nana challenged 3 elders simultaneously and told them to fight her at the same time.

These elders were the ones that annoyed her the most. With her talent and affinity towards the extreme of the water element, Nana surprisingly dealt with the three elders and won the duel.

From that day on, she bullied the elders whenever they crossed parts and treated them as if they were kids.

In a clan where power meant a lot, these elders couldn't do much to Natalia unless she goes overboard, for example, the hairpin she stole and gave to Alexander.

"Stop laughing old man," Nana stated.

"Eh, you want to challenge me too?" Darrel revealed a wide smile as he asked, leaning forward.

"Do you dare to accept my challenge?" Nana sneered at her father's smile as she replied on impulse.

Her challenging her father to a duel was also something she did often in the past. After all, her father is also an elder that has been trying to control her life. Although she had never won, even when Darrel always suppresses his cultivation to match hers.

"Do I dare!? My daughter is really back, how about we fight here and now, I'll even suppress my cultivation until I'm a rank below you, what do you think!?" Darrel responded hurriedly in excitement.

It could be said that this was his way of bonding with Natalia. The two of them had no need for heart felts words between themselves, just fists and techniques would suffice.

Nana chuckled, she had admitted to herself that she missed challenging her father. "No, thank you, old man. I don't want to fight with you at the moment." Nana backed down.

"Now, now, I have told many times that a Claus clan member doesn't back down from a challenge," Darrel uttered, not planning on giving his daughter a chance to escape.

"Then why don't you go fight with grandpa or great-grandfather?" Nana mentioned as she eyed her father.

"Do you see me disrespecting them the way you are disrespecting me?" Darrel chuckled.

"Respect is reciprocal, father… or so my disciple says."

"Interesting, but that's not our way. Respect is given to the strongest, fight me, Natalia." Darrel insisted.

"Don't tell me what to do old man," Nana replied in annoyance.

"Fight me,"

"No,"

"I will suppress my cultivation until it is a whole cultivation realm under yours for the first minute," Darrel uttered.

Nana was about to tell him, no, but then she paused. It was the first time that her father was giving her this kind of deal, if she didn't take it, she would have to wait until she surpasses him and that might take a while. "Mother, prepare to nurse your husband. After I'm done with him, he's going to wish he never gave me such an offer." Nana was beaming with fighting intent.

It has been a long time since she used all she had, to fight.

"You must have missed your father very much, proceed as you will." Daniella gave her permission. 'Like father like daughter.' She thought as a smile hung on her face.

-Whoosh!

Nana suddenly appeared in front of her father and threw an earth-shattering blow at him. Darrel saw this and his smile couldn't help but widen.

-Bam!

Darrel shot across the room like a bullet and broke through the walls. And just liked that, the bonding process between father and daughter commenced for the first time in 11 years.