Chapter 183 - Irene
Damien bowed along with Triton and Blake as they stood near the old woman.
The old woman smiled as she slowly got up with a walking stick in her hand to support herself, "So you are Damien Godwin."
Damien said in a respectful tone, "Junior Damien Godwin greets Senior…" He tilted his head up as he asked indirectly for her name.
The old woman softly chuckled as she said, "You can call me Senior Irene. Now rise, son."
Damien stood straight and saw the old woman keenly studying him, and when he saw her stark blue eyes, he felt as if her eyes were deep as the boundless oceans.
Irene nodded at Damien with an approving look and then looked at Triton with a warm expression, "Triton, my child. It's been a long while since you visited your grandmother. Why don't you come closer so that I can take a good look at you."
Triton showed a cold expression as he stepped back, "I have work to do, grandmother. Some other time. Send Damien back after you have placed the seal on him. I am leaving now." Triton left as soon as he finished saying his words.
He walked away without even waiting to listen to what Irene had to say.
Blake sighed and looked at Irene with a complicated expression. Irene nodded at him with a woebegone look. Blake gave a deep bow and turned around to follow Triton.
'Seems like Triton and his grandma aren't on good terms, huh…' Damien thought that there were some family issues between Triton and his grandmother.
Irene turned to look at Damien and said, "Come, let's take a short walk. If I don't walk around occasionally, my weary old bones might get rusty."
Damien nodded and walked beside her as the two walked towards the meadow in front of them.
He speculated that Irene was probably at the end of her life span to seem feeble and weak. In fact, it could also be the case she was more than 1000 years old!
Only when one tries to live past the age they are supposed to; their bodies slowly break down.
For instance, now that Damien's cultivation was at the Spirit Ethereal Realm, he could live comfortably till the age of 140 without any health issues. But after he lives beyond the age of 140, health problems would slowly start occurring in his body. And this was true for everyone, no matter their cultivation level.
The two walked silently, and Irene broke the silence by asking, "Are you wondering why we are giving so much importance to you?"
Damien said after a brief silence, "Yes. I just can't see how I could even help in important missions. My cultivation isn't even good enough to accompany your people in vital missions. Sure, I can become a powerhouse in the future if I train diligently. Is that why you people recruited me?"
Irene smiled as she said, "That's only one of the reasons, and it's only a matter of time before your name shakes the whole continent."
Damien was a bit surprised that Irene seemed so confident that he would become a supreme existence in the future. After all, even if one had superb talent, it isn't guaranteed that they would mature into a powerhouse.
So many exceptional geniuses had fallen on their journey of cultivation due to various reasons. Only a very small fraction of them manage to reach the other side.
Irene continued, "And I have noticed how you are different from the other youngsters of your age. You are proud but not foolishly arrogant. And you are fearless enough to challenge anything that goes against your beliefs. Our society needs someone with a character like yours. Your face seems as if you have weathered through many hardships and is not something I have seen in a seventeen-year-old boy before."
Damien softly chuckled, "Senior is truly perceptive. I admit I have had my fair share of hardships, which made me the person I am today. And those hardships included a lot of betrayals, so Senior has to forgive me if I take my own sweet time to trust your people."
Irene nodded, "That's natural. Betrayals can leave painful scars on our hearts and make us distrustful of everyone else. But among my people, if there's someone you want to trust, then you can trust my grandson. He will never betray you, no matter what. He's not only steadfast in his goals but also to his people. But I guess I will let you be the judge of that."
She continued in a plain tone, "And I believe you have a powerful hidden master, right?"
Damien showed a bit surprised expression as he arched his brows and asked, "What makes Senior Irene say that?"
"Because who else can heal a cripple with completely damaged ethereal core points? Not even Rank 7 Pills can do that. In fact, in my experience, I don't think pills, no matter the rank, can fix someone with destroyed ethereal core points. Well, I haven't come upon any mythical Rank 8 Pills, so I can't say for sure. But you are from the Ward Family, right?" Irene asked as she looked fixedly at Damien.
Damien wryly smiled, "Seems like Senior's people took less time than I expected to dig up my background."
Irene faintly smiled, "Of course, each time we recruit someone, we have to make sure we can trust that person. After all, we are treading on very thin ice. We are only as strong as the weakest link in our organization. So, is your master in the Profound Ethereal Realm?"
Damien thought about Luna and said, "My master's true power is beyond measure and boundless as the heavens. But unfortunately, I am on my own now. All my master gave me was some cultivation manuals and ethereal arts and ordered me to fend for my own. I guess this is what they say, tempering oneself by facing hardships all alone. I consider myself very lucky as if my master hadn't chanced upon me, I would have remained a wastrel forever."
"Hmph, trying to flatter me won't earn you any points." Luna suddenly made a poke at Damien mentally.
Damien inwardly chuckled with amusement hearing her usual snubs.
Irene had a thoughtful expression as she heard his words. She asked casually, "I suppose you don't know where your master is now."
Damien sighed with a wistful expression, "Unfortunately, no. Otherwise, I would have gladly followed my master in his travels no matter how many hardships I had to face."
Irene let out a faint sigh and looked at Valentina resting on Damien's shoulder, "I take it that your master must have left you this ethereal best."
Damien saw Irene closely studying Valentina, and he said promptly, "Yes. She has been my companion for a while now and also protects me from harm."
Damien knew that Irene would also find Valentina mystifying as she must have never seen such an ethereal beast in her long life. And it would be strange if he said that he found her in some random forest. Even he would find it strange had he not seen Valentina in the Dark Forest himself.
Irene looked at the Earth Ethereal Realm beast resting so obediently on Damien's shoulders.
She couldn't understand how Damien could tame an ethereal beast stronger than him by a whole realm, especially a strange-looking one like Valentina. She then thought that his master must have trained her thoroughly to look after Damien.
If someone tried to tame an ethereal beast stronger than them, not even their corpse would be left intact. And even if they were stronger than the ethereal beast, there was a very less chance to tame the beast and more so if the ethereal beast belonged to a superior bloodline.
When Irene glanced at her ruby red eyes, she could feel an illusory aura surrounding her, and for a moment, her pupils contracted when she felt as if she was being glared at by a terrifying behemoth which made her feel as minuscule as a speck of dust.
She glanced away suddenly and wondered if she was becoming too old to be imagining things. Damien noticed Irene's strange movement and looked at Valentina. However, Valentina playfully rubbed against Damien's cheeks with her face.
Damien mentally shrugged and thought that it must have been nothing.
But what really happened was that Irene tried to probe Valentina's soul, and what she experienced was a simple rebound as if she was not worthy of probing Valentina's soul.
Even Valentina didn't know the effect she caused on Irene involuntarily. She was only slightly piqued when she sensed Irene trying to probe her subtly and glared at her. Valentina's soul was very sensitive, and this made her senses very sharp to an extreme point.
Irene decided to ask something which she was most curious about, "Damien, even though you were brought up by the late patriarch of the Ward Family, he was not your birth parent, right?"